There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.

Meaning of the quote

Some things are simple facts, like 2 + 2 = 4. But there are also big, important ideas that are harder to understand. The opposite of a simple fact is clearly wrong. But the opposite of a big idea can also be true in its own way. This means we have to think carefully about the difference between small truths and big, complex ideas.

About Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to atomic structure and quantum theory, earning him the Nobel Prize in 1922. He founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen and collaborated with renowned scientists like Werner Heisenberg. Bohr’s work and life were deeply influenced by his philosophical views on complementarity and his efforts to promote international cooperation in nuclear research.

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More quotes from Niels Bohr

We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how Nature is. Physics concerns what we say about Nature.

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An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field.

Niels Bohr

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If anybody says he can think about quantum physics without getting giddy, that only shows he has not understood the first thing about them.

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The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.

Niels Bohr

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When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts as with creating images.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Technology has advanced more in the last thirty years than in the previous two thousand. The exponential increase in advancement will only continue. Anthropological Commentary The opposite of a trivial truth is false; the opposite of a great truth is also true.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

No, no, you’re not thinking; you’re just being logical.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Einstein, stop telling God what to do!

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

A physicist is just an atom’s way of looking at itself.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an affirmation, but as a question.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)

Your theory is crazy, but it’s not crazy enough to be true.

Niels Bohr

Danish physicist (1885-1962)