We turned the switch, saw the flashes, watched for ten minutes, then switched everything off and went home. That night I knew the world was headed for sorrow.
Meaning of the quote
Scientist Leo Szilard describes a moment when he and his team turned on a powerful machine, watched it flash with energy for 10 minutes, and then turned it off. That night, Szilard realized this experiment had unlocked something dangerous that would bring sorrow to the world.
About Leo Szilard
Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-born physicist and inventor who made groundbreaking discoveries in nuclear physics and biology. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction, patented the electron microscope, and contributed to the development of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project. Szilard was also a prominent advocate for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and worked to prevent the development of more devastating nuclear weapons.
More quotes from Leo Szilard
A scientist’s aim in a discussion with his colleagues is not to persuade, but to clarify.
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Do your work for six years; but in the seventh, go into solitude or among strangers, so that the memory of your friends does not hinder you from being what you have become.
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Pronouncement of experts to the effect that something cannot be done has always irritated me.
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If you want to succeed in the world, you don’t have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier.
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If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.
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Don’t lie if you don’t have to.
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We turned the switch, saw the flashes, watched for ten minutes, then switched everything off and went home. That night I knew the world was headed for sorrow.
Hungarian-American physicist and inventor (1898-1964)
I’m all in favor of the democratic principle that one idiot is as good as one genius, but I draw the line when someone takes the next step and concludes that two idiots are better than one genius.
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