I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make him wiggle his trunk.'

Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.

Experimental confirmation of a prediction is merely a measurement. An experiment disproving a prediction is a discovery.

Never underestimate the joy people derive from hearing something they already know.

Ignorance is never better than knowledge

[on what characteristics Nobel prize winning physicists had in common] I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence.

One might be led to question whether the scientists acted wisely in presenting the statesmen of the world with this appalling problem. Actually there was no choice. Once basic knowledge is acquired, any attempt at preventing its fruition would be as futile as hoping to stop the earth from revolving around the sun.