Quotes from Enrico Fermi

Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.

It does not say in the Bible that all laws of nature are expressible linearly!

I hope it won't take long.

Before I came here, I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture, I am still confused -- but on a higher level.

Ignorance is never better than knowledge

It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.

Experimental confirmation of a prediction is merely a measurement. An experiment disproving a prediction is a discovery.

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.

It is not good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.

Young man, if I could remember the names of these particles, I would have been a botanist.

When asked what he meant by a miracle: Oh, anything with a probability of less than 20%.

The fundamental point in fabricating a chain reacting machine is of course to see to it that each fission produces a certain number of neutrons and some of these neutrons will again produce fission.

Ignorance is never better than knowledge.

It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.

There's two possible outcomes if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.

Before I came here, I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture, I am still confused -- but on a higher level.

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery

If I could remember the names of these particles, I would have been a botanist.

Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.

When asked what characteristics Nobel prize winning physicists had in common Ø› I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence

Such a weapon goes far beyond any military objective and enters the range of very great natural catastrophes. By its very nature it cannot be confined to a military objective but becomes a weapon which in practical effect is almost one of genocide

The fact that no limits exist to the destructiveness of this weapon [the 'Super', i.e. the hydrogen bomb] makes its very existence and the knowledge of its construction a danger to humanity as a whole. It is necessarily an evil thing considered in any light. For these reasons, we believe it important for the President of the United States to tell the American public and the world what we think is wrong on fundamental ethical principles to initiate the development of such a weapon.

It is clear that the use of such a weapon cannot be justified on any ethical ground which gives a human being a certain individuality and dignity even if he happens to be a resident of an enemy country.

The fact that no limits exist to the destructiveness of this weapon makes its very existence and the knowledge of its construction a danger to humanity as a whole. It is necessarily an evil thing considered in any light.