Niels Bohr

"Atoms are not things; they are only the intersections of thing-like processes."

"We must abandon the ideal of an objective description of nature separated from man."

"The electron: may it never be of any use to anybody."

"Physics is concerned with objective descriptions of nature, but such descriptions are not objective in an absolute sense."

"We are not merely passive observers of the world; our observations shape reality itself."

"The very fact that religious traditions exist at all is a manifestation of a basic human need."

"Discussion and debate are essential to progress in science."

"The notion of an independent physical reality is problematical in quantum mechanics."

"Genius is ninety-nine percent hard work and one percent inspiration, but that one percent inspiration is what makes all the difference."

"Never underestimate the power of a good experiment."

"Our task must be not to produce philosophers but to produce citizens able to think for themselves."

"The richness of nature lies in its unity of diversity."

"We stand always in need of a sharp line between the observer and the observed."

"A physicist who is not profoundly moved by a sense of awe has lost the capacity for wonder."

"The atoms or elementary particles are not real; they form a world of potentialities rather than of things or facts."

"We cannot speak of the properties of the particle independently of its interaction with a measuring apparatus."

"The question of whether consciousness plays a role in quantum mechanics is one of the most profound questions in physics."

"It is impossible to sharply separate the behavior of atomic objects from the interaction with the measuring instruments."

"The success of the quantum theory shows that we can even deal with entities whose behavior seems contradictory to our everyday experience."

"Nature is not bound by the laws of classical logic."

"Music and science are the two universal languages of mankind."