--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Numerical precision is the very soul of…" description: "\"Numerical precision is the very soul of science.\" — D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png" --- # Numerical precision is the very soul of science. ![“Numerical precision is the very soul of science.” quote by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png) > “Numerical precision is the very soul of science.” [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accurate measurements are essential for scientific understanding and discovery. **In simple terms:** Precision underpins science. Key Takeaway Strive for exactness in data. Themes science methodology accuracy Mood analytical objective Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - laboratory work - field research - data analysis Key Concepts measurement quantification Questions to Reflect On - When is approximation acceptable? - How does measurement error affect conclusions? A Different Perspective Over‑precision can hinder creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Precision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precision/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ## Related quotes > [“…numerical precision is the very soul of science, and its attainment affords the best, perhaps the only criterion of the truth of theories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science-and-its-attainment/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [I have no satisfaction in formulas unless I feel their numerical magnitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/i-have-no-satisfaction-in-formulas-unless-i-feel-their-numerical/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [“An innate sense of approximate numerical quantities may well be embedded in our genes; but when faced with exact symbolic calculation, we lack proper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/an-innate-sense-of-approximate-numerical-quantities-may-well-be/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [Numerical quantities focus on expected values, graphical summaries on unexpected values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tukey/numerical-quantities-focus-on-expected-values-graphical-summaries-on/) [John Tukey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tukey/) > [The truth is that everything is One, and this of course is not a numerical one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kapleau/the-truth-is-that-everything-is-one-and-this-of-course-is-not-a/) [Philip Kapleau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kapleau/) > [Numerical logistic is that which employs numbers; symbolic logistic that which uses symbols, as, say, the letters of the alphabet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-viete/numerical-logistic-is-that-which-employs-numbers-symbolic-logistic/) Francois Viete > [The life and soul of science is its practical application, and just as the great advances in mathematics have been made through the desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/the-life-and-soul-of-science-is-its-practical-application-and-just-as/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [“Everything science has taught me strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death. I believe in an immortal soul. Science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-von-braun/everything-science-has-taught-me-strengthens-my-belief-in-the/) [Werner Von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-von-braun/) > [“I maintain, then, that scientific psychology (and, it may be added, the psychology of the same kind that we all unconsciously practise when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/i-maintain-then-that-scientific-psychology-and-it-may-be-added-the/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [“The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer-2/the-most-excellent-study-for-expanding-the-soul-is-the-science-of/) [J.I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer-2/) > [There is no scientific way to validate anything that I or you can say about the soul because science cannot validate the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/there-is-no-scientific-way-to-validate-anything-that-i-or-you-can-say/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [Once you understand that there's a spiritual math, add soul to the science and subtract the riff-raff. 24-7-365, cause 9 to 5 ain't alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kool-moe-dee/once-you-understand-that-there-s-a-spiritual-math-add-soul-to-the/) [Kool Moe Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kool-moe-dee/) > [There cannot be a greater mistake than that of looking superciliously upon practical applications of science. The life and soul of science is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/there-cannot-be-a-greater-mistake-than-that-of-looking-superciliously/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [Cell and tissue, shell and bone, leaf and flower, are so many portions of matter, and it is in obedience to the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/cell-and-tissue-shell-and-bone-leaf-and-flower-are-so-many-portions/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [What is this world?--A term which men have got, To signify not one in ten knows what; A term, which with no more precision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-churchill/what-is-this-world-a-term-which-men-have-got-to-signify-not-one-in/) [Charles Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-churchill/) ## More by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson > [Cell and tissue, shell and bone, leaf and flower, are so many portions of matter, and it is in obedience to the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/cell-and-tissue-shell-and-bone-leaf-and-flower-are-so-many-portions/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is wont to be, as we speak of a small elephant or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-reference-to-what-it-is-wont-to-be/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [The harmony of the world is made manifest in Form and Number, and the heart and soul and all the poetry of Natural Philosophy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/the-harmony-of-the-world-is-made-manifest-in-form-and-number-and-the/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [“…numerical precision is the very soul of science, and its attainment affords the best, perhaps the only criterion of the truth of theories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science-and-its-attainment/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [Sagging wrinkles, hanging breasts and many another sign of age are part of gravitation's slow relentless handiwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/sagging-wrinkles-hanging-breasts-and-many-another-sign-of-age-are/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [It is success that colours all in life, Success makes fools admir'd, makes villains honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/it-is-success-that-colours-all-in-life-success-makes-fools-admir-d/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [The perfection of mathematical beauty is such...that whatsoever is most beautiful and regular is also found to be most useful and excellent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/the-perfection-of-mathematical-beauty-is-such-that-whatsoever-is-most/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) [Explore all 8 D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Numerical precision is the very soul of science.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_education_numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of_1623642.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Numerical precision is the very soul of science.” — D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson", "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": "D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Numerical precision is the very soul...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science/#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 } } ] } ```