--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can be sure of tale; We can only pray…" description: "\"“We can be sure of tale; We can only pray for genius”\" — Arthur C. Clarke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/arthur-c-clarke-640_intelligence_we-can-be-sure-of-tale-we-can-only-pray_1839808.jpg" --- # We can be sure of tale; We can only pray for genius ![“We can be sure of tale; We can only pray for genius” quote by Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/arthur-c-clarke-640_intelligence_we-can-be-sure-of-tale-we-can-only-pray_1839808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/arthur-c-clarke-640_intelligence_we-can-be-sure-of-tale-we-can-only-pray_1839808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/arthur-c-clarke-640_intelligence_we-can-be-sure-of-tale-we-can-only-pray_1839808.jpg) > ““We can be sure of tale; We can only pray for genius”” [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We can predict outcomes, but true brilliance is a matter of luck and inspiration beyond calculation. **In simple terms:** Predictable, but genius is unpredictable. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty for innovation. Themes science creativity uncertainty Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - research labs - product design - artistic creation Key Concepts determinism inspiration Questions to Reflect On - What role does intuition play in your work? - How do you balance analysis with imagination? A Different Perspective Overreliance on data can stifle creative breakthroughs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [“We can be sure of talent; We can only pray for genius”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-can-be-sure-of-talent-we-can-only-pray-for-genius/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [If you stretch your imagination, I'll tell you all a tale, about a time when everything wasn't up for sale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-you-stretch-your-imagination-i-ll-tell-you-all-a-tale-about-a-time/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [All of mathematics is a tale about groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/all-of-mathematics-is-a-tale-about-groups/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“My fairy tale has ended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-warren/my-fairy-tale-has-ended/) [Frank Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-warren/) > [The song "No Fairy Tale" tells my story. Going through the hard things leads to a richer life than just trying to make everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-loeb/the-song-no-fairy-tale-tells-my-story-going-through-the-hard-things/) [Lisa Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-loeb/) > [“Les contes de fées c'est comme ça. Un matin on se réveille. On dit: "Ce n'était qu'un conte de fées..." On sourit de soi.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/les-contes-de-f-es-c-est-comme-a-un-matin-on-se-r-veille-on-dit-ce-n/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > ['To Kill a Mockingbird' is really two stories. One is a coming-of-age tale told from the point of view of Scout Finch, a girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-shields/to-kill-a-mockingbird-is-really-two-stories-one-is-a-coming-of-age/) [Charles J. Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-shields/) > [I'm not sure if it's fair to call it a 'fairy tale,' but I really loved 'Mulan,' the Disney film. It was my favorite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-cole/i-m-not-sure-if-it-s-fair-to-call-it-a-fairy-tale-but-i-really-loved/) [Lily Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-cole/) > [At every moment of our lives, we all have one foot in a fairy tale and the other in the abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/at-every-moment-of-our-lives-we-all-have-one-foot-in-a-fairy-tale-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/you-are-the-fairy-tale-told-by-your-ancestors/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Each of us has a creation tale - how we came into this world. And I'll add this: each of us has an uncreation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hainey/each-of-us-has-a-creation-tale-how-we-came-into-this-world-and-i-ll/) [Michael Hainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hainey/) > [...a tale of too many cooks in the defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-brown/a-tale-of-too-many-cooks-in-the-defence/) [Ian Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-brown/) > [“McIntyre’s tale may have predecessors, but it is unique. I strain for literary comparisons and think: Kipling, the classical Chinese poets, early Patrick O’Brian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-bodio/mcintyre-s-tale-may-have-predecessors-but-it-is-unique-i-strain-for/) Stephen J. Bodio > [Whether we think of Disney's blonde beauty and her pumpkin carriage or Marissa Meyer's recent recasting of 'Cinderella' as a cyborg in the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-rutkoski/whether-we-think-of-disney-s-blonde-beauty-and-her-pumpkin-carriage/) [Marie Rutkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-rutkoski/) > [A sad tale's best for winter. I have one of sprites and goblins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-sad-tale-s-best-for-winter-i-have-one-of-sprites-and-goblins/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Arthur C. Clarke > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-don-t-believe-in-astrology-i-m-a-sagittarius-and-we-re-skeptical/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/astronomy-as-nothing-else-can-do-teaches-men-humility/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/nowhere-in-space-will-we-rest-our-eyes-upon-the-familiar-shapes-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The universe is full of energy, but much of it is at equilibrium. At equilibrium no energy can flow, and therefore it cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-universe-is-full-of-energy-but-much-of-it-is-at-equilibrium-at/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Here the trees surrounded them with an invisible, anechoic blanket, so that every word seemed sucked into silence the moment it was uttered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/here-the-trees-surrounded-them-with-an-invisible-anechoic-blanket-so/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-a-scientific-expert-that-means-i-know-nothing-about-absolutely/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge no Gods imagined by our minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-will-have-time-enough-in-those-endless-aeons-to-attempt-all/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Now I understand,” said the last man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/now-i-understand-said-the-last-man/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) [Explore all 415 Arthur C. Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We can be sure of tale; We can only pray for genius”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur C. 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