Truth and clarity are complementary. Niels Bohr More Quotes by Niels Bohr More Quotes From Niels Bohr The old saying of the two kinds of truth. To the one kind belongs statements so simple and clear that the opposite assertion obviously could not be defended. The other kind, the so-called 'deep truths', are statements in which the opposite also contains deep truth. Niels Bohr simpletruthopposites The present state of atomic theory is characterized by the fact that we not only believe the existence of atoms to be proved beyond a doubt, but also we even believe that we have an intimate knowledge of the constituents of the individual atoms. Niels Bohr doubtsciencebelieve Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive. Niels Bohr exclusiveclarityaccuracy A visitor to Niels Bohr's country cottage, noticing a horseshoe hanging on the wall, teasing the eminent scientist about this ancient superstition. "Can it be true that you, of all people, believe it will bring you luck?' Niels Bohr wallbelievecountry If you think you understand it, that only shows that you don't know the first thing about it. Niels Bohr showsfirststhinking Anyone not shocked by quantum mechanics has not yet understood it. Niels Bohr mechanicquantumphysics It is the hallmark of any deep truth that its negation is also a deep truth. Niels Bohr negationhallmark Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an affirmation, but as a question. Niels Bohr selflessunderstandingscience There is no hope for any speculation that does not look absurd at first glance. Niels Bohr doelooksfirsts If we couldn't laugh at ourselves, that would be the end of everything. Niels Bohr aphorismwould-belaughing Address to Albert Einstein: You are not thinking. You are merely being logical. Niels Bohr addresseslogicalthinking One thought spectra are marvellous, but it is not possible to make progress there. Just as if you have the wing of a butterfly then certainly it is very regular with the colors and so on, but nobody thought one could get the basis of biology from the coloring of the wing of a butterfly. Niels Bohr butterflycolorscience Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future. Niels Bohr timeinspirationalfunny We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough. Niels Bohr statisticscrazyfeelings The opposite of every great idea is another great idea. Niels Bohr great-ideaoppositesideas You must come to Copenhagen to work with us. We like people who can actually perform thought experiments! Niels Bohr copenhagensciencepeople It is a great pity that human beings cannot find all of their satisfaction in scientific contemplativeness. Niels Bohr pityhumanssatisfaction It is not enough to be wrong, one must also be polite. Niels Bohr politeenough When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts as with creating images and establishing mental connections. Niels Bohr creatingpoetryinspirational The great extension of our experience in recent years has brought light to the insufficiency of our simple mechanical conceptions and, as a consequence, has shaken the foundation on which the customary interpretation of observation was based. Niels Bohr lightsimpleyears
