--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [P]rescientific people... could never…" description: "\"[P]rescientific people... could never guess the nature of physical reality beyond the tiny sphere attainable by unaided common sense. Nothing else ever..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/e-o-wilson-1348_art_p-rescientific-people-could-never-guess_717283.jpg" --- # \[P\]rescientific people... could never guess the nature of… ![“[P]rescientific people... could never guess the nature of physical reality beyond the tiny sphere attainable by unaided common sense. Nothing else ever worked, no exercise from myth, revelation, art, trance, or any other conceivable means; and notwithstanding the emotional satisfaction it gives…” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/e-o-wilson-1348_art_p-rescientific-people-could-never-guess_717283.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/e-o-wilson-1348_art_p-rescientific-people-could-never-guess_717283.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/e-o-wilson-1348_art_p-rescientific-people-could-never-guess_717283.jpg) > “\[P\]rescientific people... could never guess the nature of physical reality beyond the tiny sphere attainable by unaided common sense. Nothing else ever worked, no exercise from myth, revelation, art, trance, or any other conceivable means; and notwithstanding the emotional satisfaction it gives, mysticism, the strongest prescientific probe in the unknown, has yielded zero.” [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific understanding must be based on empirical evidence, not on mysticism or untested beliefs. **In simple terms:** Science needs data, not mysticism. Key Takeaway Rely on evidence, not intuition. Themes science empiricism skepticism Mood analytical critical Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - research - education - policy making - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy of science methodology Questions to Reflect On - How can we better communicate the limits of intuition? - What role does comfort play in belief? A Different Perspective Mysticism may provide comfort but lacks predictive power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Gives Mysticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gives-mysticism-5644455/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mysticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism/) [Mysticism Strongest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism-strongest-5644456/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Physical Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-reality/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rescientific People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rescientific-people-5644457/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Spheres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spheres/) [Strongest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strongest/) [Tiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiny/) [Trance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trance/) [Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zero/) ## Related quotes > [There is no other way to change your physical reality but by changing your thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/there-is-no-other-way-to-change-your-physical-reality-but-by-changing/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [The physical reality is assumed to be the wave function of the whole universe itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/the-physical-reality-is-assumed-to-be-the-wave-function-of-the-whole/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [“Physical reality is a reflection of what's going on in our belief systems and in our energy. (...) Physical reality is really nothing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-anka/physical-reality-is-a-reflection-of-what-s-going-on-in-our-belief/) [Darryl Anka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-anka/) > [To me quantum computation is a new and deeper and better way to understand the laws of physics, and hence understanding physical reality as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/to-me-quantum-computation-is-a-new-and-deeper-and-better-way-to/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [In our universe we are tuned into the frequency that corresponds to physical reality. 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We dismiss the inner world of our ideas as less important, although most of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-here-and-now-demands-attention-is-more-present-to-us-we-dismiss/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Our external physical reality is a mathematical structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/our-external-physical-reality-is-a-mathematical-structure/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [“The collective consciousness and all its branches of personal consciousness, through beliefs and thoughts, collide or smash energy, slowing down its vibration to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-anthony-gibbs/the-collective-consciousness-and-all-its-branches-of-personal/) [Russell Anthony Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-anthony-gibbs/) > [I think there are times when human beings open our psychic field: when they're in love, when they're with another person that they resonate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/i-think-there-are-times-when-human-beings-open-our-psychic-field-when/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“According to the Law of Attraction, the physical reality that you experience at present is drawn towards the future probability you desired when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/according-to-the-law-of-attraction-the-physical-reality-that-you/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [There is no fixed physical reality, no single perception of the world, just numerous ways of interpreting world views as dictated by one's nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/there-is-no-fixed-physical-reality-no-single-perception-of-the-world/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [What we think of as physical reality is an intermingling of appropriate realities, a fluid massive consciousness in which each of us exists independently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/what-we-think-of-as-physical-reality-is-an-intermingling-of/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [...this moment... is the only physical reality you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/this-moment-is-the-only-physical-reality-you-have/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Time is a social institution and not a physical reality. There is no such thing as time in the natural world - the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/time-is-a-social-institution-and-not-a-physical-reality-there-is-no/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More by E. O. Wilson > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-is-not-marginal-like-art-it-is-a-universal-possession-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-many-environments-take-away-the-ants-and-there-would-be-partial/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-those-committed-to-the-quest-fail-they-will-be-forgiven-when-lost/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Because the living environment is what really sustains us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/because-the-living-environment-is-what-really-sustains-us/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-variety-of-genes-on-the-planet-in-viruses-exceeds-or-is-likely-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Explore all 253 E. O. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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