If an idea does not appear bizarre, there is no hope for it.
Interpretation
Bizarre ideas are often the foundation of great innovation and progress.
This quote by Niels Bohr emphasizes that truly revolutionary ideas may seem strange or unconventional at first. It suggests that if an idea is not perceived as bizarre or unusual, it may lack the transformative potential needed to lead to significant breakthroughs, highlighting the importance of creativity and open-mindedness in scientific and intellectual pursuits.
In practice
During a brainstorming session to encourage creative thinking among team members.
When asked ... [about] an underlying quantum world, Bohr would answer, 'There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature.'
An independant reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.
Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
When searching for harmony in life one must never forget that in the drama of existence we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it.
The human mind cannot create anything. It produces nothing until having been fertilized by experience and meditation; its acquisitions are the germs of its production.
When you learn your lessons, the pain goes away.
Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear. [They are the two sides of a coin, so learning how to manage fear through learning, understanding, rationality, controlled imagination, preparation, mental focus (including distraction) and a gratitude attitude is very helpful.]
Deciding to be honest was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, and also the most important.
Integrity is not something that grownups have and adolescents can aspire to. Integrity is something that all of us, at all ages, are constantly striving for.
You don't have to be a creative maverick to have a troubled mind. You just have to be human. There is no 'us' and 'them.' No one is one hundred per cent healthy, physically or mentally.
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