Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of nations preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and Hiroshima. The people must unite or they will perish.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote warns against the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons and emphasizes the need for unity to prevent destruction.
This quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer addresses the grave implications of nuclear weapons in warfare, suggesting that their existence will lead to enormous suffering and regret for humanity. It serves as a poignant reminder of the responsibility that comes with such powerful technology and highlights the necessity for global solidarity to avert disaster.
Themes
NuclearWarUnityHumanityPeace
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for nuclear disarmament.
More from J. Robert Oppenheimer
All quotes βBertrand Russell had given a talk on the then new quantum mechanics, of whose wonders he was most appreciative. He spoke hard and earnestly in the New Lecture Hall. And when he was done, Professor Whitehead, who presided, thanked him for his efforts, and not least for 'leaving the vast darkness of the subject unobscured'.
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
There are children playing in the streets who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
It is perfectly obvious that the whole world is going to hell. The only possible chance that it might not is that we do not attempt to prevent it from doing so.
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. (quoting the Bhagavad-Gita after witnessing the first Nuclear explosion.)
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
[About the great synthesis of atomic physics in the 1920s:] It was a heroic time. It was not the doing of any one man; it involved the collaboration of scores of scientists from many different lands. But from the first to last the deeply creative, subtle and critical spirit of Niels Bohr guided, restrained, deepened and finally transmuted the enterprise.
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
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Once the inner connection is grasped, all theoretical belief in the permanent necessity of existing conditions collapses before their collapse in practice -- Letter to Ludwig Kugelmann (July 11, 1868)
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