67 Quotes by Edward Teller


  • Author Edward Teller
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    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.

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  • Author Edward Teller
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    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.

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  • Author Edward Teller
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    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.

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  • Author Edward Teller
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    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.

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

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

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