“It is perhaps better to say that Bohr's strength lay in his formidable intuition and insight rather than erudition.”

—  Abraham Pais

Testimony in Niels Bohr : His Life and Work as Seen by His Friends and Colleagues (1967) edited by Stefan Rozental, p. 218; later in his own work, Niels Bohr's Times : In Physics, Philosophy, and Polity (1991)
Context: The first thing Bohr said to me was that it would only then be profitable to work with him if I understood that he was a dilettante. The only way I knew to react to this unexpected statement was with a polite smile of disbelief. But evidently Bohr was serious. He explained how he had to approach every new question from a starting point of total ignorance. It is perhaps better to say that Bohr's strength lay in his formidable intuition and insight rather than erudition.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is perhaps better to say that Bohr's strength lay in his formidable intuition and insight rather than erudition." by Abraham Pais?
Abraham Pais photo
Abraham Pais 19
American Physicist 1918–2000

Related quotes

George Jessel (jurist) photo

“For wide learning and deep insight his judgments are, perhaps, unsurpassed.”

George Jessel (jurist) (1824–1883) British politician

Apsley Petre Peter, Analysis and Digest of the Decisions of Sir George Jessel http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1XoDAAAAQAAJ&q=%22george+jessel%22&dq=%22george+jessel%22&num=100&cd=2 (1883).
About

Mani Madhava Chakyar photo

““His historic talent was backed up by extraordinary erudition. Behind his wizardry with the eyes lay sustained practice undertaken with devotion and discipline”
- L. S Rajagopalan (noted art critic), 1990”

Mani Madhava Chakyar (1899–1990) Indian actor

Source: Abhinaya and Netrābhinaya, L.S Rajagopalan, Mani Madhava Chakyar- A Titan of A Thespian, Sruti- India's premier Music and Dance magazine, August 1990 issue (71).

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan photo

“Scientists work by a combination of intuition and insight in trying to understand a question.”

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (1952) Nobel prize winning American and British structural biologist

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan interview: 'It takes courage to tackle very hard problems in science

Ramakrishna photo

“A thief enters a dark room and feels the various articles therein. He lays his hands upon a table perhaps, and saying "Not this" passes on. Next he come upon some other article — a chair, perhaps — and again saying "Not this" continues his search, till, leaving article after article, he finally lays his hands on the box containing the treasure. Then he exclaims "It is here!"”

Ramakrishna (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher

and there his search ends. Such, indeed is the search for Brahman.
Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 733

Peter F. Drucker photo

“A man should never be appointed into a managerial position if his vision focuses on people's weaknesses rather than on their strengths.”

Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant

Source: 1930s- 1950s, The Practice of Management (1954), p. 157

Bertrand Russell photo

“In fact the opposition of instinct and reason is mainly illusory. Instinct, intuition, or insight is what first leads to the beliefs which subsequent reason confirms or confutes; but the confirmation, where it is possible, consists, in the last analysis, of agreement with other beliefs no less instinctive. Reason is a harmonising, controlling force rather than a creative one. Even in the most purely logical realms, it is insight that first arrives at what is new.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

Source: 1910s, Our Knowledge of the External World (1914), p. 21

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan photo

“Intuition is a positive feeling of calm and confidence, joy and strength. Intuition is profoundly satisfying . It is peace, power and joy.”

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President and the second President of India

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Context: Intuition is a distinct form of experience. Intuition is of a self-certifying character (svatassiddha). It is sufficient and complete. It is self-established (svatasiddha), self-evidencing (svāsaṃvedya), and self-luminous (svayam-prakāsa). Intuition entails pure comprehension, entire significance, complete validity. It is both truth-filled and truth-bearing Intuition is its own cause and its own explanation. It is sovereign. Intuition is a positive feeling of calm and confidence, joy and strength. Intuition is profoundly satisfying. It is peace, power and joy.

Feng Shih-kuan photo

“We should hide our strength rather than put it on display.”

Feng Shih-kuan (1945) Taiwanese politician

Feng Shih-kuan (2016) cited in " Taiwan deploys jet fighters to monitor China's aircraft carrier http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201612270011.aspx" on Focus Taiwan, 27 December 2016

Leonardo Da Vinci photo

“You will perhaps say that the sinews and muscles of a bird are incomparably more powerful than those of a man… But the reply to this is that such great strength gives it a reserve of power beyond what it ordinarily uses…”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1938), XVII Flight

Related topics