--- title: "1 Approximately Quotes By John Tukey" description: "1 Approximately quotes by John Tukey. Plus more from John Tukey and more Approximately sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/john-tukey-29915_approximately_be-approximately-right-rather-than-exact_171146.png" --- > [Be approximately right rather than exactly wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/be-approximately-right-rather-than-exactly-wrong/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/john-tukey-29915_approximately_be-approximately-right-rather-than-exact_171146.png) ## More by John Tukey > [When communicating results to non-technical types there is nothing better than a clear visualization to make your point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/when-communicating-results-to-non-technical-types-there-is-nothing/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [Be approximately right rather than exactly wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/be-approximately-right-rather-than-exactly-wrong/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [In a single sentence the moral is: admit that complexity always increases, first from the model you fit to the data, thence to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/in-a-single-sentence-the-moral-is-admit-that-complexity-always/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [The combination of some data and an aching desire for an answer does not ensure that a reasonable answer can be extracted from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/the-combination-of-some-data-and-an-aching-desire-for-an-answer-does/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [I know of no person or group that is taking nearly adequate advantage of the graphical potentialities of the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/i-know-of-no-person-or-group-that-is-taking-nearly-adequate-advantage/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [All we know about the world teaches us that the effects of A and B are always different-in some decimal place-for any A and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/all-we-know-about-the-world-teaches-us-that-the-effects-of-a-and-b/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone's backyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/the-best-thing-about-being-a-statistician-is-that-you-get-to-play-in/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [Visualization is often used for evil - twisting insignificant data changes and making them look meaningful. Don't do that crap if you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/visualization-is-often-used-for-evil-twisting-insignificant-data/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [It's better to solve the right problem approximately than to solve the wrong problem exactly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/it-s-better-to-solve-the-right-problem-approximately-than-to-solve/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [One of my favorite ways to easily review results is Google Analytics Dashboards. Don't have dashboards set up? I can help you set one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/one-of-my-favorite-ways-to-easily-review-results-is-google-analytics/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [There is no data that can be displayed in a pie chart, that cannot be displayed BETTER in some other type of chart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/there-is-no-data-that-can-be-displayed-in-a-pie-chart-that-cannot-be/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than the exact answer to the wrong question, which can always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/far-better-an-approximate-answer-to-the-right-question-which-is-often/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [If we are going to make a mark (key 21), it might as well be a meaningful one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/if-we-are-going-to-make-a-mark-key-21-it-might-as-well-be-a/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [To be able to say that "if we change our point of view in the following way ... things are simpler" is always a gain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/to-be-able-to-say-that-if-we-change-our-point-of-view-in-the/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [Numerical quantities focus on expected values, graphical summaries on unexpected values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/numerical-quantities-focus-on-expected-values-graphical-summaries-on/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximately/john-tukey/#itemlist", "name": "1 Approximately Quotes By John Tukey", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be approximately right rather than exactly wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Tukey" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/be-approximately-right-rather-than-exactly-wrong/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/john-tukey-29915_approximately_be-approximately-right-rather-than-exact_171146.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/john-tukey-29915_approximately_be-approximately-right-rather-than-exact_171146.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/john-tukey-29915_approximately_be-approximately-right-rather-than-exact_171146.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be approximately right rather than exactly wrong.” — John Tukey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximately/john-tukey/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximately/john-tukey/", "name": "Approximately Quotes by John Tukey", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximately/john-tukey/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/john-tukey-29915_approximately_be-approximately-right-rather-than-exact_171146.png" }, "description": "1 Approximately quotes by John Tukey. 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