"The fundamental point in fabricating a chain reacting machine is of course to see to it that each fission produces a certain number of neutrons and some of these neutrons will again produce fission."

Freedom

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Freedom as articulated by Enrico Fermi. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Freedom provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi was an Italian and naturalized-American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project. He won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons". He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" and the "architect of the atomic bomb". He was one of very few physicists to excel in both theoretical and experimental physics. With his colleagues, Fermi filed several patents related to the use of nuclear power, all of which were taken over by the US government. He made significant contributions to the development of statistical mechanics, quantum theory, and nuclear and particle physics.

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More by Enrico Fermi

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery."

— Enrico Fermi
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"If I could remember the names of all these particles, I'd be a botanist."

— Enrico Fermi
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"It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge."

— Enrico Fermi
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"Before I came here I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture I am still confused. But on a higher level."

— Enrico Fermi
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More about Freedom

"I am just absolutely convinced that the best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government, and minding our own business overseas."

— Ron Paul
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"Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. Thy claim it as their own and none can keep it from them."

— Kwame Nkrumah
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"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

— Noam Chomsky
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"They have called Operation Iraqi Freedom a war of choice that isn't part of the real war on terror. Someone should tell that to al Qaeda."

— John Boehner
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