A single inattention may lose a chess game, whereas a single successful approach to a problem, among many which have been relegated to the wastebasket, will make a mathematician's reputation.
Source: The Human Use of Human Beings.
-- Norbert Wiener, (Nov 26 1894-1964), US mathematician; He established the science of cybernetics, common factors of control and communication in living organisms, automatic machines, and organizations.