---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A line comes back to Marie-Laure from…"
description: "\"“A line comes back to Marie-Laure from Jules Verne: Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png"
---

#  A line comes back to Marie-Laure from Jules Verne…

![“A line comes back to Marie-Laure from Jules Verne: Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.” quote by Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png)

> ““A line comes back to Marie-Laure from Jules Verne: Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.””

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

## About This Quote

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

Scientific progress emerges from trial and error; mistakes are essential steps toward deeper understanding.

**In simple terms:** Mistakes are essential for scientific truth.

Key Takeaway

Embrace and learn from errors.

Themes

science learning mistakes

Mood

inspirational educational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- research labs
- educational settings
- creative problem solving

Key Concepts

epistemology growth mindset

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we differentiate productive errors from harmful ones?
- What practices foster constructive experimentation?

A Different Perspective

Not all mistakes lead to useful outcomes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jules-verne/) [Lad Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lad-mistakes-1212142/) [Little by little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-by-little/) [Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes/) [Mistakes Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes-mistakes/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Verne Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verne-science-1212141/)

## Related quotes

> [Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/science-my-lad-is-made-up-of-mistakes-but-they-are-mistakes-which-it/)

[Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/)

> [“If only life were like a Jules Verne novel, thinks Marie-Laure, and you could page ahead when you most needed to, and learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/if-only-life-were-like-a-jules-verne-novel-thinks-marie-laure-and-you/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“At night she runs her fingertips over her father’s model: the bell tower, the display windows. She imagines Jules Verne’s characters walking along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/at-night-she-runs-her-fingertips-over-her-father-s-model-the-bell/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [It is not important NOT to make mistakes, but the mistakes to be small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-slim/it-is-not-important-not-to-make-mistakes-but-the-mistakes-to-be-small/)

[Carlos Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-slim/)

> [The key question companies need to address is not 'Should we make mistakes?' but rather 'Which mistakes should we make in order to test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-h-schoemaker/the-key-question-companies-need-to-address-is-not-should-we-make/)

[Paul J. H. Schoemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-h-schoemaker/)

> [To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-de-forest/to-place-a-man-in-a-multi-stage-rocket-and-project-him-into-the-2/)

[Lee De Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-de-forest/)

> [“Between the ages of ten and fifteen in St. Petersburg, I must have read more fiction and poetry—English, Russian and French—than in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/between-the-ages-of-ten-and-fifteen-in-st-petersburg-i-must-have-read/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“The professor pointed out how he could drop a keel and a propeller into the water, in case he came down at sea, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-r-brinley/the-professor-pointed-out-how-he-could-drop-a-keel-and-a-propeller/)

[Bertrand R. Brinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-r-brinley/)

> [As a kid I read Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and a few others. As an adult have admired Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/as-a-kid-i-read-jules-verne-h-g-wells-and-a-few-others-as-an-adult/)

[Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/)

> [To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-de-forest/to-place-a-man-in-a-multi-stage-rocket-and-project-him-into-the/)

[Lee De Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-de-forest/)

> [“Listen, we’ll come visit you. Okay? I’ll dress up as William Shakespeare, Lucent as Emily Dickinson, and beautiful ‘Ray’ as someone dashing and manly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cummings/listen-we-ll-come-visit-you-okay-i-ll-dress-up-as-william-shakespeare/)

[Tim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cummings/)

> [In 1916, Universal Studios released the first filmed adaptation of Jules Verne's novel '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.' Georges Melies made a film by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-baker/in-1916-universal-studios-released-the-first-filmed-adaptation-of/)

[Kage Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kage-baker/)

> [I remember being captivated by Jules Verne's 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' when I read it as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-hope/i-remember-being-captivated-by-jules-verne-s-twenty-thousand-leagues/)

[J-Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-hope/)

> [Sometimes I feel that a more rational explanation for all that has happened during my lifetime is that I am still only thirteen years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-ulam/sometimes-i-feel-that-a-more-rational-explanation-for-all-that-has/)

[Stanislaw Ulam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-ulam/)

> [I'm the most translated writer in the world, behind Lenin, Tolstoy, Gorki and Jules Verne. And they're all dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-spillane/i-m-the-most-translated-writer-in-the-world-behind-lenin-tolstoy/)

[Mickey Spillane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-spillane/)

## More by Anthony Doerr

> [I was a nerdy kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-was-a-nerdy-kid/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“he moved neither forward nor backward in time, but merely endured variations of the same day over and over. Maybe he was the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/he-moved-neither-forward-nor-backward-in-time-but-merely-endured/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“Open your eyes, the Frenchman on the radio used to say, and see what you can with them before they close forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/open-your-eyes-the-frenchman-on-the-radio-used-to-say-and-see-what/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“Just when we think we have a system, ...the system collapses. Just when we know our way around, we get lost. Just when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/just-when-we-think-we-have-a-system-the-system-collapses-just-when-we/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“An hour passed and another and then, like a glass of water overfilled - the meniscus inverting, going convex, gravity pulling at the edges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/an-hour-passed-and-another-and-then-like-a-glass-of-water-overfilled/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“For dinner, he orders wild boar cooked with fresh mushrooms. And a full bottle of Bordeaux. Especially during wartime, such things remain important. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/for-dinner-he-orders-wild-boar-cooked-with-fresh-mushrooms-and-a-full/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“Do you know what happens, Etienne,” says Madame Manec from the other side of the kitchen, “when you drop a frog in a pot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/do-you-know-what-happens-etienne-says-madame-manec-from-the-other/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“You ever hope for something so much? So much you can't sleep, so much your skull hurts? But the thing is, you don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/you-ever-hope-for-something-so-much-so-much-you-can-t-sleep-so-much/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“Hope was a sunrise, a friend in the alley, a whisper in an empty corridor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/hope-was-a-sunrise-a-friend-in-the-alley-a-whisper-in-an-empty/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [Time is a slippery thing: lose hold of it once, and its string might sail out of your hands forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/time-is-a-slippery-thing-lose-hold-of-it-once-and-its-string-might/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“...the air a library and the record of every life lived, every sentence spoken, every word transmitted still reverberating within it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/the-air-a-library-and-the-record-of-every-life-lived-every-sentence/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“silent desperation of everything they never said - gaps and absences in every conversation, the past circumscribing the present, the future hemming in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/silent-desperation-of-everything-they-never-said-gaps-and-absences-in/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [“She is in charge of everything, but no one knows. It is a tremendous burden, she says, to be responsible for every little thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/she-is-in-charge-of-everything-but-no-one-knows-it-is-a-tremendous/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [I guess you could say I've been writing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-guess-you-could-say-i-ve-been-writing-all-my-life/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [Only Numbers. Pure math. You have to accustom yourself to thinking that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/only-numbers-pure-math-you-have-to-accustom-yourself-to-thinking-that/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

[Explore all 336 Anthony Doerr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

## More Little by little quotes

> [When we first met, I didn't want to get involved with anyone. I didn't have the time or energy, and I wasn't sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/when-we-first-met-i-didn-t-want-to-get-involved-with-anyone-i-didn-t/)

[Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/)

> [Changes in human conditions are brought about by the pioneering of the cleverest and most energetic men. They take the lead and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/changes-in-human-conditions-are-brought-about-by-the-pioneering-of/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [“Hélène, her eyes once more raised and remote, was deep in a dream. She was Lady Rowena, she was in love, with the deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/h-l-ne-her-eyes-once-more-raised-and-remote-was-deep-in-a-dream-she/)

[Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/)

> [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/)

[Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [“If you want to lift a hundred pounds, you don't expect to succeed the first time. You start with a lighter weight and work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-doidge/if-you-want-to-lift-a-hundred-pounds-you-don-t-expect-to-succeed-the/)

[Norman Doidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-doidge/)

> [It helps to know that my mum believed I could make it. She taught me that if you want to make work of quality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/it-helps-to-know-that-my-mum-believed-i-could-make-it-she-taught-me/)

[Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/)

> [ Little by little, Leo \[Messi\] and I are understanding each other better. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/little-by-little-leo-messi-and-i-are-understanding-each-other-better/)

[Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/)

> [Little by little, through patience and repeated effort, the mind will become stilled in the Self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/little-by-little-through-patience-and-repeated-effort-the-mind-will/)

[Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/)

> [Little by little, writers develop their own styles, each as unique as a fingerprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/little-by-little-writers-develop-their-own-styles-each-as-unique-as-a/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Nothing can be done except little by little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-can-be-done-except-little-by-little/)

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

> [I just go little by little and try to help my team as much as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-soto/i-just-go-little-by-little-and-try-to-help-my-team-as-much-as-i-can/)

[Juan Soto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-soto/)

> [We can make ourselves say the kind things that rise in our hearts and tremble on our lips - do the gentle and helpful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/we-can-make-ourselves-say-the-kind-things-that-rise-in-our-hearts-and/)

[Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/)

> [Give Up To Be Happy From one of my mails I thought it was worth sharing 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-up-to-be-happy-from-one-of-my-mails-i-thought-it-was-worth/)

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

> [“Death had to take her little by little, bit by bit, dragging her along to the bitter end of the miserable existence she'd made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/death-had-to-take-her-little-by-little-bit-by-bit-dragging-her-along/)

[Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/)

[Browse all 529 Little by little quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-by-little/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A line comes back to Marie-Laure from Jules Verne: Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anthony Doerr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-jules-verne-science-my-lad-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Little by little"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-jules-verne-science-my-lad-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/anthony-doerr-886_little-by-little_a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-ju_897868.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A line comes back to Marie-Laure from Jules Verne: Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are…” — Anthony Doerr",
                "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": "Anthony Doerr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A line comes back to Marie-Laure...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-jules-verne-science-my-lad-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/a-line-comes-back-to-marie-laure-from-jules-verne-science-my-lad-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
