If an idea does not appear bizarre, there is no hope for it.
Interpretation
Bizarre ideas are often the foundation of great innovation and progress.
This quote by Niels Bohr emphasizes that truly revolutionary ideas may seem strange or unconventional at first. It suggests that if an idea is not perceived as bizarre or unusual, it may lack the transformative potential needed to lead to significant breakthroughs, highlighting the importance of creativity and open-mindedness in scientific and intellectual pursuits.
In practice
During a brainstorming session to encourage creative thinking among team members.
When asked ... [about] an underlying quantum world, Bohr would answer, 'There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature.'
An independant reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.
Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
When searching for harmony in life one must never forget that in the drama of existence we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it.
It does not matter how frequently something succeeds if failure is too costly to bear.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.
No, improvising is wonderful. But, the thing is that you cannot improvise unless you know exactly what you're doing.
It (LSD) opened my eyes. We only use one-tenth of our brain. Just think of what we could accomplish if we could only tap that hidden part! It would mean a whole new world if the politicians would take LSD. There wouldn't be any more war or poverty or famine.
No two minds ever come together without a third invisible force, which may be likened to a 'third mind.' When a group of individual minds are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual in the group.
Well, normally Iβm against big things. I think the world is going to be saved by millions of small things. Too many things can go wrong when they get big.β β Pete Seeger (on how he felt about attending his big 90th birthday bash last year)
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