'Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.'

'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.'

- Albert Einstein

'Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.'

- Legendary artist Picasso (1881–1973)

A quote by Howard Hughes

"Do the impossible, because almost everyone has told me my ideas are merely fantasies."

'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'

- Playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

A quote from Van Gogh

"Find things beautiful as much as you can, most people find too little beautiful."

'Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be … when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am.'

-Author Arthur Miller (1915-2005) in "Death of a Salesman"

'Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.'

- Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) in "Elenora"

'There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things.'

-Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

'Art is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an aesthetic end.'

- Author James Joyce (1882 -1941)

'Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.'

- Maya Angelou

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

'The urge to explore has propelled evolution since the first water creatures reconnoitered the land. Like all living systems, cultures cannot remain static; they evolve or decline. They explore or expire.'

- Astronaut Buzz Aldrin (1930-present)

'Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.'

- Author James Baldwin (1924–1987)

Martha Graham's philosophy of creativity

The influential choreographer and dancer once said that creative people will never be satisfied with their work. Instead, "There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

'Waiting for Godot' was inspired by a Friedrich painting

Samuel Beckett was an admirer of art and, while touring German art galleries in 1937, saw Caspar David Friedrich’s Two Men Contemplating the Moon. A directorial notebook for the original production of “Waiting for Godot” notes that the end of the play’s first act was inspired by the 19th-century work.

Friedrich Nietzsche theorized that we will live our lives over and over again: the myth of eternal recurrence

Rather than a theory of physics, the idea is designed as a moral argument. While Nietzsche famously eschewed the Christian afterlife, he wanted to avoid the nihilism that results from no longer having such an ultimate horizon. In a mystical moment, the philosopher came to believe that the fleeting moments of our lives would be repeated, presenting a test: would you want to relive this moment? If not, he would argue, you're not living well.

Jean-Paul Sartre famously wrote that 'Hell is—other people'

The line appears toward the end of the play "No Exit." One character, realizing that he's confined to live out the rest of his days with the play's other two characters, exclaims, "There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is—other people!"

'Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.'

- "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

'Adults ask questions as a child does. When you stop wondering, you might as well put your rocker on the front porch and call it a day.'

- Comedian and late night host Johnny Carson (1925–2005)

A look at Barcelona's contemporary art scene

Barcelona is no stranger to influential artists: Antoni Gaudi, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso, to name a few. It was the cradle of the Catalan Modernism and Art Nouveau movements in the 19th and 20th centuries. Art continues to be an important form of expression in Barcelona, but style is always evolving. This piece introduces readers to the obscure neighborhoods and budding galleries shaping Barcelona's contemporary art scene.

Some founders of quantum mechanics thought consciousness could influence phenomena

Since quantum systems exist as a superposition of states before producing a definitive outcome, some quantum pioneers wondered if the act of conscious observation was what collapsed the wave function of possibilities into one state.

Jeff Bezos has an art collection worth hundreds of millions

The collection includes an oil painting by Pablo Picasso that was once part of Picasso's personal collection. Bezos purchased the painting in a 2023 Sotheby's auction.

'My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each others' negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.'

-Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Some people really cannot imagine. Literally.

There are many people who are astonished to discover that their complete lack of ability to picture visual imagery is different from the norm.

Read George Orwell's essay 'Why I Write'

Written in 1946—after the publication of "Animal Farm" but before "1984"—the essay is part memoir of how Orwell came to see himself as a writer and part analysis of what drives his best work. Commenting on a book he planned to start—likely "1984"—he remarks, "It is bound to be a failure, every book is a failure, but I do know with some clarity what kind of book I want to write."

Watch Mike Wallace's fascinating interview with Salvador Dalí

In 1958, Salvador Dalí spoke in a TV interview with legendary journalist Mike Wallace about genius, the subconscious, weakness, old age, luxury, religion, and dreams, among a range of other topics. During this candid conversation, Dalí challenged American audiences to consider death and mortality. Watch the discussion here.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.