--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not possible to be a scientist…" description: "\"It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe that it is good to learn... that it is of the highest value to share your knowledge... with any..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/733/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_believe_it-is-not-possible-to-be-a-scientist-unl_681484.jpg" --- # It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe… ![“It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe that it is good to learn... that it is of the highest value to share your knowledge... with anyone who is interested... that the knowledge of the world, and the power which this gives, is a thing which is of intrinsic value to humanity” quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/733/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_believe_it-is-not-possible-to-be-a-scientist-unl_681484.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/733/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_believe_it-is-not-possible-to-be-a-scientist-unl_681484.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/733/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_believe_it-is-not-possible-to-be-a-scientist-unl_681484.jpg) > “It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe that it is good to learn... that it is of the highest value to share your knowledge... with anyone who is interested... that the knowledge of the world, and the power which this gives, is a thing which is of intrinsic value to humanity” [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scientist must value learning, sharing knowledge, and recognize that knowledge itself holds intrinsic worth for humanity. **In simple terms:** Scientists should learn, share, and value knowledge. Key Takeaway Promote open scientific communication. Themes ethics knowledge sharing human progress Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - academic conferences - public outreach - collaborative research - policy advising Key Concepts responsibility intrinsic value science philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can scientists protect sensitive discoveries? - What motivates sharing knowledge? A Different Perspective Balancing openness with security and misuse risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Intrinsic value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intrinsic-value/) [Knowledge of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-of-the-world/) [Possible Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-scientist-5390834/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientist Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist-unless-5390835/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) [Share Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share-knowledge/) [Value Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-humanity-636288/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“In matters of human rights, ethics, morality, reason, righteousness, philosophy and theology, white people must be seen, not heard - unless you've proven beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/in-matters-of-human-rights-ethics-morality-reason-righteousness/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I treasure a core value of humanity and that guides people why they act the way they do. I will use this to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-young/i-treasure-a-core-value-of-humanity-and-that-guides-people-why-they/) [Megan Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-young/) > [The MCU has such a huge impact on our culture. It instills a sense of hope in us. The value of humanity is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ridloff/the-mcu-has-such-a-huge-impact-on-our-culture-it-instills-a-sense-of/) [Lauren Ridloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ridloff/) > [The 'natural' is not necessarily a 'human' value. Humanity has begun to transcend nature: we can no longer justify the maintenance of a discriminatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/the-natural-is-not-necessarily-a-human-value-humanity-has-begun-to/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Human rights transcend local or ethnocentric values, conferring equal dignity and value on all humanity regardless of sex, ethnicity, sexual preference, or religion. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/human-rights-transcend-local-or-ethnocentric-values-conferring-equal/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [“The next time you're tempted to overuse your powers, remember this, I will bring you back by any means necessary, so if you value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/the-next-time-you-re-tempted-to-overuse-your-powers-remember-this-i/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“In the frenzy of modern life we lose sight of the real value of humanity. People become the sum total of what they produce.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama-xiv/in-the-frenzy-of-modern-life-we-lose-sight-of-the-real-value-of/) [Dalai Lama XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama-xiv/) > [“The increasing number of people, both men and women, that obsessively stare at others wherever they go, and even while walking outside, shows me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/the-increasing-number-of-people-both-men-and-women-that-obsessively/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [“Sometimes in our quest to be seen as credible and professional and sophisticated, we forget the value of our humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henna-pryor/sometimes-in-our-quest-to-be-seen-as-credible-and-professional-and/) [Henna Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henna-pryor/) > [That observation which is called knowledge of the world will be found much more frequently to make men cunning than good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-observation-which-is-called-knowledge-of-the-world-will-be-found/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [ It was a lot of fun to play a character \[in Swiss Army Man\] with no inhibitions, and with no knowledge of the world,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/it-was-a-lot-of-fun-to-play-a-character-in-swiss-army-man-with-no/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [Happiness exist when you don't know a thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/happiness-exist-when-you-don-t-know-a-thing/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [The fact that we have been able to develop a successful science, which issues in ever more accurate predictions and broader explanations, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-fact-that-we-have-been-able-to-develop-a-successful-science-which/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [The significance of language for the evolution of culture lies in this, that mankind set up in language a separate world beside the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-significance-of-language-for-the-evolution-of-culture-lies-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There is but one bond of peace that is both permanent and enriching: The increasing knowledge of the world in which experiment occurs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/there-is-but-one-bond-of-peace-that-is-both-permanent-and-enriching/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) ## More by J. Robert Oppenheimer > [In some sort of crude sense, which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/in-some-sort-of-crude-sense-which-no-vulgarity-no-humor-no/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/discovery-follows-discovery-each-both-raising-and-answering-questions/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [There are no secrets about the world of nature. There are secrets about the thoughts and intentions of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/there-are-no-secrets-about-the-world-of-nature-there-are-secrets/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [It is proper to the role of the scientist that he not merely find new truth and communicate it to his fellows, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/it-is-proper-to-the-role-of-the-scientist-that-he-not-merely-find-new/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [To try to be happy is to try to build a machine with no other specification than that it shall run noiselessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/to-try-to-be-happy-is-to-try-to-build-a-machine-with-no-other/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/we-knew-the-world-would-not-be-the-same-a-few-people-laughed-a-few/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We hunger for nobility: the rare words and acts that harmonize simplicity and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/we-hunger-for-nobility-the-rare-words-and-acts-that-harmonize/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [I saw what the Depression was doing to my students. Often they could get no jobs, or jobs which were wholly inadequate. And through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/i-saw-what-the-depression-was-doing-to-my-students-often-they-could/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [This world of ours is a new world, in which the unit of knowledge, the nature of human communities, the order of society, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/this-world-of-ours-is-a-new-world-in-which-the-unit-of-knowledge-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [My childhood did not prepare me for the fact that the world is full of cruel and bitter things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/my-childhood-did-not-prepare-me-for-the-fact-that-the-world-is-full/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [You can certainly destroy enough of humanity so that only the greatest act of faith can persuade you that what's left will be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/you-can-certainly-destroy-enough-of-humanity-so-that-only-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [In the spring of 1936, I was introduced by friends to Jean Tatlock. In the autumn, I began to court her. We were at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/in-the-spring-of-1936-i-was-introduced-by-friends-to-jean-tatlock-in/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [When we deny the EVIL within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/when-we-deny-the-evil-within-ourselves-we-dehumanize-ourselves-and-we/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [Pragmatism is an intellectually safe but ultimately sterile philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/pragmatism-is-an-intellectually-safe-but-ultimately-sterile-philosophy/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [“Knowledge cannot be pursued without morality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/knowledge-cannot-be-pursued-without-morality/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) [Explore all 96 J. Robert Oppenheimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. 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