19 quotes
Danish physicist (1885–1962)
“Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an affirmation but as a question.[A caution he gives his students, to be wary of dogmatism.]”
"The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth."
on Philosophy
"The meaning of life consists in the fact that it makes no sense to say that life has no meaning."
on Life
"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."
"You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another truth."
on Truth
"Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it."
on Problem Solving
"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."
"How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress."
on Critical Thinking
"Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it."
on Science
"The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness."
on Politics
"Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think."
on Writing
"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future."
"Stop telling God what to do with his dice."
on Faith
"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."
"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real."
"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field."
on Wisdom
"Your theory is crazy, but it's not crazy enough to be true."
"It is not enough to be wrong, one must also be polite."
on Humor
"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."
