Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
In the material sciences these are and have been, and are most surely likely to continue to be heroic days.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the significant advancements in material sciences and the excitement surrounding these developments.
J. Robert Oppenheimer's quote highlights the transformative and groundbreaking nature of the material sciences, suggesting that the era we are in is filled with remarkable achievements that have far-reaching implications. It emphasizes the idea that these 'heroic days' represent a period of innovation and discovery, encouraging continued progress and exploration in the field.
Themes
Material SciencesInnovationAdvancementsHeroic DaysProgress
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about innovation in technology, one might quote Oppenheimer to highlight our current era of breakthroughs.
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'.
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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.
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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.
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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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