Skip to content

Enough Quote by Niels Bohr

“It is not enough to be wrong, one must also be polite.” quote by Niels Bohr — Download Open image

“It is not enough to be wrong, one must also be polite.”

About This Quote

Source Quote: General Observation, 20th century

Being wrong is insufficient; one must also maintain civility.

In simple terms: Mistakes require politeness.

Key Takeaway

Practice respectful discourse even when mistaken.

Themes

ethics communication humility learning dialogue

Mood

thoughtful encouraging

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

classroom discussions
online debates
team meetings

Key Concepts

civility error handling social norms

Questions to Reflect On

Can politeness coexist with truth?
How to balance humility and confidence?

A Different Perspective

Politeness alone may not correct factual errors.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.0 out of 5 (7 ratings)

Enough Polite Wrong Wrong Polite

More by Niels Bohr

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.

Image

“Stop telling God what to do with his dice.”

Image

An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field.

Image

The opposite of every great idea is another great idea.

Image

“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself it’s own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”

Image

It is a great pity that human beings cannot find all of their satisfaction in scientific contemplativeness.

Image

Anyone not shocked by quantum mechanics has not yet understood it.

Image

The meaning of life consists in the fact that it makes no sense to say that life has no meaning.

Image

Technology has advanced more in the last thirty years than in the previous two thousand. The exponential increase in advancement will only continue.

Image

Anybody who is not shocked by this subject has failed to understand it. [of quantum mechanics]

Image

When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts…

Image

Every description of natural processes must be based on ideas which have been introduced and defined by the classical theory.

Image

Explore all 108 Niels Bohr quotes

More Enough quotes

I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…

Image

Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…

Image

I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.

Image

I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…

Image

I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.

Rena Kornreich Gelissen

Image

We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…

Image

Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…

Image

The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.

Patrick Lencioni

Image

I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.

Image

I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…

Image

Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…

Michael Servetus

Image

Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…

Stephen Chbosky

Image

Browse all 23,899 Enough quotes