On Enjoying Science

"I am stupid enough to always think that the idea I have at the moment is going to work out, and this is really lucky..." "It saves me a lot of anguish, but more important, by the time I realize that it does not work, it has led to another idea which of course is going to work. At the end of this recursive process there is indeed something which works, which generally has nothing to do with the original idea, but who cares? So I am always trying to explain to students that they should generate enough enthusiasm to persuade themselves that it will work and it will indeed, at some point."

--- Stéphane Mallat, as quoted in "The World According to Wavelets: The Story of a Mathematical Technique in the Making " (Chapter 3, p. 39)