--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will go only so far as to say that I…" description: "\"I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom was.\" — Paul Tibbets" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png" --- # I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom… ![“I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom was.” quote by Paul Tibbets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png) > “I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom was.” Paul Tibbets ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits limited knowledge, emphasizing humility about scientific understanding. **In simple terms:** I only knew what an atom was. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of your knowledge. Themes humility science knowledge Mood reflective thoughtful Type historical personal When to use this quote - education - public speaking - historical reflection Key Concepts epistemology self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What do you truly understand versus assume? - How does humility affect credibility? A Different Perspective Admitting limited knowledge may undermine authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom/) [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“When people say "If I only knew then what I know now" makes me wonder why they aren't using that wisdom now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-liano/when-people-say-if-i-only-knew-then-what-i-know-now-makes-me-wonder/) [Rob Liano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-liano/) > [One atom is as purposeful as our planet. What is in one is in the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/one-atom-is-as-purposeful-as-our-planet-what-is-in-one-is-in-the-whole/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Organic compounds exist in which a hydrogen atom, joined to the carbon, acquires acid properties as a result of the proximity of certain functional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-grignard/organic-compounds-exist-in-which-a-hydrogen-atom-joined-to-the-carbon/) [Victor Grignard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-grignard/) > [Not one atom can rest until it finds its freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/not-one-atom-can-rest-until-it-finds-its-freedom/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed, aren’t actually like tiny billiard balls. That’s kindergarten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-matter-however-much-they-might/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [There is no likelihood that man can ever tap the power of the atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrews-millikan/there-is-no-likelihood-that-man-can-ever-tap-the-power-of-the-atom/) [Robert Andrews Millikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrews-millikan/) > [Do not despise anyone: an atom shadowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/do-not-despise-anyone-an-atom-shadowing/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [Chemistry, until my childhood, not that long ago, was regarded as a calculating device. Because you couldn't reduce to physics. So it's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/chemistry-until-my-childhood-not-that-long-ago-was-regarded-as-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It is harder to crack prejudice than an atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-is-harder-to-crack-prejudice-than-an-atom/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The void is 'not-being,' and no part of 'what is' is a 'not-being,'; for what 'is' in the strict sense of the term is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-void-is-not-being-and-no-part-of-what-is-is-a-not-being-for-what/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Even the structure of the atom has been found by the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/even-the-structure-of-the-atom-has-been-found-by-the-mind/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [She wouldn't say what we both knew. 'The reason you will not say it is, when you say it, even to yourself, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-wouldn-t-say-what-we-both-knew-the-reason-you-will-not-say-it-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Min, you’re a friend,” he protested. “I don’t think of you as a woman.” It was the wrong thing to say; he knew it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/min-you-re-a-friend-he-protested-i-don-t-think-of-you-as-a-woman-it/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Sometimes it hurts to look at you,” I said. I loved that I could say that and he knew exactly what I meant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/sometimes-it-hurts-to-look-at-you-i-said-i-loved-that-i-could-say/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [I'd always said never say never, because I knew that Warner Brothers wanted to do something with "Fantastic Beasts," and I did have kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-d-always-said-never-say-never-because-i-knew-that-warner-brothers/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) ## More by Paul Tibbets > [I'm proud that I was able to start with nothing, plan it, and have it work as perfectly as it did... I sleep clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/i-m-proud-that-i-was-able-to-start-with-nothing-plan-it-and-have-it/) Paul Tibbets > [A bright light filled the plane. The first shock-wave hit us. We were eleven and a half miles slant range from the atomic explosion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/a-bright-light-filled-the-plane-the-first-shock-wave-hit-us-we-were/) Paul Tibbets Explore all 3 Paul Tibbets quotes ## More Atom quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [One atom is as purposeful as our planet. What is in one is in the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/one-atom-is-as-purposeful-as-our-planet-what-is-in-one-is-in-the-whole/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [“In every atom, there is a reflection of the whole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/in-every-atom-there-is-a-reflection-of-the-whole/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [The laws of physics should allow us to arrange things molecule by molecule and even atom by atom, and at some point it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-merkle/the-laws-of-physics-should-allow-us-to-arrange-things-molecule-by/) [Ralph Merkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-merkle/) > [“The void is 'not-being,' and no part of 'what is' is a 'not-being,'; for what 'is' in the strict sense of the term is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-void-is-not-being-and-no-part-of-what-is-is-a-not-being-for-what/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“There are over a million types of fish in the sea as there are flowers in all of the world's gardens. There are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/there-are-over-a-million-types-of-fish-in-the-sea-as-there-are/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [It is harder to crack prejudice than an atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-is-harder-to-crack-prejudice-than-an-atom/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Chemistry, until my childhood, not that long ago, was regarded as a calculating device. Because you couldn't reduce to physics. So it's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/chemistry-until-my-childhood-not-that-long-ago-was-regarded-as-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There is no evil in the atom; only in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-stevenson/there-is-no-evil-in-the-atom-only-in-men-s-souls/) [Adlai Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-stevenson/) > [Do not despise anyone: an atom shadowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/do-not-despise-anyone-an-atom-shadowing/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [There is no likelihood that man can ever tap the power of the atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrews-millikan/there-is-no-likelihood-that-man-can-ever-tap-the-power-of-the-atom/) [Robert Andrews Millikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrews-millikan/) > [A physicist is just an atom's way of looking at itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/a-physicist-is-just-an-atom-s-way-of-looking-at-itself/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [If 'Star Wars' wasn't enough to prepare me for a dark future, there was the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise, conveniently repeated for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/if-star-wars-wasn-t-enough-to-prepare-me-for-a-dark-future-there-was/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [In the lab, we could not see or physically describe the mathematical objects that we called quarks, which we suspected were the key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gross/in-the-lab-we-could-not-see-or-physically-describe-the-mathematical/) [David Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gross/) > [“Atoms, the building blocks of so-called matter, however much they might seem to be physically circumscribed, aren’t actually like tiny billiard balls. That’s kindergarten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/atoms-the-building-blocks-of-so-called-matter-however-much-they-might/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) [Browse all 53 Atom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom was.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Tibbets" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-knew-what-an-atom-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-knew-what-an-atom-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/paul-tibbets-77024_atom_i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-k_822874.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I will go only so far as to say that I knew what an atom was.” — Paul Tibbets", "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": "Paul Tibbets", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tibbets/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I will go only so far...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-knew-what-an-atom-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tibbets/i-will-go-only-so-far-as-to-say-that-i-knew-what-an-atom-was/#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 } } ] } ```