--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we encounter unexpected obstacles in…" description: "\"“When we encounter unexpected obstacles in finding out something which we wish to know, there are two possible courses to take. It may be that the righ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/arthur-stanley-eddington-20703_obstacle_when-we-encounter-unexpected-obstacles-i_2462506.jpg" --- # When we encounter unexpected obstacles in finding out… ![“When we encounter unexpected obstacles in finding out something which we wish to know, there are two possible courses to take. It may be that the right course is to treat the obstacle as a spur to further efforts; but there is a second possibility - that we have been trying to find something which…” quote by Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/arthur-stanley-eddington-20703_obstacle_when-we-encounter-unexpected-obstacles-i_2462506.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/arthur-stanley-eddington-20703_obstacle_when-we-encounter-unexpected-obstacles-i_2462506.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b8/arthur-stanley-eddington-20703_obstacle_when-we-encounter-unexpected-obstacles-i_2462506.jpg) > ““When we encounter unexpected obstacles in finding out something which we wish to know, there are two possible courses to take. It may be that the right course is to treat the obstacle as a spur to further efforts; but there is a second possibility - that we have been trying to find something which does not exist. You will remember that that was how the relativity theory accounted for the apparent concealment of our velocity through the aether.”” [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When obstacles arise, they may either spur deeper effort or reveal that the sought goal is unattainable, as seen in scientific theory revisions. **In simple terms:** Obstacles can push you or show a goal is impossible. Key Takeaway Assess whether to persist or pivot. Themes obstacle effort discovery science Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - research projects - personal challenges - creative endeavors - innovation Key Concepts problem solving philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - When should you stop pursuing a goal? - How do you differentiate a challenge from a dead end? A Different Perspective Not all obstacles merit perseverance; some indicate false premises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Obstacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacle/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Obstacles Finding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles-finding-672592/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Relativity Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relativity-theory-672593/) [Unexpected Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexpected-obstacles-672591/) ## Related quotes > [“Indoctrination,” Michael Simpson replied. “We still base our science on the Theory of Relativity. Not because it is one hundred percent correct, but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-hamre/indoctrination-michael-simpson-replied-we-still-base-our-science-on/) [Erik Hamre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-hamre/) > [At present every coachman and every waiter argues about whether or not the relativity theory is correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/at-present-every-coachman-and-every-waiter-argues-about-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The Relativity theory, the copernican upheaval, or any great scientific convulsion, leaves a new landscape. There is a period of stunned dreariness; then people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/the-relativity-theory-the-copernican-upheaval-or-any-great-scientific/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [It is probably safe to say that all the changes of factual knowledge which have led to the relativity theory, resulting in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talcott-parsons/it-is-probably-safe-to-say-that-all-the-changes-of-factual-knowledge/) [Talcott Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talcott-parsons/) > [I believe that I have really found the relationship between gravitation and electricity, assuming that the Miller experiments are based on a fundamental error.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-believe-that-i-have-really-found-the-relationship-between/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“If Relativity Theory kills our deepest convictions, why not start by finding out why we believed in them for millennia?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/if-relativity-theory-kills-our-deepest-convictions-why-not-start-by/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [“As we already pointed out, 'special' means 'restricted to Inertial Frames of Reference', i.e. this theory cannot describe the Universe from an arbitrary reference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/as-we-already-pointed-out-special-means-restricted-to-inertial-frames/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [Now to the term 'relativity theory.' I admit that it is unfortunate, and has given occasion to philosophical misunderstandings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/now-to-the-term-relativity-theory-i-admit-that-it-is-unfortunate-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [In my relativity theory I set up a clock at every point in space, but in reality I find it difficult to provide even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-my-relativity-theory-i-set-up-a-clock-at-every-point-in-space-but/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Relatives come to your house and make fun of you. Then you go as a relative to their house and make fun of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nitya-prakash/relatives-come-to-your-house-and-make-fun-of-you-then-you-go-as-a/) [Nitya Prakash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nitya-prakash/) > [Even in relativity theory even though you can analyze space - time in terms of this four-dimensional geometrical structure one of the dimensions is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/even-in-relativity-theory-even-though-you-can-analyze-space-time-in/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“I believe that the Big-Bang Theory and the Evolution Theory, as well as Einstein’s Special Relativity Theory which does not allow for the existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-takaaki-musha/i-believe-that-the-big-bang-theory-and-the-evolution-theory-as-well/) [Dr. Takaaki Musha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-takaaki-musha/) > [ No one must think that Newton’s great creation can be overthrown in any real sense by this \[Theory of Relativity\] or by any other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/no-one-must-think-that-newton-s-great-creation-can-be-overthrown-in/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I heard that in relativity theory, space and time are the same thing. Einstein discovered this when he kept showing up three miles late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-heard-that-in-relativity-theory-space-and-time-are-the-same-thing/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Relativity theory forced the abandonment, in principle, of absolute space and absolute time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/relativity-theory-forced-the-abandonment-in-principle-of-absolute/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More by Arthur Stanley Eddington > [“The simpler elements of the scientific world have no immediate counterparts in everyday experience; we use them to build things which have counterparts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/the-simpler-elements-of-the-scientific-world-have-no-immediate/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“We take as building material relations and relata. The relations unite the relata; the relata are the meeting-points of the relations. The one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/we-take-as-building-material-relations-and-relata-the-relations-unite/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“It would probably be wiser to nail up over the door of the new quantum theory a notice, 'Structural alterations in progress - No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/it-would-probably-be-wiser-to-nail-up-over-the-door-of-the-new/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“The suggestion that the body really wanted to go straight but some mysterious agent made it go crooked is picturesque but unscientific. It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/the-suggestion-that-the-body-really-wanted-to-go-straight-but-some/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“The cleavage between the scientific and the extra-scientific domain of experience is, I believe, not a cleavage between the concrete and the transcendental but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/the-cleavage-between-the-scientific-and-the-extra-scientific-domain/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“In the world of physics we watch a shadowgraph performance of the drama of familiar life. The shadow of my elbow rests on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/in-the-world-of-physics-we-watch-a-shadowgraph-performance-of-the/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“When we analyse the picture into a large number of particles of paint, we lose the aesthetic significance of the picture. The particles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/when-we-analyse-the-picture-into-a-large-number-of-particles-of-paint/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“The law that entropy always increases, holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. … if your theory is found to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/the-law-that-entropy-always-increases-holds-i-think-the-supreme/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“Of the two alternatives - a curved manifold in a Euclidean space of ten dimensions or a manifold with non-Euclidean geometry and no extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/of-the-two-alternatives-a-curved-manifold-in-a-euclidean-space-of-ten/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“Out of the numbers proceeds that harmony of natural law which it is the aim of science to disclose. We can grasp the tune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/out-of-the-numbers-proceeds-that-harmony-of-natural-law-which-it-is/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“Let us begin with the fine-structure constant. ... The fine-structure constant is really the ratio of two natural units or atoms of action. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/let-us-begin-with-the-fine-structure-constant-the-fine-structure/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“The mind-stuff of the world is, of course, something more general than our individual conscious minds… It is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/the-mind-stuff-of-the-world-is-of-course-something-more-general-than/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“You will understand the true spirit neither of science nor of religion unless seeking is placed in the forefront.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/you-will-understand-the-true-spirit-neither-of-science-nor-of/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“Just as we were misled into untenable ideas of the aether through trusting to an analogy with the material ocean, so we have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/just-as-we-were-misled-into-untenable-ideas-of-the-aether-through/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) > [“We know the prodigality of Nature. How many acorns are scattered for one that grows to an oak? And need she be more careful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-stanley-eddington/we-know-the-prodigality-of-nature-how-many-acorns-are-scattered-for/) [Arthur Stanley Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) [Explore all 30 Arthur Stanley Eddington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-stanley-eddington/) ## More Obstacle quotes > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [It was the roughest time in my life. Connie helped me through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maury-povich/it-was-the-roughest-time-in-my-life-connie-helped-me-through-it/) [Maury Povich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maury-povich/) > [An obstacle is often a stepping stone... Things that appear to be obstacles are often helpful in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/an-obstacle-is-often-a-stepping-stone-things-that-appear-to-be/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-de-fontanelle/a-great-obstacle-to-happiness-is-to-expect-too-much-happiness/) [Bernard de Fontanelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-de-fontanelle/) > [Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-because-in-selling-as-in-all/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [So I think we need to set up an 'American Ninja Warrior' obstacle course at the border and whoever can make it - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/so-i-think-we-need-to-set-up-an-american-ninja-warrior-obstacle/) [Lisa Kennedy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/) > [I've been able to overcome obstacles that would fold most people over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mir/i-ve-been-able-to-overcome-obstacles-that-would-fold-most-people-over/) [Frank Mir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mir/) > [It was definitely some tough moments throughout my life, but I kind of stayed focused and came through the other end of the tunnel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cruz/it-was-definitely-some-tough-moments-throughout-my-life-but-i-kind-of/) [Victor Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cruz/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Our Cuba policy was a major obstacle to getting things done in the hemisphere and a source of tension around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-rhodes/our-cuba-policy-was-a-major-obstacle-to-getting-things-done-in-the/) [Ben Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-rhodes/) > [The drink? Yes, I've had tough times in my life, especially the last year, regarding my ex-wife, my kids, I nearly broke my neck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gascoigne/the-drink-yes-i-ve-had-tough-times-in-my-life-especially-the-last/) [Paul Gascoigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gascoigne/) > [I've been through so much in my life. I've seen so much. I know how fast things can change. I know someone can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-marie-presley/i-ve-been-through-so-much-in-my-life-i-ve-seen-so-much-i-know-how/) [Lisa Marie Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-marie-presley/) > [Every step of the way, life was hard. I was supposed to be a statistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-turner/every-step-of-the-way-life-was-hard-i-was-supposed-to-be-a-statistic/) [Nina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-turner/) > [Art thrives on obstacles. The bigger the obstacle, the better the drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/art-thrives-on-obstacles-the-bigger-the-obstacle-the-better-the-drama/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [Stand up to an obstacle. Just stand up to it, that's all, and don't give way under it, and it will finally break. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/stand-up-to-an-obstacle-just-stand-up-to-it-that-s-all-and-don-t-give/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 539 Obstacle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When we encounter unexpected obstacles in finding out something which we wish to know, there are two possible courses to take. It may be that the right course is to treat the obstacle as a spur to further efforts; but there is a second possibility - that we have been trying to find something which does not exist. 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