--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Research is industrial prospecting. The…" description: "\"Research is industrial prospecting. The oil prospectors use every scientific means to find new paying wells. Oil is found by each one of a number of me..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/charles-kettering-5294_barrels_research-is-industrial-prospecting-the-o_2475599.png" --- # Research is industrial prospecting. The oil prospectors… ![“Research is industrial prospecting. The oil prospectors use every scientific means to find new paying wells. Oil is found by each one of a number of methods. My own group of men are prospecting in a different field, using every possible scientific means. We believe there are still things left to…” quote by Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/charles-kettering-5294_barrels_research-is-industrial-prospecting-the-o_2475599.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/charles-kettering-5294_barrels_research-is-industrial-prospecting-the-o_2475599.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/charles-kettering-5294_barrels_research-is-industrial-prospecting-the-o_2475599.png) > “Research is industrial prospecting. The oil prospectors use every scientific means to find new paying wells. Oil is found by each one of a number of methods. My own group of men are prospecting in a different field, using every possible scientific means. We believe there are still things left to be discovered. We have only stumbled upon a few barrels of physical laws from the great pool of knowledge. Some day we are going to hit a gusher.” [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific research is likened to prospecting for oil, using systematic methods to uncover hidden resources and breakthroughs. **In simple terms:** Research is like searching for hidden resources. Key Takeaway Apply systematic, diverse methods to discover new knowledge. Themes innovation exploration science discovery perseverance Mood curious optimistic determined Type motivational philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - R&D labs - academic research - technology development - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts Scientific method resource discovery interdisciplinary research Questions to Reflect On - What unconventional methods could reveal new knowledge? - How can we balance risk and reward in research? A Different Perspective Scientific breakthroughs often need sustained funding and interdisciplinary collaboration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prospecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospecting/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [There are some geologists involved with prospecting for oil and other hidden resources who can pick up a rock and say, 'Yes, there's oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/there-are-some-geologists-involved-with-prospecting-for-oil-and-other/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [Prospecting for oil is a dynamic art... The greatest single element in all prospecting, past, present and future, is the man willing to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everette-lee-degolyer/prospecting-for-oil-is-a-dynamic-art-the-greatest-single-element-in/) Everette Lee DeGolyer > [“In the 1920s, he decided that it was cheaper to drill for oil than to buy the overvalued shares of other oil companies. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-yergin/in-the-1920s-he-decided-that-it-was-cheaper-to-drill-for-oil-than-to/) [Daniel Yergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-yergin/) > [Proper prospecting prevents poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/proper-prospecting-prevents-poverty/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [Like prospecting in the 19th century, reconnaissance of the asteroids would of necessity take place in an arena where trouble is likely and help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/like-prospecting-in-the-19th-century-reconnaissance-of-the-asteroids/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Listening is the new prospecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jantsch/listening-is-the-new-prospecting/) [John Jantsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jantsch/) > [Men rush to California and Australia as if the true gold were to be found in that direction but that is to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-rush-to-california-and-australia-as-if-the-true-gold-were-to-be/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Keep your sales pipeline full by prospecting continuosly.Always have more people to see than you have time to see them .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/keep-your-sales-pipeline-full-by-prospecting-continuosly-always-have/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [One cannot help asking sadly, why is love of gold more potent than love of souls? The number of men mining and prospecting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lottie-moon/one-cannot-help-asking-sadly-why-is-love-of-gold-more-potent-than/) [Lottie Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lottie-moon/) > [Traditional methods of sales prospecting are grossly inefficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-konrath/traditional-methods-of-sales-prospecting-are-grossly-inefficient/) [Jill Konrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-konrath/) > [“Forging an on-line presence is like prospecting for gold; the fields are hard to find and the competition cut-throat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-brimhall/forging-an-on-line-presence-is-like-prospecting-for-gold-the-fields/) Ken Brimhall > [Prospecting - Find the man with the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-m-friedman/prospecting-find-the-man-with-the-problem/) Benjamin M. Friedman > [“Forging an on-line presence is like prospecting for gold; the rich fields are hard to find and the competition numerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-brimhall/forging-an-on-line-presence-is-like-prospecting-for-gold-the-rich/) Ken Brimhall > [I was trained in seismic prospecting. We'd drill a deep hole and put dynamite in the bottom and blow it up remotely, which would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-trained-in-seismic-prospecting-we-d-drill-a-deep-hole-and-put/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Scientific research was much like prospecting: you went out and you hunted, armed with your maps and instruments, but in the ened your preparations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/scientific-research-was-much-like-prospecting-you-went-out-and-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## More by Charles Kettering > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [The sure ways to create new ventures of discovery are to keep an open mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/the-sure-ways-to-create-new-ventures-of-discovery-are-to-keep-an-open/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [If a fellow wants to be nobody in the business world, let him neglect sending the mailman to somebody on his behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/if-a-fellow-wants-to-be-nobody-in-the-business-world-let-him-neglect/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/every-time-you-tear-a-leaf-off-a-calendar-you-present-a-new-place-for/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Great steps in human progress are made by things that don't work the way philosophy thought they should. If things always worked the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/great-steps-in-human-progress-are-made-by-things-that-don-t-work-the/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Education is man's going forward from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty.Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/education-is-man-s-going-forward-from-cocksure-ignorance-to/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [you must take the problem as it is, and let it be what it wants to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/you-must-take-the-problem-as-it-is-and-let-it-be-what-it-wants-to-be/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [It is man's destiny to ponder on the riddle of existence and, as a byproduct of his wonderment, to create a new life on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/it-is-man-s-destiny-to-ponder-on-the-riddle-of-existence-and-as-a/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [We must look forward to the future as that is where most of us will be spending the rest of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/we-must-look-forward-to-the-future-as-that-is-where-most-of-us-will/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/there-is-a-great-difference-between-knowing-and-understanding-you-can/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [If I want to stop a research program I can always do it by getting a few experts to sit in on the subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/if-i-want-to-stop-a-research-program-i-can-always-do-it-by-getting-a/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/there-will-always-be-a-frontier-where-there-is-an-open-mind-and-a/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Obsolescence is a factor which says that the new thing I bring you is worth more than the unused value of the old thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/obsolescence-is-a-factor-which-says-that-the-new-thing-i-bring-you-is/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, some man believed that it could, and some man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/nothing-ever-built-arose-to-touch-the-skies-unless-some-man-dreamed/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [What I believe is that, by proper effort, we make the future almost anything we want to make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/what-i-believe-is-that-by-proper-effort-we-make-the-future-almost/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) [Explore all 102 Charles Kettering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) ## More Barrels quotes > [It's good to find the barrel of the bat again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-utley/it-s-good-to-find-the-barrel-of-the-bat-again/) [Chase Utley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-utley/) > [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/) Emmanuel des Essarts > [You could pay a fair market price for a barrel of oil and cut 50 cents a barrel or a dollar barrel off what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/you-could-pay-a-fair-market-price-for-a-barrel-of-oil-and-cut-50/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [ \[Norden\] said, with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/norden-said-with-the-mark-15-norden-bombsight-he-could-drop-a-bomb/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The sudden release of five million barrels of oil, enormous quantities of methane and two million gallons of toxic dispersants into an already greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-sudden-release-of-five-million-barrels-of-oil-enormous-quantities/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [In addition, each barrel of oil we save through conservation further decreases our dangerous reliance on unstable Middle East oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/in-addition-each-barrel-of-oil-we-save-through-conservation-further/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. You cannot point that weapon at one of your brothers-or yourself. Know where you barrel is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/muzzle-control-has-to-be-a-religion-you-cannot-point-that-weapon-at/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) > [The defense budget is more than a piggy bank for people who want to get busy beating swords into pork barrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-defense-budget-is-more-than-a-piggy-bank-for-people-who-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today's political leaders demonstrate their low opinion of the public with every social law they pass. They believe that, if given the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/today-s-political-leaders-demonstrate-their-low-opinion-of-the-public/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) > [Europe and North America, we are told, are less dependent on energy-intensive heavy industry than in the 1960s and 1970s. It seems we squeeze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/europe-and-north-america-we-are-told-are-less-dependent-on-energy/) [James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/) > [My silence is golden, I Dnt waste time on empty barrels, empty barrels make the most noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweetner/my-silence-is-golden-i-dnt-waste-time-on-empty-barrels-empty-barrels/) [Sweetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweetner/) > [The desert seems to be a brown wasteland of dry, prickly scrub whose only purpose is to serve as a setting for the majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/the-desert-seems-to-be-a-brown-wasteland-of-dry-prickly-scrub-whose/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [To accept the principal that "all power proceeds from the barrel of a gun" is to accept a society which will be dominated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-douglas/to-accept-the-principal-that-all-power-proceeds-from-the-barrel-of-a/) [Tommy Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-douglas/) > [You look tired," Rachel told Jason. "I wish I could jog and sleep at the same time." "Can't you?" Ferrin asked, joining them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/you-look-tired-rachel-told-jason-i-wish-i-could-jog-and-sleep-at-the/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) Browse all 277 Barrels quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Research is industrial prospecting. The oil prospectors use every scientific means to find new paying wells. Oil is found by each one of a number of methods. My own group of men are prospecting in a different field, using every possible scientific means. We believe there are still things left to be discovered. We have only stumbled upon a few barrels of physical laws from the great pool of knowledge. 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