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>GERLACH: If Germany had had a weapon which would have won the war, then Germany would have been in the right and the others in the wrong, and whether condition
by KON_Air 10y ago
>GERLACH: If Germany had had a weapon which would have won the war, then Germany would have been in the right and the others in the wrong, and whether conditions in Germany are better now than they would have been after a HITLER victory –
>HEISENBERG: I don't think so. On the other hand, the days of small countries are over. Suppose HITLER had succeeded in producing his EUROPE and there had been no uranium in EUROPE.
This is now my favourite political quote.
- Jugurtha 10y agoOr this one: >HARTECK: Who is to blame? >(?) VOICE: HAHN is to blame. >WEIZSÄCKER: I think it's dreadful of the Americans to have done it. I think it is madness on their part. >HEISENBERG: One can't say that. One could equally well say "That's the quickest way of ending the war.” >HAHN: That's what consoles me. Sharp.
- hga 10y agoHis "fault" a very direct way: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12568722 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12568722
- Jugurtha 10y agoI was talking about Heisenberg being sharp. You can see through his comments he can talk with detachment about issues and offer perspective as would a complete outsider. He talks casually, almost as a commentator in a documentary. >HEISENBERG: There is a great difference between discoveries and inventions. With discoveries one can always be skeptical and many surprises can take place. In the case of inventions, surprises can really only occur for people who have not had anything to do with it. It's a bit odd after we have been working on it for five years. It seems like they're talking about the issues at hand, and he's just sitting there thinking about all of this in an abstract way, like it doesn't matter.
- sesqu 10y agoHeisenberg is remembered for his theorem on quantum observation being necessarily incomplete. It's not terribly surprising to find he had a perspective-seeking approach in other matters.
- Jugurtha 10y agoPardon me but, can you elaborate? What do you mean by "Heisenberg is remembered for his theorem on quantum observation being necessarily incomplete"? And how does that make him a "perspective-seeker"?
- sesqu 10y agoI was referring to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which states that there is an upper limit to the combined precision of a particle's position and momentum. Bohr's take on this was that the limit is due to these concepts being a poor approximation of actual quantum mechanics, which would fit the scientific eminence co-existing with devout religious beliefs in Heisenberg. I am no physicist, nor am I well versed in Heisenberg's life, but the quotes in the link suggest to me that he has spent a large amount of time pondering ethics, unseen causality, and attributed intent. That is what I meant by seeking perspective.
- Jugurtha 10y ago>I was referring to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle Now I see.. I only took a few physics courses and mostly associate his name when using the inequality, i.e what I think of when I read "uncertainty principle" (also, doing time-frequency signal processing/analysis). I was thrown off by the expression "quantum observation" because I thought you were talking about the observer effect, something that didn't really make me think of him. Maybe we can chalk it up to cultural differences, but we've never called it like that here (it was always "Heisenberg's uncertainty principle"). >the quotes in the link suggest to me that he has spent a large amount of time pondering ethics, unseen causality, and attributed intent. That is what I meant by seeking perspective. Indeed. I also think this is the case for the others, too. What's impressive was his almost forensic approach. His remarks read more like an autopsy than someone being in the situation he was in.