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On a new derivation of Birkhoff's strong ergodic hypothesis he once remarked in exasperation: "To be any more immaculate they will have to begin sterilizing the paper as well as the theorem !"

— Lars Onsager

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More quotes by Lars Onsager

Of the electroencephalogram he once remarked: "It is like trying to discover how the telephone system works by measuring the fluctuations in the electric power used by the telephone company."

There's a time to soar like an eagle and a time to burrow like a worm. It takes a pretty sharp cookie to know when to shed the feathers and (long pause) to begin munching the humus! (characteristic Onsager giggle).

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Lars Onsager (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.