--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you’re going to do something that…" description: "\"“If you’re going to do something that crazy, save it for when it’ll make a difference. But absent near-omniscience there’s no way to know when that is...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/ann-leckie-8760_omniscience_if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-cra_3216533.jpg" --- # If you’re going to do something that crazy, save it for… ![“If you’re going to do something that crazy, save it for when it’ll make a difference. But absent near-omniscience there’s no way to know when that is. You can only make your best approximate calculation. You can only make your throw and try to puzzle out the results afterward.” quote by Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/ann-leckie-8760_omniscience_if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-cra_3216533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/ann-leckie-8760_omniscience_if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-cra_3216533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/ann-leckie-8760_omniscience_if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-cra_3216533.jpg) > ““If you’re going to do something that crazy, save it for when it’ll make a difference. But absent near-omniscience there’s no way to know when that is. You can only make your best approximate calculation. You can only make your throw and try to puzzle out the results afterward.”” [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When acting on uncertain, high‑risk ideas, we must accept limited foresight and rely on best‑guess calculations, learning from outcomes afterward. **In simple terms:** Act on crazy ideas with caution, using best guesses. Key Takeaway Plan, act, then evaluate results. Themes risk uncertainty decisionmaking learning Mood analytical pragmatic inquisitive Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - startup ventures - scientific experiments - creative problem solving Key Concepts probabilistic reasoning adaptive strategy trial and error Questions to Reflect On - What risks are worth taking without full data? - How do you evaluate success after acting? A Different Perspective Overreliance on intuition can cause costly mistakes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Omniscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscience/) ## Related quotes > [An approximate answer to the right problem is worth a good deal more than an exact answer to an approximate problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/an-approximate-answer-to-the-right-problem-is-worth-a-good-deal-more/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [“It is better to have an approximate answer to the right question than an exact answer to the wrong question. —JOHN TUKEY,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-kaufman/it-is-better-to-have-an-approximate-answer-to-the-right-question-than/) [Josh Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-kaufman/) > [Pursuit of the approximate can conclude. Not so pursuit of the absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/pursuit-of-the-approximate-can-conclude-not-so-pursuit-of-the-absolute/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Translation can never do more than the approximate,so we shall, at least, be gloriously inaccurate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-healey/translation-can-never-do-more-than-the-approximate-so-we-shall-at/) [Karen Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-healey/) > [Simplicity and beauty are the signs not of truth but of a well-constructed approximate model of a limited domain of phenomena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/simplicity-and-beauty-are-the-signs-not-of-truth-but-of-a-well/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“he realized that he could get an approximate answer that was “good enough” in a short time,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/he-realized-that-he-could-get-an-approximate-answer-that-was-good/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“Given an approximate knowledge of a system’s initial conditions and an understanding of natural law, one can calculate the approximate behavior of the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/given-an-approximate-knowledge-of-a-system-s-initial-conditions-and/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [A lot of my lyrics are approximate meaning without me knowing why they sound right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berninger/a-lot-of-my-lyrics-are-approximate-meaning-without-me-knowing-why/) [Matt Berninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berninger/) > [An approximate answer to the right question is worth far more than a precise answer to the wrong one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tuley/an-approximate-answer-to-the-right-question-is-worth-far-more-than-a/) John Tuley > [“In order for a god to be all-knowing, he must know even the fact of his own omniscience. But can he do this? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-puccetti/in-order-for-a-god-to-be-all-knowing-he-must-know-even-the-fact-of/) Roland Puccetti > [Probably no one of us has the True Religion. But all of us together - if we are allowed to be free - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/probably-no-one-of-us-has-the-true-religion-but-all-of-us-together-if/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Reason should investigate its own parameters before declaring its omniscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/reason-should-investigate-its-own-parameters-before-declaring-its/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“What might our lives feel like if we didn’t march through them with a scorecard, keeping a tally of our failures and successes? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martin/what-might-our-lives-feel-like-if-we-didn-t-march-through-them-with-a/) [James Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martin/) > [Liberals compare Jerry Falwell to the Taliban, but then are furious with George Bush for not being Jesus Christ. Evidently, what a president is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-compare-jerry-falwell-to-the-taliban-but-then-are-furious/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [“There is no such thing as a secret mind or secret me apart from the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-thoman/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-secret-mind-or-secret-me-apart-from-the/) [Kevin Thoman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-thoman/) ## More by Ann Leckie > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“The gender thing is a giveaway, though. Only a Radchaai would misgender people the way you do." I'd guessed wrong. "I can't see under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-gender-thing-is-a-giveaway-though-only-a-radchaai-would-misgender/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“If you’d refused, nothing would have changed, except you’d be dead too. You did what you had to do,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/if-you-d-refused-nothing-would-have-changed-except-you-d-be-dead-too/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Unity, I thought, implies the possibility of disunity. Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“Good necessitates evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/good-necessitates-evil/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“The single word that directs a person’s fate and ultimately the fates of those she comes in contact with is of course a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-single-word-that-directs-a-person-s-fate-and-ultimately-the-fates/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“I find forgiveness overrated. There are times and places when it’s appropriate. But not when the demand that you forgive is used to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/i-find-forgiveness-overrated-there-are-times-and-places-when-it-s/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“Ridiculous!" scoffed Anaander. "Translator, ships and stations are not Significant beings, they are my property. I caused them to be built." "I'm given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/ridiculous-scoffed-anaander-translator-ships-and-stations-are-not/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Good necessitates evil and the two sides of that disk are not always clearly marked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/good-necessitates-evil-and-the-two-sides-of-that-disk-are-not-always/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“I saw them all, suddenly, for just a moment, through non-Radchaai eyes, an eddying crowd of unnervingly ambiguously gendered people. I saw all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/i-saw-them-all-suddenly-for-just-a-moment-through-non-radchaai-eyes/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Without feelings insignificant decisions become excruciating attempts to compare endless arrays of inconsequential things. It's just easier to handle those with emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/without-feelings-insignificant-decisions-become-excruciating-attempts/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“The smallest, most seemingly insignificant event is part of an intricate whole and to understand why one particular mote of dust falls in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-smallest-most-seemingly-insignificant-event-is-part-of-an/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“When you’re doing something like this,” I said, “the odds are irrelevant. You don’t need to know the odds. You need to know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/when-you-re-doing-something-like-this-i-said-the-odds-are-irrelevant/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Surely it isn't illegal here to complain about young people these days? How cruel. I had thought it a basic part of human nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/surely-it-isn-t-illegal-here-to-complain-about-young-people-these/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“My life always seems hopeless when it’s been too long since I’ve eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/my-life-always-seems-hopeless-when-it-s-been-too-long-since-i-ve-eaten/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) [Explore all 78 Ann Leckie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) ## More Omniscience quotes > [“There is no such thing as a secret mind or secret me apart from the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-thoman/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-secret-mind-or-secret-me-apart-from-the/) [Kevin Thoman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-thoman/) > [Liberals compare Jerry Falwell to the Taliban, but then are furious with George Bush for not being Jesus Christ. Evidently, what a president is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-compare-jerry-falwell-to-the-taliban-but-then-are-furious/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [“What might our lives feel like if we didn’t march through them with a scorecard, keeping a tally of our failures and successes? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martin/what-might-our-lives-feel-like-if-we-didn-t-march-through-them-with-a/) [James Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martin/) > [Reason should investigate its own parameters before declaring its omniscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/reason-should-investigate-its-own-parameters-before-declaring-its/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Probably no one of us has the True Religion. But all of us together - if we are allowed to be free - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/probably-no-one-of-us-has-the-true-religion-but-all-of-us-together-if/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [“In order for a god to be all-knowing, he must know even the fact of his own omniscience. But can he do this? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-puccetti/in-order-for-a-god-to-be-all-knowing-he-must-know-even-the-fact-of/) Roland Puccetti > [Errors of knowledge are not breaches of morality; no proper moral code can demand infallibility or omniscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/errors-of-knowledge-are-not-breaches-of-morality-no-proper-moral-code/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Justice is that which is practiced by God himself, and to be practiced in its perfection by none but him. Omniscience and omnipotence are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/justice-is-that-which-is-practiced-by-god-himself-and-to-be-practiced/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Omniscience is fiction, But you need not know all. Know the truth of love, All that matters will be well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/omniscience-is-fiction-but-you-need-not-know-all-know-the-truth-of/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [ “...\[A\]ll the elements which belong to the notion of happiness are altogether empirical, that is, they must be borrowed from experience, and nevertheless the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-ll-the-elements-which-belong-to-the-notion-of-happiness-are/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Omniscience ... is an excellent quality in God, but suspect in everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lee-carrell/omniscience-is-an-excellent-quality-in-god-but-suspect-in-everyone/) [Jennifer Lee Carrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lee-carrell/) > [“We ought to regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its antecedent state and as the cause of the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-simon-de-laplace/we-ought-to-regard-the-present-state-of-the-universe-as-the-effect-of/) Pierre Simon de Laplace > [“An omnipotent god can create a being whose acts are known only to itself. An omniscient god cannot do this. It would appear, then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-r-la-croix/an-omnipotent-god-can-create-a-being-whose-acts-are-known-only-to/) Richard R. LA Croix > [“Conscious minds can, at the most, comprehend that the whole idea of a 'God' is his superiority, his omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience; and therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/conscious-minds-can-at-the-most-comprehend-that-the-whole-idea-of-a/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Our understanding, great as it sometimes seems, can be nothing but the wide-eyed wonder of the child when measured against omniscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/our-understanding-great-as-it-sometimes-seems-can-be-nothing-but-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) [Browse all 83 Omniscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you’re going to do something that crazy, save it for when it’ll make a difference. But absent near-omniscience there’s no way to know when that is. You can only make your best approximate calculation. 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