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by scotchmi_st 1067 days ago
Except he didn't say it[1], or at least no-one who was there remembers him saying it, and it seems like it's something he added in a later revision of his own memory.

As John von Neumann later said, 'sometimes someone confesses a sin in order to take credit for it'. It's clearly what Oppenheimer wanted.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheimer#Trinity

4 comments

He said in a later interview that he thought about the quote at the time (and, in so recalling, actually said the line in the interview). I don't think he ever claimed to have said it at the time. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the movie had him saying it for dramatic purposes.
Here’s a video of Oppenheimer saying the famous quote https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lb13ynu3Iac
The video is of Oppenheimer saying, "I _remembered_ the line ...".

So he said it later.

On the day, he only thought about it.

> Except he didn't say it[1], or at least no-one who was there remembers him saying it, and it seems like it's something he added in a later revision of his own memory.

Oppenheimer did not say he "said it". He said he "remembered" the verse.

But he does deserve credit for it. Not solely, but so what?