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A physicist visits a colleague and notices a horseshoe hanging on the wall above the entrance. 'Do you really believe that a horseshoe brings luck?' he asks. 'No,' replies the colleague, 'but I've been told that it works even if you don't believe in it.'

Niels Bohr

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Niels Bohr
Age: 77 †
Born: 1885
Born: October 7
Died: 1962
Died: November 18
Association Football Player
Chemist
Nuclear Physicist
Philosopher Of Science
Physicist
University Teacher
København
Niels Henrik David Bohr
Nicholas Baker
N. Bohr
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Notices

More quotes by Niels Bohr

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The very nature of the quantum theory ... forces us to regard the space-time coordination and the claim of causality, the union of which characterizes the classical theories, as complementary but exclusive features of the description, symbolizing the idealization of observation and description, respectively.
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The opposite of every great idea is another great idea.
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Address to Albert Einstein: You are not thinking. You are merely being logical.
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There is no hope for any speculation that does not look absurd at first glance.
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We are trapped by language to such a degree that every attempt to formulate insight is a play on words.
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Predictions are hard, especially abot the future.
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There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them.
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Opposites are not contradictory but complementary.
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Your theory is crazy, but it's not crazy enough to be true.
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If you think you understand it, that only shows that you don't know the first thing about it.
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It is very difficult to make an accurate prediction, especially about the future.
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You must come to Copenhagen to work with us. We like people who can actually perform thought experiments!
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A visitor to Niels Bohr's country cottage, noticing a horseshoe hanging on the wall, teasing the eminent scientist about this ancient superstition. Can it be true that you, of all people, believe it will bring you luck?' 'Of course not,' replied Bohr, 'but I understand it brings you luck whether you believe it or not.'
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It is the hallmark of any deep truth that its negation is also a deep truth.
Niels Bohr
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No paradox, no progress.
Niels Bohr
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There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.
Niels Bohr
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Some things are so serious, they can only be joked about.
Niels Bohr
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Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.
Niels Bohr
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If you have a correct statement, then the opposite of a correct statement is of course an incorrect statement, a wrong statement. But when you have a deep truth, then the opposite of a deep truth may again be a deep truth.
Niels Bohr
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You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another truth.
Niels Bohr