49+ Edward Teller Quotes On Education, Technology And Government

Edward Teller was an American physicist, known as the "father of the hydrogen bomb", and a key figure in the development of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. He was also a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the Manhattan Project. Teller was a controversial figure due to his advocacy for nuclear weapons and his role in the McCarthy era witch hunts. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Edward Teller on education, technology, life.

Top 10 Edward Teller Quotes

1. Secrecy in science does not work. Withholding information does more damage to us than to our competitors.
2. The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.
3. There's no system foolproof enough to defeat a sufficiently great fool.
4. I believe in evil. It is the property of all those who are certain of truth. Despair and fanaticism are only differing manifestations of evil.
5. Science attempts to find logic and simplicity in nature. Mathematics attempts to establish order and simplicity in human thought.
6. No endeavor that is worthwhile is simple in prospect; if it is right, it will be simple in retrospect.
7. A fact is a simple statement that everyone believes. It is innocent, unless found guilty. A hypothesis is a novel suggestion that no one wants to believe. It is guilty, until found effective.
8. Had we not pursued the hydrogen bomb, there is a very real threat that we would now all be speaking Russian. I have no regrets.
9. The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy; the best weapon of a democracy is openness.
10. I believe in good. It is an ephemeral and elusive quality. It is the center of my beliefs, but it cannot be strengthened by talking about it.

Edward Teller Short Quotes

• Secrecy, once accepted, becomes an addiction.
• No, I'm the infamous Edward Teller.
• If anyone wants a hole in the ground, nuclear explosives can make big holes
• The eyes of childhood are magnifying lenses.
• Physics without mathematics is meaningless.
• U.S. has lost a battle more important and greater than Pearl Harbor.
• Two paradoxes are better than one; they may even suggest a solution.
• I hate doubt, yet I am certain that doubt is the only way to approach anything worth believing in.
• I am guilty of the great crime of optimism.
• When you're certain you cannot be fooled, you become easy to fool.

Edward Teller Quotes About Life

When Columbus took off, the purpose was to improve trade relations with China. That problem has not been solved to this very day, but just look at the by-products. — Edward Teller

Life improves slowly and goes wrong fast, and only catastrophe is clearly visible. — Edward Teller

In the theater you create a moment, but in that moment, there is a touch, a twinkle of eternity. And not just eternity, but community. . . . That connection is a sense of life for me. — Edward Teller

Edward Teller Quotes About Simple

I claim that relativity and the rest of modern physics is not complicated. It can be explained very simply. It is only unusual or, put another way, it is contrary to common sense. — Edward Teller

Physics is, hopefully, simple. Physicists are not. — Edward Teller

By having simplified what is known, physicists have been led into realms which as yet are anything but simple. That at some time, they, too, will appear as simple consequences of a theory of which no one has yet dreamed is not a statement of fact.It is a statement of faith. — Edward Teller

Edward Teller Quotes About Science

If there ever was a misnomer, it is "exact science." Science has always been full of mistakes. The present day is no exception. And our mistakes are good mistakes; they require a genius to correct. Of course, we do not see our own mistakes. — Edward Teller

One may say that predictions are dangerous particularly for the future. If the danger involved in a prediction is not incurred, no consequence follows and the uncertainty principle is not violated. — Edward Teller

In our educational institutions applied science may almost be described as a "no-man's land." — Edward Teller

[Chemistry] laboratory work was my first challenge. ... I still carry the scars of my first discovery-that test-tubes are fragile. — Edward Teller

The main purpose of science is simplicity and as we understand more things, everything is becoming simpler. — Edward Teller

There is a time for scientists and movie stars and those who have flown the atlantic to restrain their opinions lest they be taken more seriously than they should be. — Edward Teller

Edward Teller Famous Quotes And Sayings

I believe in excellence. It is a basic need of every human soul. All of us can be excellent, because, fortunately, we are exceedingly diverse in our ambitions and talents. — Edward Teller

I tried to contribute to the defeat of the Soviets. If I contributed 1%, it is 1% of something enormous. — Edward Teller

My experience has been in a short 77 years that in the end when you fight for a desperate cause and have good reasons to fight, you usually win. — Edward Teller

Society's emissions of carbon dioxide may or may not turn out to have something significant to do with global warming-the jury is still out. — Edward Teller

The scientist is not responsible for the laws of nature. It is his job to find out how these laws operate. It is the scientist's job to find the ways in which these laws can serve the human will. However, it is not the scientist's job to determine whether a hydrogen bomb should be constructed, whether it should be used, or how it should be used. This responsibility rests with the American people and with their chosen representatives. — Edward Teller

Today, nothing is unusual about a scientific discovery's being followed soon after by a technical application: The discovery of electrons led to electronics; fission led to nuclear energy. But before the 1880's, science played almost no role in the advances of technology. For example, James Watt developed the first efficient steam engine long before science established the equivalence between mechanical heat and energy. — Edward Teller

I think that intellectuals who end up in hell will have to read page proofs and check indexes there. — Edward Teller

It is often claimed that knowledge multiplies so rapidly that nobody can follow it. I believe this is incorrect. At least in science it is not true. The main purpose of science is simplicity and as we understand more things, everything is becoming simpler. This, of course, goes contrary to what everyone accepts. — Edward Teller

We must learn to live with contradictions, because they lead to deeper and more effective understanding. — Edward Teller

A state-of-the-art calculation requires 100 hours of CPU time on the state-of-the-art computer, independent of the decade. — Edward Teller

There is no case where ignorance should be preferred to knowledge - especially if the knowledge is terrible. — Edward Teller

If not for me, the H-bomb would have been developed in Russia first. In the U.S., we'd now be speaking Russian. — Edward Teller

Knowing he [Bob Serber] was going to the [first atom bomb] test, I asked him how he planned to deal with the danger of rattlesnakes. He said, 'I'll take along a bottle of whiskey.' … I ended by asking, 'What would you do about those possibilities [of what unknown phenomena might cause a nuclear explosion to propagate in the atmosphere]?' Bob replied, 'Take a second bottle of whiskey.' — Edward Teller

When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly. — Edward Teller

Could we have avoided the tragedy of Hiroshima? Could we have started the atomic age with clean hands? No one knows. No one can find out. — Edward Teller

Really exotic methods of propulsion . . . will have to be devised to get there. How it will be done, I do not know. Whether it will be done, I am not quite certain. But I would bet it can be done. — Edward Teller

The extinction of the human race will come from its inability to EMOTIONALLY comprehend the exponential function. — Edward Teller

Life Lessons by Edward Teller

1. Edward Teller taught us the importance of hard work and dedication; he worked tirelessly to develop the hydrogen bomb and was known for his tireless work ethic.
2. He also taught us the importance of resilience; despite facing numerous setbacks and criticisms, he continued to pursue his goals and eventually achieved success.
3. Finally, he showed us the power of collaboration; he worked with numerous other scientists and researchers to develop the hydrogen bomb, demonstrating the importance of teamwork and collaboration.