For if I had learned one thing from my experiences during the civil war, it was that one must never judge a political movement by the aims it so loudly and perhaps genuinely strives to attain, but only by the means it uses to achieve them. 44
But these men [heroes of Icelandic sagas] wanted above all to be free, and they respected the right of others to be as free as they were themselves. They fought over possessions or honor, but not for power over others. [Bohr to Heisenberg.] 50
We must be clear that, when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. [Bohr] 41
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. [Bohr] 102
All this is sheer madness. [Pauli to Heisenberg regarding electron orbits.]
Science progresses not only because it helps to explain newly discovered facts, but also because it teaches us over and over again what the word ‘understanding’ may mean. [Carl Friedrich] 124
Perhaps our ability to convince others depends on the intensity in which we can persuade ourselves of the force of our own imagination. [Bohr] 131
I believe that if the development of atomic physics has taught us anything, it is that we must learn to think more subtly than in the past. [Bohr] 92
Though my first seminar on atomic theory was attended by just one student, I was convinced that I would eventually make many fresh converts to the new atomic physics. 93