20 categorical statements from the past that the present refutes

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1. Stones cannot fall from the sky, they have nowhere to go there! (Paris Academy of Sciences on Meteorites, 1772)

2. In the future, computers will weigh a little more than 1.5 tons. (Popular Mechanics Magazine, 1949)

3. I think that on the world market we will find demand for five computers. (Thomas Watson – CEO of IBM, 1943)

4. I have traveled the length and breadth of this country, talked to the smartest people, and I can guarantee you that data processing is just a fad, a fad that will last no more than a year. (Editor of Prentice Hall, 1957)

5. But what could be useful about this thing? (Question at a discussion of the creation of a microchip in the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968)

6. No one can possibly need a computer in their home. (Ken Olson, founder and president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977)

7. A device like the telephone has too many shortcomings to be considered a means of communication. Therefore, I believe that this invention has no value. (from discussions at the Western Union company in 1876)

8. This music box without wires can have no commercial value. Who will pay for messages not intended for some private person? (David Sarnow's business partners in response to his offer to invest in the radio project, 1920)

9. The concept is interesting and well designed. But in order for the idea to start working, it must contain common sense. (Yale University professor in response to Fred Smith's proposal to organize an express delivery service; Fred Smith will become the founder of the Federal Express Corp. delivery service)

10. So, who the hell cares about actors talking? (Warner Brothers reaction to the use of sound in the cinema, 1927)

11. We don't like their sound and guitar quartets in general are a thing of the past. (Decca Recording Co., which rejected The Beatles album recording, 1962)

12. Heavier-than-air aircraft are impossible! (Lord Kelvin – physicist, president of the Royal Society of Science – 1895)

13. Professor Goddard does not understand the relationship between action and reaction, he does not know that the reaction requires conditions more suitable than a vacuum. It seems that the professor feels an acute lack of elementary knowledge, which is taught in high school. (leading article in the New York Times, dedicated to the revolutionary work of Robert Goddard on the creation of a rocket, 1921)

14. Drilling the earth in search of oil? Do you mean that you have to drill the earth in order to find oil? You are crazy. (Answer to Edwin Drake's project in 1859)

15. Airplanes are interesting toys, but they are of no military value. (Marshal Ferdinand Foch, professor of strategy at the French General Staff Academy)

16. Everything that could be invented has been invented. (Charles Dewell, special commissioner of the US Patent Office, 1899)

17. Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is a funny fantasy. (Pierre Pachet, professor of psychology at the University of Toulouse, 1872)

18. The abdomen, chest, and brain will always be closed to the invasion of the wise and humane surgeon. (Sir John Erik Eriksen – British physician, appointed as Queen Victoria's chief surgeon, 1873)

29. 640 kilobytes of memory should be enough for everyone. (Bill Gates, 1981)

20. $100 million is too much for Microsoft. (IBM, 1982)

P.S. Today Microsoft is worth $3.2 trillion!;)