--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reports in Washington show that our…" description: "\"Reports in Washington show that our reasoning was just like that of your physicists. With all this information available, at least to privileged person..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg" --- # Reports in Washington show that our reasoning was just… ![“Reports in Washington show that our reasoning was just like that of your physicists. With all this information available, at least to privileged persons, I cannot understand why it is generally held in the United States that we completely missed the basic principle of the bomb until after Hiroshima.” quote by Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg) > “Reports in Washington show that our reasoning was just like that of your physicists. With all this information available, at least to privileged persons, I cannot understand why it is generally held in the United States that we completely missed the basic principle of the bomb until after Hiroshima.” [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Heisenberg laments that despite abundant data, U.S. policymakers failed to grasp nuclear physics fundamentals until after the bombings. **In simple terms:** Scientists saw the truth, but leaders ignored it. Key Takeaway Ensure experts inform policy early. Themes science policy communication war knowledge gaps Mood concerned critical Type historical political When to use this quote - government advisory panels - military planning - public education - scientific briefings Key Concepts nuclear physics decision making information asymmetry Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better integrate scientific insight into policy? - What mechanisms prevent timely expert input? A Different Perspective Political inertia and secrecy can block expert advice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hiroshima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiroshima/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) ## Related quotes > [Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima. . . . The force from which the sun draws its power has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/sixteen-hours-ago-an-american-airplane-dropped-one-bomb-on-hiroshima/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Seven decades after it was struck by an atom bomb, Hiroshima is a city of peace and hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/seven-decades-after-it-was-struck-by-an-atom-bomb-hiroshima-is-a-city/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [“A basic principle upon which I’ve learned to live my life is that I should never be surprised at people’s ability to disappoint me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-negovan/a-basic-principle-upon-which-i-ve-learned-to-live-my-life-is-that-i/) Jake Negovan > [“A basic principle of system theory is that no control system will perform better than its measuring channel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-g-leveson/a-basic-principle-of-system-theory-is-that-no-control-system-will/) [Nancy G. Leveson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-g-leveson/) > [The most basic principle to being a free American is the notion that we as individuals are responsible for our own lives and decisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-most-basic-principle-to-being-a-free-american-is-the-notion-that/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody above the law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-a-basic-principle-of-our-constitution-is-nobody-above-the-law/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are cheap; you make them because they're right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/my-basic-principle-is-that-you-don-t-make-decisions-because-they-are-2/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [The basic principle which I believe has contributed more than any other to the building of our business as it is today, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-casey/the-basic-principle-which-i-believe-has-contributed-more-than-any/) James E. Casey > [Letting bygones be bygones is a basic principle in economics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/letting-bygones-be-bygones-is-a-basic-principle-in-economics/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/my-basic-principle-is-that-you-don-t-make-decisions-because-they-are/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [“The basic principle of spiritual life is that our problems become the very place to discover wisdom and love. With”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-basic-principle-of-spiritual-life-is-that-our-problems-become-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“The NCLEX is based on one basic principle. That is, will the test taker be “safe” while practicing nursing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-porter-thomas/the-nclex-is-based-on-one-basic-principle-that-is-will-the-test-taker/) [Caroline Porter Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-porter-thomas/) > [Concentration is the key to economic results. No other principle of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration… Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/concentration-is-the-key-to-economic-results-no-other-principle-of/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [ \[It is a basic principle of a tyrant\] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/it-is-a-basic-principle-of-a-tyrant-to-unarm-his-people-of-weapons/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [We can never have too much preparation and training. We must be a strong competitor. We must adhere staunchly to the basic principle that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-bunche/we-can-never-have-too-much-preparation-and-training-we-must-be-a/) [Ralph Bunche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-bunche/) ## More by Werner Heisenberg > [“Revere those things beyond science which really matter and about which it is so difficult to speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/revere-those-things-beyond-science-which-really-matter-and-about/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-the-history-of-science-ever-since-the-famous-trial-of-galileo-it/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The more closely you look at one thing, the less closely can you see something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-more-closely-you-look-at-one-thing-the-less-closely-can-you-see/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that if a United States of Europe were to be formed, it would be in our interests to fight for it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-if-a-united-states-of-europe-were-to-be-formed-it-would/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Whether we electrons, light quanta, benzol molecules, or stones, we shall always come up against these two characteristics, the corpuscular and the undular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/whether-we-electrons-light-quanta-benzol-molecules-or-stones-we-shall/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that-in-the-history-of-human/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [If we made atomic bombs, we would bring about a terrible change in the world. Who knows what would happen from this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/if-we-made-atomic-bombs-we-would-bring-about-a-terrible-change-in-the/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The positivists have a simple solution: the world must be divided into that which we can say clearly and the rest, which we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-positivists-have-a-simple-solution-the-world-must-be-divided-into/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’.77”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/what-we-observe-is-not-nature-itself-but-nature-exposed-to-our-method/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [A consistent pursuit of classical physics forces a transformation in the very heart of that physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/a-consistent-pursuit-of-classical-physics-forces-a-transformation-in/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [ It was about three o'clock at night when the final result of the calculation \[which gave birth to quantum mechanics\] lay before me ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-was-about-three-o-clock-at-night-when-the-final-result-of-the/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Only a few know, how much one must know to know how little one knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/only-a-few-know-how-much-one-must-know-to-know-how-little-one-knows/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/we-have-to-remember-that-what-we-observe-is-not-nature-in-itself-but/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-modern-physics-has-definitely-decided-in-favor-of-plato/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The end of the First World War had thrown Germany's youth into great turmoil. The reins of power had fallen from the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-end-of-the-first-world-war-had-thrown-germany-s-youth-into-great/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) [Explore all 109 Werner Heisenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## More Hiroshima quotes > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The most racist, nastiest act by America, after human slavery, was the bombing of Nagasaki. Not of Hiroshima, which might have had some military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-most-racist-nastiest-act-by-america-after-human-slavery-was-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I come and stand at every door But none can hear my silent tread I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/i-come-and-stand-at-every-door-but-none-can-hear-my-silent-tread-i/) [Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/) > [Hiroshima does not look like a bombed city. It looks as if a monster steamroller had passed over it and squashed it out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-burchett/hiroshima-does-not-look-like-a-bombed-city-it-looks-as-if-a-monster/) [Wilfred Burchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-burchett/) > [“The atom bomb wasn’t used in Korea,” Father contributed. They really didn’t see it. “America planned to use the bomb,” she insisted. “Everything was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-davis/the-atom-bomb-wasn-t-used-in-korea-father-contributed-they-really/) [Jane Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-davis/) > [It seemed like my professional life would take a more scientific route. I guess that plan started to become undone when, at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnon-goldfinger/it-seemed-like-my-professional-life-would-take-a-more-scientific/) [Arnon Goldfinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnon-goldfinger/) > [After Hiroshima was bombed, I saw a photograph of the side of a house with the shadows of the people who had lived there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/after-hiroshima-was-bombed-i-saw-a-photograph-of-the-side-of-a-house/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [... the blinding Hiroshima flash... literally photographed the shadow cast by beings and things, so that every surface immediately became war's recording surface, its film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-blinding-hiroshima-flash-literally-photographed-the-shadow-cast/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [In some ways more painful is the fact that their experience appears to be fading from the collective memory of humankind. Having never experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadatoshi-akiba/in-some-ways-more-painful-is-the-fact-that-their-experience-appears/) Tadatoshi Akiba > [MR. KHARIS: 'Does Mr. Celine seriously suggest that the United States Government is in need of a guardian?' MR. CELINE: 'I am merely offering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/mr-kharis-does-mr-celine-seriously-suggest-that-the-united-states/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Non-violence ... is the only thing that the atom bomb cannot destroy. I did not move a muscle when I first heard that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-violence-is-the-only-thing-that-the-atom-bomb-cannot-destroy-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The ginkgo tree is from the era of dinosaurs, but while the dinosaur has been extinguished, the modern ginkgo has not changed. After the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koji-nakanishi/the-ginkgo-tree-is-from-the-era-of-dinosaurs-but-while-the-dinosaur/) Koji Nakanishi > [The increase in the amount of heat in the oceans amounts to 17 x 10^22 Joules over the last 30 years. That is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-rahmstorf/the-increase-in-the-amount-of-heat-in-the-oceans-amounts-to-17-x-10/) Stefan Rahmstorf > [I had been conscious of depression and so I voiced to (Sec. Of War Stimson) my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/i-had-been-conscious-of-depression-and-so-i-voiced-to-sec-of-war/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) [Browse all 158 Hiroshima quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiroshima/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reports in Washington show that our reasoning was just like that of your physicists. With all this information available, at least to privileged persons, I cannot understand why it is generally held in the United States that we completely missed the basic principle of the bomb until after Hiroshima.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Werner Heisenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reasoning-was-just-like-that-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hiroshima" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reasoning-was-just-like-that-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/werner-heisenberg-4501_hiroshima_reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reas_1172778.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reports in Washington show that our reasoning was just like that of your physicists. With all this…” — Werner Heisenberg", "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": "Werner Heisenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reports in Washington show that our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reasoning-was-just-like-that-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/reports-in-washington-show-that-our-reasoning-was-just-like-that-of/#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 } } ] } ```