This is just a random collection of quotes that I found inspiring.
One of the great commandments of science is, “Mistrust arguments from authority.” […] Too many such arguments have proved too painfully wrong. Authorities must prove their contentions like everybody else.
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
This one is an important one. Indeed just because something is said by authorities it doesn’t mean it’s true, take for example the screwed up nutritional guidelines since the 1960s (What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?, Gary Taubes, New York Times). Blind faith is for religion. It has no place in science or engineering, or government for that matter.