--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science would be ruined if (like sports)…" description: "\"Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to clarify the rules of competition by withdr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg" --- # Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put… ![“Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to clarify the rules of competition by withdrawing entirely into narrowly defined specialties. The rare scholars who are nomads-by-choice are essential to the intellectual welfare of the…” quote by Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg) > “Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to clarify the rules of competition by withdrawing entirely into narrowly defined specialties. The rare scholars who are nomads-by-choice are essential to the intellectual welfare of the settled disciplines.” [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. Science thrives when interdisciplinary curiosity outweighs narrow competition, fostering innovation beyond strict specialties. **In simple terms:** Science needs broad curiosity, not just competition. Key Takeaway Encourage cross‑disciplinary collaboration. Themes innovation interdisciplinarity curiosity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - policy making - product development - education reform Key Concepts complex systems intellectual diversity Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions reward interdisciplinary work? - What barriers prevent scholars from becoming nomads? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on competition can stifle collaboration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Nomad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nomad/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Sports competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports-competition/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [It's not how big you are, it's how big you play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/it-s-not-how-big-you-are-it-s-how-big-you-play/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [There is no such thing as life in-between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/there-is-no-such-thing-as-life-in-between/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [I believe it is right when not only me, but also my colleagues - the prime minister, ministers, deputies of the State Duma -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-believe-it-is-right-when-not-only-me-but-also-my-colleagues-the/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The Olympic Games must not be an end in itself, they must be a means of creating a vast program of physical education and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avery-brundage/the-olympic-games-must-not-be-an-end-in-itself-they-must-be-a-means/) [Avery Brundage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avery-brundage/) > [If the presidential nominating process were an international sports competition, one would assume that top officials of both parties were taking envelopes of cash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/if-the-presidential-nominating-process-were-an-international-sports/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me . . . Failure always made me try harder next time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-know-fear-is-an-obstacle-for-some-people-but-it-is-an-illusion-to/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-williams/you-have-to-believe-in-yourself-when-no-one-else-does/) [Serena Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-williams/) > [When your Islamic discourse with someone becomes a debate, that's when you know that you have to stop. The psychology of a debate is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-your-islamic-discourse-with-someone-becomes-a-debate-that-s-when/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-joyner-kersee/the-rewards-are-going-to-come-but-my-happiness-is-just-loving-the/) [Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-joyner-kersee/) > [There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/there-are-only-two-options-regarding-commitment-you-re-either-in-or/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [You owe it to yourself to be the best you can possibly be - in baseball and in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/you-owe-it-to-yourself-to-be-the-best-you-can-possibly-be-in-baseball/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [Humility sets us free to do what is really good, by showing us our illusions and withdrawing our will from what was only an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/humility-sets-us-free-to-do-what-is-really-good-by-showing-us-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you overcome your fear to ask someone for a date, a raise, or help with a project, that is an act of self-assertiveness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-you-overcome-your-fear-to-ask-someone-for-a-date-a-raise-or-help/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [We fill the hands and nurseries of our children with all manner of dolls, drums and horses, withdrawing their eyes from the plain face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-fill-the-hands-and-nurseries-of-our-children-with-all-manner-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [I had very, very little training in taking an exam to determine a scientist's life in France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-had-very-very-little-training-in-taking-an-exam-to-determine-a/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) [Explore all 88 Benoit Mandelbrot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to clarify the rules of competition by withdrawing entirely into narrowly defined specialties. The rare scholars who are nomads-by-choice are essential to the intellectual welfare of the settled disciplines.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benoit Mandelbrot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-it-were-to-put-competition/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accounts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-it-were-to-put-competition/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_accounts_science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-i_979575.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to…” — 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": "Science would be ruined if (like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-it-were-to-put-competition/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-it-were-to-put-competition/#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 } } ] } ```