If any student comes to me and says he wants to be useful to mankind and go into research to alleviate human suffering, I advise him to go into charity instead. Research wants real egotists who seek their own pleasure and satisfaction, but find it in solving the puzzles of nature.


Attributed to Szent-Györgyi by Gerald Holton (1978); cited in: Robert Cohen (1985) The Development of spatial cognition. p. 363.

Albert Szent-Györgyi Quotes

If any student comes to me and says he wants to be useful to mankind and go into research to alleviate human suffering, I advise him to go into...

If any student comes to me and says he wants to be useful to mankind and go into research to alleviate human suffering, I advise him to go into...

If any student comes to me and says he wants to be useful to mankind and go into research to alleviate human suffering, I advise him to go into...

If any student comes to me and says he wants to be useful to mankind and go into research to alleviate human suffering, I advise him to go into...