Fruit salad Quote by Daniel Gilbert
““When a fruit salad, a lover, or a jazz trio is just too imperfect for our tastes, we stop eating, kissing, and listening. But the law of large numbers suggests that when a measurement is too imperfect for our tastes, we should not stop measuring. Quite the opposite - we should measure again and again until niggling imperfections yield to the onslaught of data.””
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Science of Everyday Thinking, Dan Gilbert, 2015
Imperfect data shouldn't stop measurement; repeated sampling reduces error, revealing true patterns.
In simple terms: Keep measuring despite flaws.
Key Takeaway
Accept imperfections, gather more data.
Themes
science
statistics
perseverance
Mood
analytical
curious
Type
scientific
practical
When to use this quote
- research studies
- quality control
- market analysis
- personal health tracking
Key Concepts
law of large numbers
measurement error
Questions to Reflect On
- What data would you re‑measure?
- How do you decide when data is sufficient?
A Different Perspective
Over‑reliance on quantity can ignore systematic bias.
