--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The grand assertion is that you must see…" description: "\"The grand assertion is that you must see the world through probability and that probability is the only guide you need.\" — Dennis Lindley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png" --- # The grand assertion is that you must see the world through… ![“The grand assertion is that you must see the world through probability and that probability is the only guide you need.” quote by Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png) > “The grand assertion is that you must see the world through probability and that probability is the only guide you need.” [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding the world requires treating events as probabilistic, using probability as the primary decision tool. **In simple terms:** See the world as probabilities, not certainties. Key Takeaway Use probability to guide choices. Themes uncertainty decision-making statistics Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - financial investing - medical diagnosis - policy planning - everyday risk assessment Key Concepts Bayesian inference risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How does probabilistic thinking change your daily decisions? - What limits does probability have in moral judgments? A Different Perspective Probability cannot predict rare, chaotic events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Probability is the very guide of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/probability-is-the-very-guide-of-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But to us, probability is the very guide of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-butler/but-to-us-probability-is-the-very-guide-of-life/) [Joseph Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-butler/) > [Probability is the guide of life, and of death, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/probability-is-the-guide-of-life-and-of-death-too/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Whatever way uncertainty is approached, probability is the only sound way to think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/whatever-way-uncertainty-is-approached-probability-is-the-only-sound/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [Consider the case of a person who holds a view with probability 1. Then coherence says that it is no use having a debate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/consider-the-case-of-a-person-who-holds-a-view-with-probability-1/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [It is dangerous to attach probability zero to anything other than a logical impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/it-is-dangerous-to-attach-probability-zero-to-anything-other-than-a/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## More by Dennis Lindley > [Uncertainty is a personal matter; it is not the uncertainty but your uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/uncertainty-is-a-personal-matter-it-is-not-the-uncertainty-but-your/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [In my opinion, it helps enormously to know why something is true, rather than being told it is true, for why should you believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/in-my-opinion-it-helps-enormously-to-know-why-something-is-true/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [It is dangerous to attach probability zero to anything other than a logical impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/it-is-dangerous-to-attach-probability-zero-to-anything-other-than-a/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [Consider the case of a person who holds a view with probability 1. Then coherence says that it is no use having a debate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/consider-the-case-of-a-person-who-holds-a-view-with-probability-1/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [Whatever way uncertainty is approached, probability is the only sound way to think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/whatever-way-uncertainty-is-approached-probability-is-the-only-sound/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [Almost all thinking people agree that you should not have probability 1 (or 0) for any event, other than one demonstrable by logic, like 2 x 2 = 4.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/almost-all-thinking-people-agree-that-you-should-not-have-probability/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [I believe that almost all important, useful ideas are simple. Peter Whittle has recently put it nicely in an autobiographical essay. "If a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/i-believe-that-almost-all-important-useful-ideas-are-simple-peter/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [In teaching there can be too much emphasis on certainty and a proper appreciation of uncertainty is to be encouraged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/in-teaching-there-can-be-too-much-emphasis-on-certainty-and-a-proper/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [Utility is the emotion pleading to be let into the house of pure reason and thereby enriching it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/utility-is-the-emotion-pleading-to-be-let-into-the-house-of-pure/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [Generally there is Stigler's law of Eponymy that says that a scientific notion is never attributed to the right person; in particular, the law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/generally-there-is-stigler-s-law-of-eponymy-that-says-that-a/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) > [It is not surprising that in talking about uncertainty we should lean heavily on facts, just as the court of law does when interrogating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/it-is-not-surprising-that-in-talking-about-uncertainty-we-should-lean/) [Dennis Lindley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) [Explore all 12 Dennis Lindley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/) ## More Assertion quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/) [Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/) > [But innovation is more than a new method. It is a new view of the universe, as one of risk rather than of chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/but-innovation-is-more-than-a-new-method-it-is-a-new-view-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-equation-maybe-if-i-knew-i-d-be/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [There needs to be a public dawning - and it is beginning to dawn on some members of the public - that how science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-d-holt-jr/there-needs-to-be-a-public-dawning-and-it-is-beginning-to-dawn-on/) [Rush D. Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/) > [So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilization as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/so-long-as-muslims-continue-looking-towards-western-civilization-as/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) Browse all 279 Assertion quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The grand assertion is that you must see the world through probability and that probability is the only guide you need.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dennis Lindley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see-the-world-through/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assertion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see-the-world-through/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/dennis-lindley-37382_assertion_the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see_3011418.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The grand assertion is that you must see the world through probability and that probability is the only…” — Dennis Lindley", "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": "Dennis Lindley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lindley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The grand assertion is that you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see-the-world-through/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lindley/the-grand-assertion-is-that-you-must-see-the-world-through/#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 } } ] } ```