Niels Bohr

"Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced."

"The more success the quantum theory has, the sillier it looks."

"In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself—nature does it for you."

"Truth and clearness are complementary."

"We are not just passive observers of the world; we are active participants."

"The scientist only imposes two things, namely truth and sincerity, truthfulness and sincerity."

"Never minimize the importance of what you are trying to do."

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

"The deepest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own breathing."

"Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Straightening things out is the first step toward burning books."

"It is very important that a person should develop great ideas about life."

"Quantum mechanics makes absolutely no sense."

"An isolated material particle is an abstraction, its properties only being definable and observable in its interactions with other systems."

"One should not work on semiconductors, that is a filthy mess; who knows whether they really exist."

"I came to love the subject matter, and I also began to comprehend."

"The task of the scientist is to seek the cause of natural phenomena."

"Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution."

"The hope of the future lies in the efforts of all men of good will and in the ultimate victory of truth."

"It is the duty of every intellectual to solve problems intellectually."

"War will exist as long as there is politics."

"I would not be wise if I did not know myself."

"The most important thing is the idea."

"To be great, one must first have courage."

"No, I don't believe that every phenomenon of Nature is within one's powers to describe."

"Everything has already been said, but since nobody listens, we have to keep going back and beginning again."

"The individual is not so much in competition with himself as he is in search of something beyond himself."

"When you find a mistake you've made by learning the truth—that is wisdom."

"Technology will often define the nature of the relevant reality."

"The opposite of a true statement is a false statement, but the opposite of a profound truth is another profound truth."

"An unbridgeable gulf separates subjective emotional experiences from the formulations of physical science."