Leo Szilard Quotes

• I have been asked whether I would agree that the tragedy of the scientist is that he is able to bring about great advances in our knowledge, which mankind may then proceed to use for purposes of destruction. My answer is that this is not the tragedy of the scientist; it is the tragedy of mankind.

  Leo Szilard

  Knowledge, Science, Tragedy

  69 Copy quote

• If you want to succeed in the world, you don't have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier.

  Leo Szilard

  People, One Day, World

  Leo Szilard, Helen S. Hawkins, G. Allen Greb, Gertrud Weiss Szilard (1987). “Toward a Livable World: Leo Szilard and the Crusade for Nuclear Arms Control”, p.25, MIT Press

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• Do not destroy what you cannot create.

  Leo Szilard

  "The Voice of the Dolphins: And Other Stories". Book by Leo Szilard, 1961.

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• Three stages of truth for scientists:
  It's not true.
  If it is true, it's not very important.
  We knew it all along.

  Leo Szilard

  Important, Three, Scientist

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• 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?

  Leo Szilard

  Two, Democracy, Genius

  "The Voice of the Dolphins: And Other Stories". Book by Leo Szilard, 1961.

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• 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.

  Leo Szilard

  Home, Night, Sorrow

  1939 After an early experiment at Columbia University which proved the possibility of splitting the atom. Quoted in James B Simpson Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (1988).

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• You may assume infinite ignorance and unlimited intelligence.

  Leo Szilard

  Ignorance, May, Assuming

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• I am thinking of keeping a diary, not with the intend to publish it, merely to record the facts for the information of God, in case God does not know my version of the facts.

  Leo Szilard

  Thinking, Facts, Doe

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• 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.

  Leo Szilard

  Jobs, Thinking, Important

  "Close-up : I'm Looking for a Market for Wisdom. Leo Szilard, Scientist". Life magazine, Vol. 51, No. 9, p. 75, September 01, 1961.

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• Do your work for six years; but in the seventh, go into solitude or among strangers, so that the memory of your friends does not hinder you from being what you have become.

  Leo Szilard

  Friends, Memories, Years

  "The Voice of the Dolphins: And Other Stories". Book by Leo Szilard, 1961.

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• 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.

  Leo Szilard

  Science, Play, Voice

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• 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.

  Leo Szilard

  Two, Next Steps, Principles

  "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace". Life magazine, Vol. 51, No. 9, p. 79, September 01, 1961.

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• If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.

  Leo Szilard

  Decision, Doe, Able

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• 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.

  Leo Szilard

  Exercise, Thinking, Desire

  "President Truman Did Not Understand". U.S. News & World Report, August 15, 1960.

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• 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?

  Leo Szilard

  Jobs, Fun, Ideas

  "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace". Life magazine, Vol. 51, No. 9, p. 79, September 01, 1961.

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• A scientist's aim in a discussion with his colleagues is not to persuade, but to clarify.

  Leo Szilard

  Scientist, Aim, Colleagues

  Leo Szilard (1961). “The Voice of the Dolphins and Other Stories”, p.54, Stanford University Press

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• Byrnes... was concerned about Russia's postwar behavior. Russian troops had moved into Hungary and Rumania, and Byrnes thought it would be very difficult to persuade Russia to withdraw her troops from these countries, that Russia might be more manageable if impressed by American military might, and that a demonstration of the bomb might impress Russia.

  Leo Szilard

  Country, Military, Russia

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• 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?

  Leo Szilard

  Doe, Firsts, Politician

  Leo Szilard (1961). “The Voice of the Dolphins and Other Stories”, p.53, Stanford University Press

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• Science is progressing at such a rapid rate that when you make a prediction and think you are ahead of your time by 100 years you may be ahead of your time by 10 at most.

  Leo Szilard

  Thinking, Years, Progress

  "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace". Life magazine, Vol. 51, No. 9, p. 79, September 01, 1961.

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• Pronouncement of experts to the effect that something cannot be done has always irritated me.

  Leo Szilard

  Experts, Done, Irritated

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• Speak to all men as you do to yourself, with no concern for the effect you make, so that you do not shut them out from your world; lest in isolation the meaning of life slips out of sight and you lose the belief in the perfection of creation.

  Leo Szilard

  Men, Sight, Perfection

  "The Voice of the Dolphins: And Other Stories". Book by Leo Szilard, 1961.

  14 Copy quote

• I'm looking for a market for wisdom.

  Leo Szilard

  Leo Szilard, Helen S. Hawkins, G. Allen Greb, Gertrud Weiss Szilard (1987). “Toward a Livable World: Leo Szilard and the Crusade for Nuclear Arms Control”, p.67, MIT Press

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• 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.

  Leo Szilard

  Mean, Thinking, Important

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• If the thickness is larger than the critical value I can produce an explosion.

  Leo Szilard

  Thickness, Explosions, Produce

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• Don't lie if you don't have to.

  Leo Szilard

  Lying, Don't Lie, Ifs

  1972 In Science, vol.176, p.966.

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