Leo Szilard
Leo Szilard
Leo Szilardwas a Jewish Hungarian-born physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth11 February 1898
CountryUnited States of America
exercise thinking desire
A great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint, and we did not live up to this obligation. I think this affected many of the scientists in a subtle sense, and it diminished their desire to continue to work on the bomb.
firsts doe politician
When a scientist says something, his colleagues must ask themselves only whether it is true. When a politician says something, his colleagues must first of all ask, 'Why does he say it?
two genius lines
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.
produce thickness explosions
If the thickness is larger than the critical value I can produce an explosion.
jobs thinking important
The most important step in getting a job done is the recognition of the problem. Once I recognize a problem I usually can think of someone who can work it out better than I could.
scientist aim colleagues
A scientist's aim in a discussion with his colleagues is not to persuade, but to clarify.
done experts irritated
Pronouncement of experts to the effect that something cannot be done has always irritated me.
jobs fun ideas
In life you must often choose between getting a job done or getting credit for it. In science, the most important thing is not the ideas you have but the decision which ones you choose to pursue. If you have an idea and are not doing anything with it, why spoil someone else's fun by publishing it?
mean thinking important
In science it is not enough to think of an important problem on which to work. It is also necessary to know the means which could be used to investigate the problem.
I'm looking for a market for wisdom.
decision able doe
If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.
play voice giving
Those individuals who give moral considerations a much greater weight than considerations of expediency represent a comparatively small minority, five percent of the people perhaps. But, In spite of their numerical inferiority, they play a major role in our society because theirs is the voice of the conscience of society.
home night sorrow
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.
two democracy genius
Even if we accept, as the basic tenet of true democracy, that one moron is equal to one genius, is it necessary to go a further step and hold that two morons are better than one genius?