Enrico Fermi Quotes

21 quotes in 338 categories

• One might be led to question whether the scientists acted wisely in presenting the statesmen of the world with this appalling problem. Actually there was…
• Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.
• I hope it won't take long.
• When asked what he meant by a miracle: Oh, anything with a probability of less than 20%.
• When asked what characteristics Nobel prize winning physicists had in common Ø› I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence
• Ignorance is never better than knowledge
• I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make him…
• Never underestimate the joy people derive from hearing something they already know.
• Experimental confirmation of a prediction is merely a measurement. An experiment disproving a prediction is a discovery.
• Where is everybody? Humans could theoretically colonize the galaxy in a million years or so, and if they could, astronauts from older civilizations could do…
• An experiment disproving a prediction is discovery.
• Young man, if I could remember the names of these particles, I would have been a botanist.
• Some people stick with the traditional, feeling struck by the epic beauty or blown away by the insane scale of the universe. Personally, I go…
• Before I came here I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture I am still confused. But on a higher level.
• 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, then…
• The fundamental point in fabricating a chain reacting machine is of course to see to it that each fission produces a certain number of neutrons…
• It is not good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.
• The fact that no limits exist to the destructiveness of this weapon [the 'Super', i.e. the hydrogen bomb] makes its very existence and the knowledge…
• It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.

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