--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the Stourbridge Fair in 1663, at age…" description: "\"“At the Stourbridge Fair in 1663, at age twenty, he purchased a book on astrology, “out of a curiosity to see what there was in it.” He read it until h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/carl-sagan-160_books_at-the-stourbridge-fair-in-1663-at-age-t_176050.jpg" --- # At the Stourbridge Fair in 1663, at age twenty, he… ![“At the Stourbridge Fair in 1663, at age twenty, he purchased a book on astrology, “out of a curiosity to see what there was in it.” He read it until he came to an illustration which he could not understand, because he was ignorant of trigonometry. So he purchased a book on trigonometry but soon…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/carl-sagan-160_books_at-the-stourbridge-fair-in-1663-at-age-t_176050.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/carl-sagan-160_books_at-the-stourbridge-fair-in-1663-at-age-t_176050.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/carl-sagan-160_books_at-the-stourbridge-fair-in-1663-at-age-t_176050.jpg) > ““At the Stourbridge Fair in 1663, at age twenty, he purchased a book on astrology, “out of a curiosity to see what there was in it.” He read it until he came to an illustration which he could not understand, because he was ignorant of trigonometry. So he purchased a book on trigonometry but soon found himself unable to follow the geometrical arguments. So he found a copy of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry, and began to read. Two years later he invented the differential calculus.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Curiosity drives a person to explore unknown fields, leading from simple interest to deep mastery and breakthrough discoveries. **In simple terms:** Curiosity leads to learning and innovation. Key Takeaway Follow curiosity, even through difficulty. Themes learning curiosity discipline innovation mathematics Mood inspired determined reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic research - personal study - solving complex problems Key Concepts self‑directed study progressive mastery cross‑disciplinary growth Questions to Reflect On - What subject have you avoided because it seems too hard? - How can you turn a small curiosity into a larger skill? A Different Perspective Progress may be slow and require confronting unfamiliar concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Differential calculus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differential-calculus/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) ## Related quotes > [Arithmetic starts with the integers and proceeds by successively enlarging the number system by rational and negative numbers, irrational numbers, etc... But the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-robinson/arithmetic-starts-with-the-integers-and-proceeds-by-successively/) [Abraham Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-robinson/) > [ But just as much as it is easy to find the differential \[derivative\] of a given quantity, so it is difficult to find the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-bernoulli/but-just-as-much-as-it-is-easy-to-find-the-differential-derivative-of/) Johann Bernoulli > [ Therefore, I have attacted \[the problem of the catenary\] which I had hitherto not attempted, and with my key \[the differential calculus\] happily opened… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/therefore-i-have-attacted-the-problem-of-the-catenary-which-i-had/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Love can reach the same level of talent, and even genius, as the discovery of differential calculus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-vygotsky/love-can-reach-the-same-level-of-talent-and-even-genius-as-the/) [Lev Vygotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-vygotsky/) > [Science is the Differential Calculus of the mind. Art the Integral Calculus; they may be beautiful when apart, but are greatest only when combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-ross/science-is-the-differential-calculus-of-the-mind-art-the-integral/) [Ronald Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-ross/) > [“Who amongst them realizes that between the Differential Calculus and the dynastic principle of politics in the age of Louis XIV, between the Classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/who-amongst-them-realizes-that-between-the-differential-calculus-and/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [Nothing has afforded me so convincing a proof of the unity of the Deity as these purely mental conceptions of numerical and mathematical science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-somerville/nothing-has-afforded-me-so-convincing-a-proof-of-the-unity-of-the-2/) [Mary Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-somerville/) > [But how is one to make a scientist understand that there is something unalterably deranged about differential calculus, quantum theory, or the obscene and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/but-how-is-one-to-make-a-scientist-understand-that-there-is-something/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Newton, of course, was the inventor of differential calculus so his place in the tale is quite special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williams/newton-of-course-was-the-inventor-of-differential-calculus-so-his/) [Kit Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williams/) > [Nothing has afforded me so convincing a proof of the unity of the Deity as these purely mental conceptions of numerical and mathematical science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-somerville/nothing-has-afforded-me-so-convincing-a-proof-of-the-unity-of-the/) [Mary Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-somerville/) > [I am the very model of a modern major general](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/i-am-the-very-model-of-a-modern-major-general/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [As professor in the Polytechnic School in Zürich I found myself for the first time obliged to lecture upon the elements of the differential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dedekind/as-professor-in-the-polytechnic-school-in-z-rich-i-found-myself-for/) [Richard Dedekind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dedekind/) > [Among all of the mathematical disciplines the theory of differential equations is the most important... It furnishes the explanation of all those elementary manifestations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophus-lie/among-all-of-the-mathematical-disciplines-the-theory-of-differential/) Sophus Lie > [I never failed in mathematics. Before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-never-failed-in-mathematics-before-i-was-fifteen-i-had-mastered/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm very good at integral and differential calculus, I know the scientific names of beings animalculous; In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/i-m-very-good-at-integral-and-differential-calculus-i-know-the/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [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/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At the Stourbridge Fair in 1663, at age twenty, he purchased a book on astrology, “out of a curiosity to see what there was in it.” He read it until he came to an illustration which he could not understand, because he was ignorant of trigonometry. So he purchased a book on trigonometry but soon found himself unable to follow the geometrical arguments. 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