---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think all of you know there is no…"
description: "\"I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.\" — George Wald"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png"
---

#  I think all of you know there is no adequate defense…

![“I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.” quote by George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png)

> “I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.”

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

There is no effective defense against a large-scale nuclear attack, implying vulnerability.

**In simple terms:** No defense against massive nuclear attack.

Key Takeaway

Recognize nuclear threats.

Themes

security warfare vulnerability

Mood

serious urgent

Type

policy

When to use this quote

- government planning
- civil defense
- international relations

Key Concepts

deterrence global policy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies mitigate nuclear risks?
- What alternative defenses could be explored?

A Different Perspective

Technological advances may change the landscape.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/)

## Related quotes

> [War is just a racket... I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-just-a-racket-i-believe-in-adequate-defense-at-the-coastline/)

[Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/)

> [We need an adequate defense, but every arms dollar we spend above adequacy has a long-term weakening effect upon the nation and its security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-need-an-adequate-defense-but-every-arms-dollar-we-spend-above/)

[Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/)

> [There is no adequate defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/there-is-no-adequate-defense-except-stupidity-against-the-impact-of-a/)

[Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/)

> [Adequate defense has been the catchword of every militarist for centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-kellogg/adequate-defense-has-been-the-catchword-of-every-militarist-for/)

[Frank B. Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-kellogg/)

> [Even a competent lawyer may not be able to mount an adequate defense against the state, with all its resources, if he has next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lewis/even-a-competent-lawyer-may-not-be-able-to-mount-an-adequate-defense/)

[Anthony Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lewis/)

> [I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-believe-in-adequate-defense-at-the-coastline-and-nothing-else-if-a/)

[Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/)

> [Experience assures us, that the efficacy of the provision has been greatly over-rated; and that some more adequate defense is indispensably necessary for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/experience-assures-us-that-the-efficacy-of-the-provision-has-been/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [As far as I know, the most conservative estimates of the number of Americans who would be killed in a major nuclear attack, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/as-far-as-i-know-the-most-conservative-estimates-of-the-number-of/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [“It is the lord’s duty to his domain to provide adequate defense for his folk during a time of war or crisis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/it-is-the-lord-s-duty-to-his-domain-to-provide-adequate-defense-for/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“attack. “One of the awkward questions we faced was whether to reconstitute Congress after a nuclear attack,” a participant recalled years later. “It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/attack-one-of-the-awkward-questions-we-faced-was-whether-to/)

[Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/)

> [This means that the only function of nuclear weapons, while they exist, is to deter a nuclear attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/this-means-that-the-only-function-of-nuclear-weapons-while-they-exist/)

[Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/)

> [“Throughout the Cold War such priorities reflected a command environment in which —it was regarded as overwhelmingly more important to assure a Go response…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/throughout-the-cold-war-such-priorities-reflected-a-command/)

[Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/)

> [“There were unofficial discussions at the time about what would have happened if, heaven forbid, that nuclear warhead had exploded on American soil. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyo-komatsu/there-were-unofficial-discussions-at-the-time-about-what-would-have/)

[Sakyo Komatsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyo-komatsu/)

> [If you ask which of the scenarios I think is most dangerous, though, I will give a different answer. In that form of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-casti/if-you-ask-which-of-the-scenarios-i-think-is-most-dangerous-though-i/)

[John L. Casti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-casti/)

> [“Bioterrorism was every bit as dangerous as a nuclear attack or”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/bioterrorism-was-every-bit-as-dangerous-as-a-nuclear-attack-or/)

[Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/)

## More by George Wald

> [Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/civilization-will-end-within-15-or-30-years-unless-immediate-action/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [So-called defense now absorbs sixty per cent of the national budget, and about twelve per cent of the Gross National Product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/so-called-defense-now-absorbs-sixty-per-cent-of-the-national-budget/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [I have lived much of my life among molecules. They are good company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-have-lived-much-of-my-life-among-molecules-they-are-good-company/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of whatever choices offer. We are the products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/evolution-advances-not-by-a-priori-design-but-by-the-selection-of/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [Every creature alive on the earth today represents an unbroken line of life that stretches back to the first primitive organism to appear on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/every-creature-alive-on-the-earth-today-represents-an-unbroken-line/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [I think if a physician wrote on a death certificate that old age was the cause of death, he'd be thrown out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-if-a-physician-wrote-on-a-death-certificate-that-old-age-was/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [I am growing old, and my future, so to speak, is already behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-am-growing-old-and-my-future-so-to-speak-is-already-behind-me/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [A scientist should be the happiest of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/a-scientist-should-be-the-happiest-of-men/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [We've committed many war crimes in Vietnam - but I'll tell you something interesting about that. We were committing war crimes in World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/we-ve-committed-many-war-crimes-in-vietnam-but-i-ll-tell-you/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [Science goes from question to question; big questions, and little, tentative answers. The questions as they age grow ever broader, the answers are seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/science-goes-from-question-to-question-big-questions-and-little/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [There's life all over this universe, but the only life in the solar system is on earth, and in the whole universe we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-s-life-all-over-this-universe-but-the-only-life-in-the-solar/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [I think I know what is bothering the students. I think that what we are up against is a generation that is by no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-i-know-what-is-bothering-the-students-i-think-that-what-we/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/a-physicist-is-an-atom-s-way-of-knowing-about-atoms/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose: Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God… There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-are-only-two-possible-explanations-as-to-how-life-arose/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

> [I have lived much of my life among molecules. They are good company. I tell my students to try to know molecules, so well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-have-lived-much-of-my-life-among-molecules-they-are-good-company-i/)

[George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

[Explore all 72 George Wald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/)

## More Adequate quotes

> [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [The action carries a sense of incompleteness and frustration, but not of guilt. Victorious living does not mean perfect living in the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/the-action-carries-a-sense-of-incompleteness-and-frustration-but-not/)

[E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/)

> [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/)

Ernest Gold

> [And I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-i-am-quite-serious-when-i-say-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are-on/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Art can only be truly art by presenting an adequate outward symbol of some fact in the interior life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/art-can-only-be-truly-art-by-presenting-an-adequate-outward-symbol-of/)

[Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/)

> [The President has once again failed us. Millions of Americans are at risk of going without the flu vaccine this year because the administration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-corzine/the-president-has-once-again-failed-us-millions-of-americans-are-at/)

[Jon Corzine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-corzine/)

> [All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness, can and do promote inner values. But the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-the-world-s-major-religions-with-their-emphasis-on-love/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Conversation in its happiest development is a link, equally exquisite and adequate, between mind and mind, a system by which men approach one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/conversation-in-its-happiest-development-is-a-link-equally-exquisite/)

[Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/)

> [A strong accountability system needs to broaden, not narrow, the curriculum. That cannot happen if you only have accountability without adequate school funding. Until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gelber/a-strong-accountability-system-needs-to-broaden-not-narrow-the/)

[Dan Gelber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gelber/)

> [All propaganda or popularization involves a putting of the complex into the simple, but such a move is instantly not constructive. For if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/all-propaganda-or-popularization-involves-a-putting-of-the-complex/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [You have no right to go before a public without an adequate technique, just because you feel. Anything feels - a leaf feels, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-have-no-right-to-go-before-a-public-without-an-adequate-technique/)

[Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/)

> [In sum, the Court's conclusion that a constitutionally adequate recount is impractical is a prophecy the Court's own judgment will not allow to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/in-sum-the-court-s-conclusion-that-a-constitutionally-adequate/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [Travelling doesn't stress me, since adequate 10-hour sleep post-travel is sufficient for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anushka-shetty/travelling-doesn-t-stress-me-since-adequate-10-hour-sleep-post-travel/)

[Anushka Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anushka-shetty/)

> [Remorse is cureless--the Disease Not even God--can heal-- For 'tis His institution--and The Adequate of Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/remorse-is-cureless-the-disease-not-even-god-can-heal-for-tis-his/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [Too often, attention is diverted from the needs of populations, insufficient emphasis is placed on work in the fields, and the goods of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/too-often-attention-is-diverted-from-the-needs-of-populations/)

[Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/)

Browse all 522 Adequate quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Wald"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adequate-defense-against-massive/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adequate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adequate-defense-against-massive/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/george-wald-9544_adequate_i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adeq_508445.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.” — George Wald",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "George Wald",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think all of you know...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adequate-defense-against-massive/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adequate-defense-against-massive/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
