---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fertility is measured by offspring, not…"
description: "\"Fertility is measured by offspring, not by honours.\" — Alexander Grothendieck"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png"
---

#  Fertility is measured by offspring, not by honours.

![“Fertility is measured by offspring, not by honours.” quote by Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png)

> “Fertility is measured by offspring, not by honours.”

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

True productivity is measured by the tangible results you create, not by accolades or titles.

**In simple terms:** Productivity = offspring, not honors.

Key Takeaway

Focus on creating real outcomes.

Themes

achievement legacy creativity science

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

inspirational philosophical

When to use this quote

- research projects
- teaching
- patents
- artistic works

Key Concepts

mathematical productivity impact measurement

Questions to Reflect On

- What tangible results do you value most?
- How do you balance recognition with creation?

A Different Perspective

Recognition can still motivate.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fertility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fertility/) [Fertility Measured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fertility-measured-3569920/) [Honours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honours/) [Measured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measured/) [Measured Offspring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measured-offspring-3569921/) [Offspring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offspring/) [Offspring Honours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offspring-honours-3569922/)

## Related quotes

> [I was not proficient in Latin and so was not able to go to Oxford or Cambridge. However, I did enter the first-rate chemistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/i-was-not-proficient-in-latin-and-so-was-not-able-to-go-to-oxford-or/)

[Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/)

> [The Great Chief also honours modesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-daniels/the-great-chief-also-honours-modesy/)

[David Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-daniels/)

> [The Honours List is accused of being too top heavy, rewarding those born with a silver spoon in their mouth - as if hereditary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-colin-campbell/the-honours-list-is-accused-of-being-too-top-heavy-rewarding-those/)

[Lady Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-colin-campbell/)

> [“Titles does not make a man. But the grace of thanks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/titles-does-not-make-a-man-but-the-grace-of-thanks/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [It's the desire to keep winning. Each season the counters are reset to zero. You've either got a title to defend or one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-varane/it-s-the-desire-to-keep-winning-each-season-the-counters-are-reset-to/)

[Raphael Varane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-varane/)

> [“Honour, not honours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-burton/honour-not-honours/)

[Isabel Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-burton/)

> [Captaining Leicester is one of the greatest honours in my career so I feel very privileged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasper-schmeichel/captaining-leicester-is-one-of-the-greatest-honours-in-my-career-so-i/)

[Kasper Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasper-schmeichel/)

> [I was 16 when I got admission in Hans Raj College. I completed school when I was 16, so everyone in my class -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-kashyap/i-was-16-when-i-got-admission-in-hans-raj-college-i-completed-school/)

[Anurag Kashyap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-kashyap/)

> [The OBE, CBE and MBE are among the ways Britain honours its citizens for their contribution to national life. I wish we had agreed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/the-obe-cbe-and-mbe-are-among-the-ways-britain-honours-its-citizens/)

[David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/)

> [Honours can generate a lot of income for the nation because they are viewed as so prestigious internationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-colin-campbell/honours-can-generate-a-lot-of-income-for-the-nation-because-they-are/)

[Lady Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-colin-campbell/)

> [At last, after completing year 12, I failed the great final examination, repeated the following year and failed again even more dismally than before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/at-last-after-completing-year-12-i-failed-the-great-final-examination/)

[Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/)

> [To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/to-those-of-you-who-received-honours-awards-and-distinctions-i-say/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [The reality is, if a woman is married to man with a title, she gets a title. I think everybody should have the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-furnish/the-reality-is-if-a-woman-is-married-to-man-with-a-title-she-gets-a/)

[David Furnish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-furnish/)

> [As a singer, I have won the highest honours in China. Actually I am like the panda: we are both national treasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peng-liyuan/as-a-singer-i-have-won-the-highest-honours-in-china-actually-i-am/)

[Peng Liyuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peng-liyuan/)

> [I'm rather cynical about the way the honours system is used, frankly. A whole lot of the honours system is used for political purposes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-higgs/i-m-rather-cynical-about-the-way-the-honours-system-is-used-frankly-a/)

[Peter Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-higgs/)

## More by Alexander Grothendieck

> [The introduction of the cipher 0 or the group concept was general nonsense too, and mathematics was more or less stagnating for thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/the-introduction-of-the-cipher-0-or-the-group-concept-was-general/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [A different image came to me a few weeks ago.The unknown thing to be known appeared to me as some stretch of earth orhard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/a-different-image-came-to-me-a-few-weeks-ago-the-unknown-thing-to-be/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [“In fact, most of these comrades who I gauged to be more brilliant than I have gone on to become distinguished mathematicians. Still, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/in-fact-most-of-these-comrades-who-i-gauged-to-be-more-brilliant-than/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [If there is one thing in mathematics that fascinates me more than anything else (and doubtless always has), it is neither "number" nor "size",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/if-there-is-one-thing-in-mathematics-that-fascinates-me-more-than/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [Discovery is the privilege of the child: the child who has no fear of being once again wrong, of looking like an idiot, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/discovery-is-the-privilege-of-the-child-the-child-who-has-no-fear-of/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [“It is in this gesture of "going beyond," to be something in oneself rather than the pawn of a consensus, the refusal to stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/it-is-in-this-gesture-of-going-beyond-to-be-something-in-oneself/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [Among the thousand-and-one faces whereby form chooses to reveal itself to us, the one that fascinates me more than any other, and continues to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/among-the-thousand-and-one-faces-whereby-form-chooses-to-reveal/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [I am not really doing research, just trying to cultivate myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/i-am-not-really-doing-research-just-trying-to-cultivate-myself/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [A different image came to me a few weeks ago. The unknown thing to be known appeared to me as some stretch of earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/a-different-image-came-to-me-a-few-weeks-ago-the-unknown-thing-to-be-2/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

> [The question you raise, 'How can such a formulation lead to computations?' doesn't bother me in the least! Throughout my whole life as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/the-question-you-raise-how-can-such-a-formulation-lead-to/)

[Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

[Explore all 11 Alexander Grothendieck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/)

## More Fertility quotes

> [Men and women dream the same amount. The main difference in dream content relates to biology and life events. Women dream about their fertility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mcphee/men-and-women-dream-the-same-amount-the-main-difference-in-dream/)

[Charles McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mcphee/)

> [“KINGDOM OF THE WOMB From her thighs, she gives you life And how you treat she who gives you life Shows how much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/kingdom-of-the-womb-from-her-thighs-she-gives-you-life-and-how-you/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! I went in and found the table laden with books. I looked in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-went-in-and/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Perseverance gives power to weakness, and opens to poverty the world's wealth. It spreads fertility over the barren landscape, and buds the choicest flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-griswold-goodrich/perseverance-gives-power-to-weakness-and-opens-to-poverty-the-world-s/)

[Samuel Griswold Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-griswold-goodrich/)

> [Fertility of the soil is the future of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-howard/fertility-of-the-soil-is-the-future-of-civilization/)

[Albert Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-howard/)

> [The main characteristic of Nature's farming can therefore be summed up in a few words. Mother earth never attempts to farm without live stock;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-main-characteristic-of-nature-s-farming-can-therefore-be-summed/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Also known as May Eve, May Day, and Walpurgis Night, happens at the beginning of May. It celebrates the height of Spring and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-fox/also-known-as-may-eve-may-day-and-walpurgis-night-happens-at-the/)

[Selena Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-fox/)

> [Her mighty lakes, like oceans of liquid silver; her mountains with their right aerial tints; her valleys, teeming with wild fertility; her tremendous cataracts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/her-mighty-lakes-like-oceans-of-liquid-silver-her-mountains-with/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [Women are like that they don't acquire knowledge of people we are for that they are just born with a practical fertility of suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/women-are-like-that-they-don-t-acquire-knowledge-of-people-we-are-for/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [Everyone has read about or knows someone who has gone through fertility treatments. It is an emotional nightmare, fueled by false hope and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/everyone-has-read-about-or-knows-someone-who-has-gone-through/)

[Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/)

> [Social services, not wealth per se, seem to be the key to lower birth rates. The Chinese, although among the poorest peoples of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/social-services-not-wealth-per-se-seem-to-be-the-key-to-lower-birth/)

[Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/)

> [Problems associated with the menstrual cycle are now commonplace. The majority of teenagers whom I have seen suffer problems such as PMS, severe cramping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-starr/problems-associated-with-the-menstrual-cycle-are-now-commonplace-the/)

[Mark Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-starr/)

> [From what has been said, it would appear that the possibility of thyroid deficiency should be considered, and if found, should be treated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/broda-otto-barnes/from-what-has-been-said-it-would-appear-that-the-possibility-of/)

[Broda Otto Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/broda-otto-barnes/)

> [“You are not broken. You are not behind. You are simply walking the path that belongs to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-ford/you-are-not-broken-you-are-not-behind-you-are-simply-walking-the-path/)

[Emma Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-ford/)

> [ If you're dealing with grappling \[with\] problems of feeding people, the biggest impact in fertility reduction is girls' schools. Schooled girls make a bigger… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/if-you-re-dealing-with-grappling-with-problems-of-feeding-people-the/)

[Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/)

[Browse all 160 Fertility quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fertility/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Fertility is measured by offspring, not by honours.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alexander Grothendieck"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-by-honours/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fertility"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-by-honours/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/alexander-grothendieck-39335_fertility_fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-b_397194.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Fertility is measured by offspring, not by honours.” — Alexander Grothendieck",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alexander Grothendieck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Fertility is measured by offspring, not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-by-honours/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/fertility-is-measured-by-offspring-not-by-honours/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
