Oct 8, 2026, 4:59 AM

Thinking of Oppenheimer, advising, and research problem selection lately: “Put that down; put it back where you found it […] That was not for you to find.”

(The excerpt is from pp. 170–71 of Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus, Vintage, 2005.)

The bottom of page 170 of Bird and Sherwin's American Prometheus. This is the beginning of an anecdote by Joseph Weinberg, describing how Oppenheimer meant for a problem to be discovered and worked on by a specific student who would benefit from it.

The top of page 171 of Bird and Sherwin's American Prometheus. This is the end of an anecdote by Joseph Weinberg, describing how Oppenheimer meant for a problem to be discovered and worked on by a specific student who would benefit from it.