--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Such instances of the almost infinite…" description: "\"Such instances of the almost infinite unpredictability of man are known to social scientists, but they are no more affected by them than the asylum inm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/anthony-standen-20041_affected_such-instances-of-the-almost-infinite-un_1201421.jpg" --- # Such instances of the almost infinite unpredictability of… ![“Such instances of the almost infinite unpredictability of man are known to social scientists, but they are no more affected by them than the asylum inmate is by being told that he is not Napoleon.” quote by Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/anthony-standen-20041_affected_such-instances-of-the-almost-infinite-un_1201421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/anthony-standen-20041_affected_such-instances-of-the-almost-infinite-un_1201421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/anthony-standen-20041_affected_such-instances-of-the-almost-infinite-un_1201421.jpg) > “Such instances of the almost infinite unpredictability of man are known to social scientists, but they are no more affected by them than the asylum inmate is by being told that he is not Napoleon.” [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human behavior is fundamentally unpredictable, yet we act as if we can control it. **In simple terms:** People are unpredictable. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty. Themes uncertainty human nature science Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - policy making - psychology research - everyday decision making Key Concepts probability free will Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle unpredictability in your work? - Can you improve predictions despite randomness? A Different Perspective Human unpredictability can limit planning accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Asylums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylums/) [Inmates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inmates/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Unpredictability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpredictability/) ## Related quotes > [It seems as though I were in a lunatic asylum, but I am never sure who is the attendant and who the inmate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bryant-conant/it-seems-as-though-i-were-in-a-lunatic-asylum-but-i-am-never-sure-who/) [James Bryant Conant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bryant-conant/) > [Hollywood-a place where the inmates are in charge of the asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-stallings/hollywood-a-place-where-the-inmates-are-in-charge-of-the-asylum/) [Laurence Stallings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-stallings/) > [Society is an insane asylum ran by the inmates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/society-is-an-insane-asylum-ran-by-the-inmates/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the insane. 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Among the inmates there were experts in all walks of life - the high and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/changi-became-my-university-instead-of-my-prison-among-the-inmates/) [James Clavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clavell/) > [So are you an inmate or a rubbernecker?" she asks. "Rubbernecker," I answer without hesitation. "You?" "I'm a screw. Or on staff, anyway. Used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-beukes/so-are-you-an-inmate-or-a-rubbernecker-she-asks-rubbernecker-i-answer/) [Lauren Beukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-beukes/) > [I had one warden tell me since I've been out, and I visited an inmate in prison right here in New York, Warden Fay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-had-one-warden-tell-me-since-i-ve-been-out-and-i-visited-an-inmate/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [People don't seem to be safe inside Pentonville, and now it transpires inmates can escape. That is the final straw. 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And half of all federal inmates are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/blunt-force-didn-t-knock-out-the-drug-epidemic-21-million-americans/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Anthony Standen > [The velocity of light occupies an extraordinary place in modern physics. It is lèse-majesté to make any criticism of the velocity of light. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/the-velocity-of-light-occupies-an-extraordinary-place-in-modern/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [The really important questions in human life are hardly touched upon by psychologists. Do liars come to believe their own lies? Is pleasure the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/the-really-important-questions-in-human-life-are-hardly-touched-upon/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [If you want to understand human beings, there are plenty of people to go to besides psychologists… Most of these people are incapable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/if-you-want-to-understand-human-beings-there-are-plenty-of-people-to/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [Survival of the fittest led to "nature red in tooth and claw" and this is not sufficiently wishy-washy for modern scientists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/survival-of-the-fittest-led-to-nature-red-in-tooth-and-claw-and-this/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [Scientists are convinced that they, as scientists, possess a number of very admirable human qualities, such as accuracy, observation, reasoning power, intellectual curiosity, tolerance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/scientists-are-convinced-that-they-as-scientists-possess-a-number-of/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [But regular biology, as an "ology," has to be "scientific," and this means in practice that it has to be made dull… Everything has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/but-regular-biology-as-an-ology-has-to-be-scientific-and-this-means/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [A biologist, if he wishes to know how many toes a cat has, does not "frame the hypothesis that the number of feline digital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/a-biologist-if-he-wishes-to-know-how-many-toes-a-cat-has-does-not/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [The dreadful cocksureness that is characteristic of scientists in bulk is not only quite foreign to the spirit of true science, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/the-dreadful-cocksureness-that-is-characteristic-of-scientists-in/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [There's many a true word spoken in jest; scientists are abominably solemn; therefore scientists miss many a true word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/there-s-many-a-true-word-spoken-in-jest-scientists-are-abominably/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [Chemists are, on the whole, like physicists, only 'less so'.They don't make quite the same wonderful mistakes, and much what they do is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/chemists-are-on-the-whole-like-physicists-only-less-so-they-don-t/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [The first thing to realize about physics ... is its extraordinary indirectness… For physics is not about the real world, it is about "abstractions"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/the-first-thing-to-realize-about-physics-is-its-extraordinary/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [If this "critical openminded attitude" ... is wanted, the question at once arises, Is it science that should be studied in order to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/if-this-critical-openminded-attitude-is-wanted-the-question-at-once/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [Education, like everything else, goes in fads, and has the normal human tendency to put up with something bad for just so long, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/education-like-everything-else-goes-in-fads-and-has-the-normal-human/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [Physical scientists probably deserve the reputation they enjoy for incorruptibility and unswerving devotion to pure truth. The reason for this is that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/physical-scientists-probably-deserve-the-reputation-they-enjoy-for/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [The theory that gravitational attraction is inversely proportional to the square of the distance leads by remorseless logic to the conclusion that the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/the-theory-that-gravitational-attraction-is-inversely-proportional-to/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) [Explore all 31 Anthony Standen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) ## More Affected quotes > [To tell you the truth I am hard put to think of anyone who's career was affected significantly by making all those phone calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabney-coleman/to-tell-you-the-truth-i-am-hard-put-to-think-of-anyone-who-s-career/) [Dabney Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabney-coleman/) > [First, climate change is the greatest long-term threat faced by humanity. 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Instead, show them that you are happy even without them.. To put a sad face on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene05/don-t-show-them-that-you-are-affected-instead-show-them-that-you-are/) Sharlene05 > [I wish we could go back to the time when the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they directly affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-wish-we-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-the-private-lives-of-our/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Don't be intimidated by people who seem to be experts. Hear their points of view and get their judgements. But at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/don-t-be-intimidated-by-people-who-seem-to-be-experts-hear-their/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I have wondered why is it that some people are less affected and torn by the verities of life and death that others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-wondered-why-is-it-that-some-people-are-less-affected-and-torn/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Then, the other thing that affected my interest in choices growing up was the fact that I was going blind and that meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/then-the-other-thing-that-affected-my-interest-in-choices-growing-up/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I don't think Wayne Rooney would be affected if you booed him, that's just how he is, but others go under. 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