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Some subjects are so serious that one can only joke about them.

Niels Bohr

It is a great pity that human beings cannot find all of their satisfaction in scientific contemplativeness.
NIELS BOHR

Greatness Human Satisfaction Science
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

Believe Beyond Character Doubt Knowledge Science Theory
Physics is the belief that a simple and consistent description of nature is possible.
NIELS BOHR

Belief Nature Possible Simplicity
Opposites are not contradictory but complementary.
NIELS BOHR

Education Learning Science
An independant reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
NIELS BOHR

Agency Independent Ordinary Reality
In our description of nature the purpose is not to disclose the real essence of the phenomena but only to track down, so far as it is possible, relations between the manifold aspects of our experience.
NIELS BOHR

Experience Nature Possible Purpose Reality
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
It is not enough to be wrong, one must also be polite.
NIELS BOHR

Enough Polite Wrong
Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive.
NIELS BOHR

Science Support
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
If we couldn’t laugh at ourselves, that would be the end of everything.
NIELS BOHR

End Laughter Ourselves
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
If an idea does not appear bizarre, there is no hope for it.
NIELS BOHR

Creativity Hope Ideas Inspirational Work
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
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.
NIELS BOHR

Education Encouragement Inspirational Man Mistake
Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.
NIELS BOHR

Deep Reality Science
A physicist is just an atom’s way of looking at itself.
NIELS BOHR

Science Way
If anybody says he can think about quantum physics without getting giddy, that only shows he has not understood the first thing about them.
NIELS BOHR

Inspirational Life Science Thinking Understand
If you think you understand it, that only shows that you don’t know the first thing about it.
NIELS BOHR

Thinking Understand Yourself
Einstein, stop telling God what to do!
NIELS BOHR

Funny God One Liner
When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry.
NIELS BOHR

Language Poetry Science
There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them.
NIELS BOHR

Laughter Serious Wisdom 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
You must come to Copenhagen to work with us. We like people who can actually perform thought experiments!
NIELS BOHR

Experiement People Science Work Yourself
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
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
Anyone who can contemplate quantum mechanics without getting dizzy hasn’t understood it.
NIELS BOHR

Science Understand

Some subjects are so serious that one can only joke about them.

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Some subjects are so serious that one can only joke about them.

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