Per Bak > Quotes

“An unlikely event is likely to happen because there are so many unlikely events that could happen.”
― Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality

“Because of their composite nature, complex systems can exhibit catastrophic behavior.”
― Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality

“Why is it that you guys are so conservative in your views, in the face of the almost complete lack of understanding of what is going on in your field?” I asked. The answer was as simple as it was surprising. “If we [cosmologists] don’t accept some common picture of the universe, however unsupported by the facts, there would be nothing to bind us together as a scientific community. Since it is unlikely that any picture that we use will be falsified in our lifetime, one theory is as good as any other.” The explanation was social, not scientific.”
― Per Bak, How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality

“You don't get rich from doing physics, but you do get an opportunity to go to all the places the rich would go to if they had the time.”
― Per Bak