Vitaly
GINZBURG

Especially for me, a small child at the time, in the 1920s, they got some fresh meat and it turned out to be dog’s meat.

Ever since I was a child, people have described me as an idiot with incidental associations.

The main tool of any researcher is his thought. Everything behind the so-called scientist’s performance is defined by such fragile concepts as inspiration, unselfconsciousness, concentration, creative insight and the frame of mind to persevere.

I worked in top secrecy. There was a guard was posted outside my door. My work was confidential to the point that once I was not even allowed to see my own notes as they were classified, even from me. It was almost absurd.

There is creationism, a core belief of religion, according to which God created everything. And there is Darwinism, the theory of evolution. If somebody wants to believe that these are two different philosophies, they can do so. But it would be the same as saying that two by two equals whether four or five.

Fashion has great impact on science. It is difficult to achieve something by persuasion. Usually it is only obvious success (or a publication, sometimes not entirely accurate, about this success) that can turn tables fast and completely. As they sense blood, yesterday’s sceptics and even detractors suddenly become passionate supporters of a new trend.

Patriotism, as I see it, means the following: a patriot will educate the public to the maximum extent possible. He will do every good he can for the country. The state and the country must strive to educate people.

I envy believers. They are not so afraid of dying. And this is such a shame! Human life is so short. What’s a hundred years? Your head is still clear, your brain still active but your body is no good anymore and it’s time to die.

Only narrow-minded people think that physics will become obsolete one day. Don’t forget that it is an awfully young science. Unlike Christianity, which is 2,000 years old, science is only 400 years old. Only 400 years ago, the great Kepler thought that stars are frozen into a still block of ice. We have made so much progress in 400 years. Even during my lifetime so much has changed. I was 16 when the neutron and the positron were discovered. Modern physics would not be possible without this discovery. And that was only in 1932. Can you imagine how much more awaits us? An eternity!

* The information is based on the accounts of the personas featuring in this section as well as accounts of their family members, acquaintances and colleagues