Georg von Békésy

Georg von Békésy (Békésy György) (June 3, 1899 – June 13, 1972) was a Hungarian biophysicist born in Budapest.

In 1961, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the function of the cochlea in the mammalian hearing organ.

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• Too much equipment can be, however, something that hampers scientific development. I had the feeling that if there is no equipment present, everybody is forced to simplify his ideas in such a way that the experiments become simple. If there is too much equipment available, he can attack any experiment immediately since all the difficulties will be overcome by putting more money in the equipment. In the long run, some of the equipment becomes so complicated that it is difficult to see how all the parts interact.
  • in My experiences in different laboratories, autobiographical speech by von Békésy published in Fizikai Szemle 1999/5. 166.o.[1]

• If we want to make a discovery, we have to take a risk, since everything new was discovered by accident or by the fact that somebody took a chance and went ahead when there wasn't 100 percent safety for the solution.
  • in My experiences in different laboratories, autobiographical speech by von Békésy published in Fizikai Szemle 1999/5. 166.o.

• It is not the things that we have, but how we use them that is important.
  • in My experiences in different laboratories, autobiographical speech by von Békésy published in Fizikai Szemle 1999/5. 166.o.