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Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.

Niels Bohr

The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.
NIELS BOHR

Democracy Politics Secret Weapon
Our task is not to penetrate the essence of things, the meaning of which we do not know anyway, but rather to develop concepts which allow us to talk in a productive way about phenomena in nature
NIELS BOHR

Development Nature Ourselves Talk
Physics is the belief that a simple and consistent description of nature is possible.
NIELS BOHR

Belief Nature Possible Simplicity
All rising curves that show unwelcome trends in human affairs will approach infinity if extended far enough, but it is we who dictate the curve and not vice versa.
NIELS BOHR

Enough Human Rise Science Vice
Truth is something that we can attempt to doubt, and then perhaps, after much exertion, discover that part of the doubt is not justified.
NIELS BOHR

Discovery Doubt Justice Science Truth
If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.
NIELS BOHR

Science Understand Yourself
If you aren’t confused by quantum mechanics, you haven’t really understood it.
NIELS BOHR

Understand Yourself
If you have a correct statement, then the opposite of a correct statement is of course an incorrect statement, a wrong statement. But when you have a deep truth, then the opposite of a deep truth may again be a deep truth.
NIELS BOHR

Philosophy Truth Wisdom Wrong Yourself
We are trapped by language to such a degree that every attempt to formulate insight is a play on words.
NIELS BOHR

Language Play Word
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.
NIELS BOHR

Change Difficult Force Greatness Ourselves Thinking
Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.
NIELS BOHR

Expression Inspirational Science Thinking
It is, indeed, perhaps the greatest prospect of humanistic studies to contribute through an increasing knowledge of the history of cultural development to that gradual removal of prejudices which is the common aim of all science.
NIELS BOHR

Development Greatness History Humanity Science Study
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

Connection Creation Establishment Language Mental Photograph Poet Poetry Science
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

Crazy Enough Feeling Theory
When searching for harmony in life one must never forget that in the drama of existence we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
NIELS BOHR

Drama Existence Forget Life Ourselves Peace Search
If you think you understand it, that only shows that you don’t know the first thing about it.
NIELS BOHR

Thinking Understand Yourself
No paradox, no progress.
NIELS BOHR

One Liner Progress Science
Sometimes the child in one behaves a certain way and the rest of oneself follows behind, slowly shaking its head.
NIELS BOHR

Change Children Oneself Time
There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.
NIELS BOHR

Deep Fake Greatness Truth Wisdom
Some things are so serious, they can only be joked about.
NIELS BOHR

Funny Joke Science Serious
Of course I don’t believe in it pointing to horseshoe on his office wall. But I understand that it brings you luck whether you believe in it or not.
NIELS BOHR

Believe Faith Understand Wall Yourself
What is that we human beings ultimately depend on? We depend on our words. We are suspended in language. Our task is to communicate experience and ideas to others.
NIELS BOHR

Experience Human Ideas Language Ourselves Science Word
Nothing exists until it is measured.
NIELS BOHR

Existence One Liner
Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an affirmation, but as a question.
NIELS BOHR

Myself Science Understand
Anyone who can contemplate quantum mechanics without getting dizzy hasn’t understood it.
NIELS BOHR

Science Understand
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

Expression Foundation Greatness Light Ourselves Science
Isolated material particles are abstractions, their properties being definable and observable only through their interaction with other systems .
NIELS BOHR

Material Property Science

Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.

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Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.

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