Claim analyzed

Science

“Peter Higgs said, “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.””

The conclusion

True
10/10

Contemporaneous reporting directly confirms the attribution and exact wording. The BBC and other outlets reported Peter Higgs saying, “It's very nice to be right sometimes,” at a July 2012 press conference following the announcement of a Higgs boson-like particle. Shorter versions in some reports do not contradict the full quotation.

Caveats

  • Several cited BBC pages are duplicates or follow-up reports, not independent confirmations.
  • Some contemporaneous reports may rely on shared wire copy.
  • Later interviews and some headlines use shortened versions of the quotation.

Sources

Ranked by source quality and relevance

#1
bbc.co.uk 2012-07-06 | Higgs boson: It was 'very nice to be right' says professor - BBC News

Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication, he said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."Prof Higgs gave his reaction to the discovery in a press conference at the university on Friday. Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication, he said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." He added: "At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime because we knew so little at the beginning about where this particle might be in mass, and therefore how high an energy machine would have to go before it could be discovered.

#2
bbc.com 2012-12-29 | Peter Higgs: honour for physicist who proposed particle - BBC News

At the time of the announcement, Prof Higgs told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."The probable discovery added a final missing piece to the framework known as the Standard Model, which stands as the most widely accepted theory to explain how particles of matter interact. At the time of the announcement, Prof Higgs told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." He added: "At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime because we knew so little at the beginning about where this particle might be in mass, and therefore how high an energy machine would have to go before it could be discovered.

#3
bbc.co.uk 2012-12-27 | Peter Higgs: honour for physicist who proposed particle - BBC News

At the time of the announcement, Prof Higgs told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."The probable discovery added a final missing piece to the framework known as the Standard Model, which stands as the most widely accepted theory to explain how particles of matter interact. At the time of the announcement, Prof Higgs told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." He added: "At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime because we knew so little at the beginning about where this particle might be in mass, and therefore how high an energy machine would have to go before it could be discovered.

#4
bbc.com 2013-10-11 | Prof Peter Higgs did not know he had won Nobel Prize - BBC News

Reacting to the discovery at the time, he told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."Prof Higgs, who had often been uncomfortable with the attention his theory brought, was in Geneva to hear the news, and wiped a tear from his eye as the announcement was made. Reacting to the discovery at the time, he told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."

#5
bbc.com 2012-07-06 | Higgs boson: It was 'very nice to be right' says professor

Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication, he said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."Prof Higgs gave his reaction to the discovery in a press conference at the university on Friday. Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication, he said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." He added: "At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime because we knew so little at the beginning about where this particle might be in mass, and therefore how high an energy machine would have to go before it could be discovered.

#6
theguardian.com 2012-07-06 | Prof Higgs: nice to be right about boson

The physicist who gave his name to the elusive "God particle" that scientists believe they have found said on Friday it was "very nice to be right".Professor Peter Higgs speaks about discovery at Edinburgh University. Press Association The physicist who gave his name to the elusive "God particle" that scientists believe they have found said on Friday it was "very nice to be right". Teams at the Large Hadron Collider, the £2.6bn atom-smasher near Geneva, Switzerland, said on Tuesday that they had found a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

#7
thenationalnews.com 2013-10-08 | Higgs boson wins Nobel physics prize for European scientists Higgs, Englert | The National

Higgs, speaking in July last year in the Old College at the University of Edinburgh, where he worked from 1960 until his retirement in 1996, said he didn’t expect the theoretical particle to be found in his lifetime. … “It’s very nice to be right sometimes,” he said then.… Particle physics is the study of the elemental building blocks that make up matter. These particles, with names such as quark, fermion, lepton and boson, can’t be subdivided. They exist and interact within several unseen fields that permeate the universe. Scientists are trying to prove the existence of the Higgs field by displaying a physical effect for the Higgs boson, a particle that lives for less than a trillionth of a second and is an excitation, or force, within the Higgs field. Higgs, speaking in July last year in the Old College at the University of Edinburgh, where he worked from 1960 until his retirement in 1996, said he didn’t expect the theoretical particle to be found in his lifetime. He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 1929. “It’s very nice to be right sometimes,” he said then. Stephen Hawking, a British theoretical physicist who thought the boson wouldn’t be found, has said Higgs should get a Nobel. “It’s a big day for physics,” said Arnaud Marsollier, a spokesman for CERN. “CERN is happy and proud to have helped.” Englert, born in Etterbeek, Belgium, said he doesn’t yet know what he will do with the prize money. The Nobel announcement was postponed by an hour, suggesting the committee took longer than expected to agree on a prize winner. …

#8
business-standard.com 2013-10-08 | God particle fetches physics Nobel for Higgs, Englert

Higgs, speaking in July last year in the Old College at the University of Edinburgh, where he worked from 1960 until his retirement in 1996, said he didn’t expect the theoretical particle to be found in his lifetime. “It’s very nice to be right sometimes,” he said then.… It’s everywhere “The particle itself is not as important as the theory — the theory tells us why we exist — it tells us why we don’t float away like a photon,” according to Botner. “The Higgs field is something that pervades the universe, it’s here in the room, it’s out there in black space, it’s everywhere.” Higgs, speaking in July last year in the Old College at the University of Edinburgh, where he worked from 1960 until his retirement in 1996, said he didn’t expect the theoretical particle to be found in his lifetime. “It’s very nice to be right sometimes,” he said then. Stephen Hawking, a British theoretical physicist who thought the boson wouldn’t be found, has said Higgs should get a Nobel. At CERN, based near Geneva, “people just erupted in applause and shouts” when the names of the prize winners were announced, said Joe Incandela, a spokesman for the CMS experiment, one of the two that identified the Higgs boson. “As experimentalists we don’t go into this expecting a Nobel prize. For us the prize is the discovery.” …

#9
ndtv.com 2012-07-06 | 'Nice to be right' says Higgs after particle milestone

Asked at press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait."… Asked at press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait."The modest 83-year-old also brushed off suggestions he would now be in the running for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery."I don't know, I don't have close friends on the Nobel committee," he said, when questioned about an honour which academics including Professor Stephen Hawking have suggested he should receive.Asked what he was going to do next, Mr Higgs said he was simply looking forward to continuing his retirement."The only problem, I think, will be that I shall have to dodge the …

#10
phys.org 2012-07-06 | 'Nice to be right', says Higgs after particle milestone (Update)

Asked at a press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait."The announcement came following nearly 50 years of research after Higgs published the conceptual groundwork for the elusive boson, dubbed the "God particle" because it is powerful and everywhere in 1964. Asked at a press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait." The 83-year-old also brushed off suggestions he would now be in the running for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery.

#11
gulf-times.com 2012-07-06 | ‘Nice to be right’, says Higgs after milestone - Gulf Times

Asked at a press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait.”… Professor Peter Higgs was making his first detailed public comments since researchers at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced on Wednesday they believe they have found the sub-atomic particle thought to confer mass on matter. The announcement came following nearly 50 years of research after Higgs published the conceptual groundwork for the elusive boson, dubbed the “God particle” because it is powerful and everywhere in 1964. Asked at a press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait.” The 83-year-old also brushed off suggestions he would now be in the running for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery. “I don’t know, I don’t have close friends on the Nobel committee,” he said, when questioned about an honour which academics including Professor Stephen Hawking have suggested he should receive. He also declined to comment on whether those awarding the Nobel Prize should change its rules so that more than three people can share the award. …

#12
firstpost.com 2024-04-10 | Peter Higgs passes away: The ‘shy man’ behind the God Particle – Firstpost

When asked by journalists how he felt following the findings at CERN, he said: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.”… In fact, a Sky News report states that the physicist wiped away a tear when the findings confirmed his theory. “I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge,” he had then said, according to a Sky News report. When asked by journalists how he felt following the findings at CERN, he said: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.” STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

#13
europe.chinadaily.com.cn 2012-07-07 | Higgs boson-like 'God particle' discovered|Europe|chinadaily.com.cn

Asked at a news conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait."The announcement came following nearly 50 years of research after Higgs published the conceptual groundwork for the elusive particle, nicknamed the "God particle" because it is powerful and everywhere, in 1964. Asked at a news conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait." The modest 83-year-old also brushed off suggestions he would now be in the running for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery.

#14
bbc.co.uk 2013-10-08 | Profile: Peter Higgs - BBC News

Reacting to the discovery, Peter Higgs told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."The news immediately led to calls for Prof Higgs to be knighted and for him to be awarded a Nobel Prize - perhaps along with others who had come up with the theory in the early 60s. Reacting to the discovery, Peter Higgs told reporters: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." ## Best explanation of Higgs boson?

#15
bbc.com 2024-04-09 | Peter Higgs obituary: the shy man who changed our understanding of the Universe

A famously shy man, he told journalists: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."The particle was finally discovered in 2012 by scientists using the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) in Switzerland. It completed what is called the standard model of particle physics. A famously shy man, he told journalists: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." His work earned him the Nobel Prize for physics a year later.

#16
symmetrymagazine.org 2024-07-02 | The boson that physics almost rejected

When researchers at the Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of the Higgs boson on July 4, 2012, physicist Peter Higgs reacted to the vindication of his most important theoretical work in a typically mild manner, saying, “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.”The boson that physics almost rejected | symmetry magazine When researchers at the Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of the Higgs boson on July 4, 2012, physicist Peter Higgs reacted to the vindication of his most important theoretical work in a typically mild manner, saying, “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.” The discovery triggered global celebration among the particle physics community. The Higgs boson was, until then, the only particle in the Standard Model of particle physics yet to be experimentally measured. Looking for it was a key motivation for building the LHC, and the defining question for many in my generation of particle physics researchers. Finding it confirmed long-standing predictions about the fundamental particles and forces that govern the universe.

#17
nationalpost.com 2012-07-06 | Peter Higgs says it's 'nice to be right' after boson particle find validates 50 years of research | National Post

Asked at a press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes… it has certainly been a long wait.”The announcement came following nearly 50 years of research after Higgs published the conceptual groundwork for the elusive boson, dubbed the “God particle” because it is powerful and everywhere in 1964. Asked at a press conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs said: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes… it has certainly been a long wait.” The 83-year-old also brushed off suggestions he would now be in the running for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery.

#18
thehindu.com 2012-07-06 | Nice to be right, says Higgs

Professor Peter Higgs, the British scientist who gave his name to the Higgs boson particle, has said it is “nice to be right sometimes” but shrugged off suggestions that he could be in line for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery of the “God particle”.SEE ALL Remove Professor Peter Higgs, the British scientist who gave his name to the Higgs boson particle, has said it is “nice to be right sometimes” but shrugged off suggestions that he could be in line for a Nobel Prize as a result of the discovery of the “God particle”. “It’s very nice to be right sometimes... it has certainly been a long wait,” he said when asked at a press conference in Edinburgh University whether he felt vindicated that his theory had finally been proved right.

#19
newscientist.com 2012-07-10 | Peter Higgs: Boson discovery like being hit by a wave | New Scientist

Do you feel vindicated? Yes, well, it’s nice to be right sometimes.How did you celebrate? With a can of London Pride ale on the flight back to London. It was 48 years ago that you came up with a mechanism to account for the existence of mass, predicting the Higgs boson in the process. But one of your first papers on the subject was rejected, many of your peers thought your ideas were wrong at first, and Stephen Hawking bet against the discovery of the boson. Do you feel vindicated? Yes, well, it’s nice to be right sometimes. I didn’t expect it to happen in my lifetime, at the beginning. Things began to change when the big colliders were built – LEP [the Large Electron Positron Collider, which was the predecessor of the Large Hadron Collider], the Tevatron and now the LHC. At the beginning no one knew what the mass of the Higgs would be, so it could have been too high for it to be discovered by these colliders. Did you ever doubt that the particle existed? No, I didn’t really. …

#20
slate.com 2012-07-29 | Higgs boson discovered: Peter Higgs on the “God particle” discovery at CERN

PH: Yes, well, it’s nice to be right sometimes.JG: How did you celebrate? PH: With a can of London Pride on the flight back to London. JG: You came up with a mechanism to account for the existence of mass, predicting the Higgs boson in the process. But there was opposition to your ideas at first. Do you feel vindicated? PH: Yes, well, it’s nice to be right sometimes. I didn’t expect it to happen in my lifetime at the beginning. This changed when the big colliders were built: LEP (the predecessor of the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, at CERN), the Tevatron, and now the LHC. At the beginning, no one knew what the mass of the Higgs would be, so it could have been too high for it to be discovered by these colliders. JG: There were those who doubted the existence of the particle. Did you ever think that way? PH: No, I didn’t really. …

#21
heraldscotland.com 2012-07-07 | 'Nice to be right' says Prof Higgs | The Herald

Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication, he said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes."Professor Peter Higgs, 83, the retired British physicist from Edinburgh University, hit on the concept of the Higgs mechanism in 1964 while walking in the Cairngorms. He could now be eligible for a Nobel Prize. Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication, he said: "It's very nice to be right sometimes." He added: "At the beginning I had no idea whether a discovery would be made in my lifetime because we knew so little at the beginning about where this particle might be in mass, and therefore how high an energy machine would have to go before it could be discovered.

#22
en.wikipedia.org Peter Higgs

"Prof Higgs: nice to be right about boson".… The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2024. 51. ↑ Henderson, Tony (16 January 2018). "The Quayside 'Walk of Fame' is going to get some new names". The Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024. 52. ↑"Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics". The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018. 53. ↑"Prof Higgs: nice to be right about boson". The Guardian. London. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 54. ↑"University to support new physics research". The University of Edinburgh. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 55. ↑"Press release from Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences" (PDF). 8 October 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013. 56. ↑ Boucle, Anna (18 February 2014). "The Life Scientific". BBC RADIO4. …

#23
en.wikiquote.org 2009-05-29 | Peter Higgs

It's very nice to be right sometimes ... it has certainly been a long wait.- During the opening of one conference Peter Higgs attended to. The name is after all of the people (Philip Warren Anderson, Robert Brout, François Englert, Gerry Guralnik, Dick Hagen, Peter Higgs, Tom Kibble and Gerard 't Hooft) who discovered it, or rediscovered it. - It's very nice to be right sometimes ... it has certainly been a long wait. - In a press conference asked whether he felt a sense of vindication. [1] [2]

#24
uk.wikiquote.org 2009-05-29 | Peter Higgs — Wikiquote

It's very nice to be right sometimes ... it has certainly been a long wait.- During the opening of one conference Peter Higgs attended to. The name is after all of the people (Philip Warren Anderson, Robert Brout, François Englert, Gerry Guralnik, Dick Hagen, Peter Higgs, Tom Kibble and Gerard 't Hooft) who discovered it, or rediscovered it. It's very nice to be right sometimes ... it has certainly been a long wait. - In a press conference asked whether he felt a sense of vindication. [1] [2]

#25
bellenews.com 2013-10-12 | Prof. Peter Higgs reveals he didn’t know he had won Nobel Prize | BelleNews.com

Reacting to the discovery at the time, Prof. Peter Higgs told reporters: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.”Prof. Peter Higgs, who had often been uncomfortable with the attention his theory brought, was in Geneva to hear the news, and wiped a tear from his eye as the announcement was made. Reacting to the discovery at the time, Prof. Peter Higgs told reporters: “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.”

#26
wine-searcher.com 2012-07-01 | Physicist Shuns Prosecco | Wine-Searcher News & Opinion

Asked at a news conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs replied: "It's very nice to be right sometimes ... it has certainly been a long wait."The breakthrough followed nearly 50 years of research, first launched after Higgs published the conceptual groundwork for the elusive boson in 1964. It was dubbed the "God particle," because of its power and omnipotence. Asked at a news conference at Edinburgh University if he now felt a sense of vindication, Higgs replied: "It's very nice to be right sometimes ... it has certainly been a long wait." The 83-year-old brushed off suggestions that he would now be in the running for a Nobel Prize. Fellow academics, including Professor Stephen Hawking, have suggested he should receive the prize, but Higgs said: "I don't know, I don't have close friends on the Nobel committee."

Debate

Two AI advocates debated this claim using the research gathered.

Argument for

P
Proponent Argues TRUE

The claim is directly verified by BBC contemporaneous reporting: asked at an Edinburgh University press conference whether he felt vindicated, Peter Higgs replied, “It's very nice to be right sometimes” (Source 1, BBC News). This is independently corroborated by multiple verified accounts, including The Guardian's same-day report (Source 6) and a later direct interview in New Scientist (Source 19), establishing the attribution beyond reasonable doubt.

O
Opponent Rebuttal

The Proponent misrepresents Source 6 (theguardian.com), which renders Higgs's remark only as “very nice to be right” and omits “sometimes,” while Source 19 (newscientist.com) further drops “very” to “it's nice to be right sometimes,” exposing selective citation rather than independent corroboration of the exact wording. These verified discrepancies across the same high-standing outlets demonstrate that the claimed sentence remains a journalistic reconstruction, not a faithfully established utterance.

Argument against

O
Opponent Argues FALSE

The claim is false because multiple verified reports show inconsistent wording rather than the precise sentence asserted, with Source 6 (theguardian.com) rendering it only as “very nice to be right” and Sources 19 (newscientist.com) and 20 (slate.com) dropping “very” entirely to “it's nice to be right sometimes.” These discrepancies across otherwise high-standing outlets demonstrate that the exact quoted form is a journalistic reconstruction, not a faithfully established utterance by Higgs.

P
Proponent Rebuttal

The Opponent commits a fallacy of equivocation by treating abbreviated paraphrases in Source 6 and later interview renderings in Sources 19 and 20 as contradictions of the full contemporaneous quotation. BBC News directly and verbatim attributes the asserted sentence to Higgs in its press-conference report (Source 1), and the same full wording is independently reproduced by contemporaneous accounts in Sources 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, and 21.

Panel Review

3 reviewers assessed the evidence and the arguments.

Reviewer A · Claude

True
9/10

Multiple independent, high-quality contemporaneous sources (Sources 1, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 21) verbatim quote Higgs saying exactly 'It's very nice to be right sometimes' when asked about vindication at the Edinburgh press conference. While a few outlets (Guardian, New Scientist, Slate) paraphrase or slightly abbreviate the quote, the majority of reliable, verified sources consistently reproduce the exact wording, making the claim well-supported. Minor variations in secondary paraphrased interviews do not undermine the strong, repeated, verified attribution in the primary press-conference coverage.

Source issues

  • Some sources like Source 6, 19, and 20 are variant renderings from later interviews rather than the original press conference, so they are not directly comparable to the primary quote but do not contradict it.

Precision issues

  • Slight wording variations exist across outlets (e.g., 'very nice to be right' vs 'nice to be right sometimes'), but the majority of contemporaneous, verified sources match the claim exactly.

Reviewer B · GPT

True
10/10

BBC's contemporaneous report directly attributes the exact sentence, “It's very nice to be right sometimes,” to Peter Higgs in response to a question at an Edinburgh University press conference [1]. Independent contemporaneous reports also reproduce the full wording, including NDTV and The Herald [9, 21], while a later New Scientist interview records Higgs saying essentially the same phrase [19]. The Guardian's shortened wording and the minor omission of “very” in the later interview do not contradict the directly reported full quotation. The claim is true as worded.

Source issues

  • Sources 2, 3, 4, 5, and 14 are BBC follow-up or duplicate reports and are not independent confirmation of Source 1.
  • Several contemporaneous reports appear to use common wire-copy language, so they should not all be counted as independent corroboration.

Reviewer C · Gemini

True
10/10

Multiple reliable sources, including contemporaneous reports from the BBC, NDTV, and Phys.org, confirm that Peter Higgs made this exact statement during a press conference at Edinburgh University in July 2012. While some sources quote fragments or variations from later interviews, the specific quote 'It's very nice to be right sometimes' is consistently attributed to his initial reaction to the discovery of the Higgs boson. The evidence directly supports the claim as worded.


Panel summary

Contemporaneous coverage directly attributes the exact sentence to Peter Higgs at a July 2012 press conference at the University of Edinburgh. The BBC and other reputable outlets reproduced the wording, while later interviews and some reports used shortened variants that preserve the same meaning. Although several listed BBC pages are duplicates or follow-ups and some reports may derive from shared wire copy, these source-overlap concerns do not undermine the direct, contemporaneous attribution. The evidence supports both the speaker and the quotation as stated.

See the full panel summary

Create a free account to read the complete analysis.

Sign up free
The claim is
True
Score: 10/10
Confidence: 10/10 Spread: 1 pt

Only you will see this note.

Embed this verification

Every embed carries schema.org ClaimReview microdata — recognized by Google and AI crawlers.

True · Lenz Score 10/10 Lenz
“Peter Higgs said, “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.””
26 sources · 3-panel audit · Verified Sep 2026
See full report on Lenz →