Traditional Quotes by Enrico Fermi

I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…

— Enrico Fermi

Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.

— Enrico Fermi

[on what characteristics Nobel prize winning physicists had in common] I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence.

— Enrico Fermi

I hope it won't take long.

— Enrico Fermi

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis,…

— Enrico Fermi

It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.

— Enrico Fermi

“The fact that no limits exist to the destructiveness of this weapon makes its very existence and the knowledge of its construction a danger…

— Enrico Fermi

An experiment disproving a prediction is discovery.

— Enrico Fermi

Some people stick with the traditional, feeling struck by the epic beauty or blown away by the insane scale of the universe. Personally, I…

— Enrico Fermi

Where is everybody? Humans could theoretically colonize the galaxy in a million years or so, and if they could, astronauts from older civilizations could…

— Enrico Fermi

Before I came here I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture I am still confused. But on a higher level.

— Enrico Fermi

Experimental confirmation of a prediction is merely a measurement. An experiment disproving a prediction is a discovery.

— Enrico Fermi