Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the world is headed for disaster unless we actively work to change its course.
In this quote, J. Robert Oppenheimer expresses a bleak view of the world, asserting that it is inevitably heading towards destruction. However, he emphasizes that the one hope for avoiding this fate lies in our willingness to take action and make efforts to prevent downfall. This underscores the importance of proactive engagement and responsibility in addressing societal issues and challenges.
Themes
WorldDisasterActionChangeResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental issues, one might quote this to emphasize the urgency of taking action.
More from J. Robert Oppenheimer
All quotes →Bertrand 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
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
'It worked.' (said after witnessing the first atomic detonation).
J. Robert OppenheimerRead
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