--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Father was bold, and Mother was cautious…" description: "\"Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never shouted at each other but argued constantly about strategy, and they taught me very early that bef..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg" --- # Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never… ![“Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never shouted at each other but argued constantly about strategy, and they taught me very early that before taking big risks, one must carefully figure the odds.” quote by Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg) > “Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never shouted at each other but argued constantly about strategy, and they taught me very early that before taking big risks, one must carefully figure the odds.” [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Boldness and caution are complementary; risk‑taking should be balanced with careful probability assessment. **In simple terms:** Combine daring with careful odds analysis. Key Takeaway Balance risk with analysis. Themes risk strategy analysis balance Mood thoughtful analytical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - business ventures - investment - personal goals - creative projects Key Concepts probability theory decision making Questions to Reflect On - When does caution become paralysis? - How much risk is acceptable? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can stifle initiative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) ## Related quotes > [And yet, anything real, anything strong, was never easy. She'd been taught from an early age that the things that mattered most were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/and-yet-anything-real-anything-strong-was-never-easy-she-d-been/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I wish the children could be taught early on that our thinking creates our experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wish-the-children-could-be-taught-early-on-that-our-thinking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most people are taught from an early age on, to conceive of themselves as losers. They are taught that there are a very special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/most-people-are-taught-from-an-early-age-on-to-conceive-of-themselves/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [My mother taught me early on not to be afraid to put myself out there - especially as a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/my-mother-taught-me-early-on-not-to-be-afraid-to-put-myself-out-there/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [I was taught from a very early age that it was probably the most American thing you can do is to question what's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/i-was-taught-from-a-very-early-age-that-it-was-probably-the-most/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [I was taught very early on how you treat people is actually what matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/i-was-taught-very-early-on-how-you-treat-people-is-actually-what/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [I was taught very early on that the state can be, and is, a liar and a murderer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-was-taught-very-early-on-that-the-state-can-be-and-is-a-liar-and-a/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilma-rudolph/my-mother-taught-me-very-early-to-believe-i-could-achieve-any/) [Wilma Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilma-rudolph/) > [Where crime is taught from early years, it becomes a part of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/where-crime-is-taught-from-early-years-it-becomes-a-part-of-nature/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I'd been taught from an early age that I was in the 'other' category on the standardized tests. You know, I had to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peele/i-d-been-taught-from-an-early-age-that-i-was-in-the-other-category-on/) [Jordan Peele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peele/) > [Unfortunately, in some parts of the country, some kids are taught at an early age that being different is somehow bad or wrong or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/unfortunately-in-some-parts-of-the-country-some-kids-are-taught-at-an/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [The Bible should be taught so early and so thoroughly that it sinks straight to the bottom of the mind where everything that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-bible-should-be-taught-so-early-and-so-thoroughly-that-it-sinks/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [I was taught from a very early age that I had to work twice as hard to get half as much. That was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilmore/i-was-taught-from-a-very-early-age-that-i-had-to-work-twice-as-hard/) [Larry Wilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilmore/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/be-bold-enough-to-find-the-one-thing-that-you-are-passionate-about-it/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) ## More by Benoit Mandelbrot > [Regular geometry, the geometry of Euclid, is concerned with shapes which are smooth, except perhaps for corners and lines, special lines which are singularities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/regular-geometry-the-geometry-of-euclid-is-concerned-with-shapes/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Pictures were completely eliminated from mathematics; in particular when I was young this happened in a very strong fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/pictures-were-completely-eliminated-from-mathematics-in-particular/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [In mathematics and science definition are simple, but bare-bones. Until you get to a problem which you understand it takes hundreds and hundreds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/in-mathematics-and-science-definition-are-simple-but-bare-bones-until/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [One of the high points of my life was when I suddenly realized that this dream I had in my late adolescence of combining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/one-of-the-high-points-of-my-life-was-when-i-suddenly-realized-that/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [My life has been extremely complicated. Not by choice at the beginning at all, but later on, I had become used to complication and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/my-life-has-been-extremely-complicated-not-by-choice-at-the-beginning/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [The extraordinary fact is that the first idea I had which motivated me, that worked, is conjecture, a mathematical idea which may or may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/the-extraordinary-fact-is-that-the-first-idea-i-had-which-motivated/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Most economists, when modeling market behavior, tend to sweep major fluctuations under the rug and assume they are anomalies. What I have found is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/most-economists-when-modeling-market-behavior-tend-to-sweep-major/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [I don't seek power and do not run around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-don-t-seek-power-and-do-not-run-around/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [I conceived and developed a new geometry of nature and implemented its use in a number of diverse fields. It describes many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-conceived-and-developed-a-new-geometry-of-nature-and-implemented/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [If you look at a shape like a straight line, what's remarkable is that if you look at a straight line from close by,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/if-you-look-at-a-shape-like-a-straight-line-what-s-remarkable-is-that/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [When I first began studying prices, it wasn't a topic that mathematicians were working on. Purely by accident, I saw a set of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/when-i-first-began-studying-prices-it-wasn-t-a-topic-that/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [The rare scholars who are nomads-by-choice are essential to the intellectual welfare of the settled disciplines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/the-rare-scholars-who-are-nomads-by-choice-are-essential-to-the/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to clarify the rules of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-it-were-to-put-competition/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Many painters had a clear idea of what fractals are. Take a French classic painter named Poussin. Now, he painted beautiful landscapes, completely artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/many-painters-had-a-clear-idea-of-what-fractals-are-take-a-french/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) [Explore all 88 Benoit Mandelbrot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) ## More Bold quotes > [Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/be-bold-enough-to-find-the-one-thing-that-you-are-passionate-about-it/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [True Religion has always been about being bold and staying real, and I felt dat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sexyy-red/true-religion-has-always-been-about-being-bold-and-staying-real-and-i/) [Sexyy Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sexyy-red/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [I don't know where this glamorous image and all came from. I don't find myself glamorous or bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riya-sen/i-don-t-know-where-this-glamorous-image-and-all-came-from-i-don-t/) [Riya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riya-sen/) > [House Republican women are trailblazers in their own right, and we are focused on a bold, forward-looking agenda to restore a confident America, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/house-republican-women-are-trailblazers-in-their-own-right-and-we-are/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [Be bold in your caring, and be bold in your dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/be-bold-in-your-caring-and-be-bold-in-your-dreaming/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [I was brought up in a Christian home in Australia with a father who was very bold about his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/i-was-brought-up-in-a-christian-home-in-australia-with-a-father-who/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) > [“Be calm; yet assertive. Be meek; yet courageous. Be gentle; yet bold. Be kind; yet strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman-2/be-calm-yet-assertive-be-meek-yet-courageous-be-gentle-yet-bold-be/) [Charles F Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman-2/) > [“In your darkest times, never be afraid. The Lord's presence is always with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-your-darkest-times-never-be-afraid-the-lord-s-presence-is-always/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Well, I am bold and very opinionated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/well-i-am-bold-and-very-opinionated/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [We need more bold fighters like Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-robinson/we-need-more-bold-fighters-like-donald-trump/) [Mark Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-robinson/) > [You can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/you-can-do-right-or-you-can-do-what-you-are-told-and-the-prize-of-the/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [“Often in the real world, it’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/often-in-the-real-world-it-s-not-the-smart-who-get-ahead-but-the-bold/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [We need bold leadership to bring America back to its first principles of diversity inclusion and opportunity for everyone in every ZIP Code, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/we-need-bold-leadership-to-bring-america-back-to-its-first-principles/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) Browse all 680 Bold quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never shouted at each other but argued constantly about strategy, and they taught me very early that before taking big risks, one must carefully figure the odds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benoit Mandelbrot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious-they-never-shouted-at-each/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious-they-never-shouted-at-each/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bold_father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious_1388343.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never shouted at each other but argued constantly about…” — Benoit Mandelbrot", "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": "Benoit Mandelbrot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Father was bold, and Mother was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious-they-never-shouted-at-each/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/father-was-bold-and-mother-was-cautious-they-never-shouted-at-each/#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 } } ] } ```