Philip Morrison Quotations

My piece in One World or None was the description of the effect of a single atomic bomb on New York City.

We did not speak in terms of strategy, in terms of overall economies, in terms of production and territorial conquest. We spoke of the impact of the bomb on the homes and the hopes of men and women.

Neither our oceans nor our radar nor our fighters can keep us intact through another major war.

When we were shooting the movie, and of course in the editing room we had to make choices, but the shots fall almost exactly where we thought they would. They're not about content; they're never meant to be about what just happened. There's that weird phenomenon where the more you like a movie the more your mind wanders and goes all over the place.

I have this self-conscious inclination to just say "anyone who hates it, that's cool that's fine!"

One thing I definitely experienced up here (New York), that maybe I have to sort of cop to feeling defensive about, is since the election, people in my cohort, who are sensitive to portrayals of people in the movie as classist, have had no problem coming up with those sorts of [middle-American] stereotypes about a phantom real person they can blame for re-electing George Bush.

...genuine trust implies the opportunity, of checking wherever it may be wanted... That is why it is the evidence, the experience itself and the argument that gives it Order, that we need to share with one another, and not just the unsupported final Claim.

The probability of success is difficult to estimate; but if we never search the chance of success is zero.