Niels Bohr

Physicist

1885-10-07 – 1962-11-18

Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to atomic structure and quantum theory. His model of the atom and broader theoretical work transformed modern physics in the 20th century. He also founded major research institutions and mentored generations of scientists.

Quotes by Niels Bohr

I myself find the division of the world into an objective and a subjective side much too arbitrary. The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer. But that does not mean that it is not a genuine reality. And splitting this reality into an objective and a. subjective side won't get us very far.
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Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.
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The very nature of the quantum theory ... forces us to regard the space-time coordination and the claim of causality, the union of which characterizes the classical theories, as complementary but exclusive features of the description, symbolizing the idealization of observation and description, respectively.
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An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
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Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
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Stop telling God what to do with his dice.
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There are trivial truths and there are great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.
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Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
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The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.
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You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another truth.
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An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
Read quote
Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
Read quote
Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
Read quote
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.
Read quote
Stop telling God what to do with his dice.
Read quote
The very nature of the quantum theory ... forces us to regard the space-time coordination and the claim of causality, the union of which characterizes the classical theories, as complementary but exclusive features of the description, symbolizing the idealization of observation and description, respectively.
Read quote
I myself find the division of the world into an objective and a subjective side much too arbitrary. The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer. But that does not mean that it is not a genuine reality. And splitting this reality into an objective and a. subjective side won't get us very far.
Read quote
There are trivial truths and there are great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.
Read quote
Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.
Read quote
You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another truth.
Read quote