---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Progress is a set of assumptions."
description: "\"Progress is a set of assumptions.\" — Edward Albee"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png"
---

#  Progress is a set of assumptions.

![“Progress is a set of assumptions.” quote by Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png)

> “Progress is a set of assumptions.”

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Progress depends on underlying beliefs that shape direction and expectations.

**In simple terms:** Progress rests on assumptions.

Key Takeaway

Identify and test your assumptions.

Themes

growth mindset assumptions

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- business planning
- personal development
- research
- strategic decisions

Key Concepts

philosophy critical thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- What assumptions drive your current goals?
- How can you validate them?

A Different Perspective

Assumptions may be flawed, leading to misguided effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Assumptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumptions/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/)

## Related quotes

> [When you write a play, you make a set of assumptions -- that you have something to say, that you know how to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-you-write-a-play-you-make-a-set-of-assumptions-that-you-have/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [Each of us carries within us a worldview, a set of assumptions about how the world works - what some call a paradigm -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/each-of-us-carries-within-us-a-worldview-a-set-of-assumptions-about/)

[Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/)

> [Every economic opinion is associated with a set of assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-adani/every-economic-opinion-is-associated-with-a-set-of-assumptions/)

[Gautam Adani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-adani/)

> [Assumptions are dangerous things. I like facts a lot better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/assumptions-are-dangerous-things-i-like-facts-a-lot-better/)

[David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/)

> [If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don't tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-others-tell-us-something-we-make-assumptions-and-if-they-don-t/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Always assume your assumptions about others are wrong. Because often, they are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savania-china/always-assume-your-assumptions-about-others-are-wrong-because-often/)

[Savania China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savania-china/)

> [The criterion of simplicity requires that the minimum number of assumptions be postulated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-low/the-criterion-of-simplicity-requires-that-the-minimum-number-of/)

[Albert Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-low/)

> [The least questioned assumptions are often the most questionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-broca/the-least-questioned-assumptions-are-often-the-most-questionable/)

[Paul Broca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-broca/)

> [We do not realize how deeply our starting assumptions affect the way we go about looking for and interpreting the data we collect. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-savage-rumbaugh/we-do-not-realize-how-deeply-our-starting-assumptions-affect-the-way/)

[Sue Savage-Rumbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-savage-rumbaugh/)

> [ We \[MIT Smart Cities research group\] try to identify the fundamental underlying design assumptions that everybody takes as a sort of given and unchallengeable… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/we-mit-smart-cities-research-group-try-to-identify-the-fundamental/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Interrogate yours hidden assumptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/interrogate-yours-hidden-assumptions/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

> [Trust your gut instinct over spreadsheets. There are too many variables in the real world that you simply can't put into a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/trust-your-gut-instinct-over-spreadsheets-there-are-too-many/)

[Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/)

> [It is true that classical libertarian thought is opposed to state intervention in social life, as a consequence of deeper assumptions about the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-is-true-that-classical-libertarian-thought-is-opposed-to-state/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [One thing that irritates me is when people kind of make assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/one-thing-that-irritates-me-is-when-people-kind-of-make-assumptions/)

[Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/)

> [The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-explanation-requiring-the-fewest-assumptions-is-most-likely-to-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Edward Albee

> [School curricula that ignore the arts produce highly educated Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/school-curricula-that-ignore-the-arts-produce-highly-educated/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [When people don't like the way a play ends, they're likely to blame the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-don-t-like-the-way-a-play-ends-they-re-likely-to-blame/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [In a democracy you cannot stop public access to that art that will most misinform the people. You cannot stop people from being misinformed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/in-a-democracy-you-cannot-stop-public-access-to-that-art-that-will/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [Creativity is magic. Don't examine it too closely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/creativity-is-magic-don-t-examine-it-too-closely/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [When people can't abide things as they are, when they can't abide the present, they do one of two things ... either they ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-can-t-abide-things-as-they-are-when-they-can-t-abide-the/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [“Lady, you can’t fuck a metaphor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/lady-you-can-t-fuck-a-metaphor/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [I write to find out what I'm talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-write-to-find-out-what-i-m-talking-about/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [I know playwrights who like to kid themselves into saying that their characters are so well formed that they just take over. They determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-know-playwrights-who-like-to-kid-themselves-into-saying-that-their/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [The greatest problem with Irish Wolfhounds, though, is that they don't live very long: their great hearts give out. A good deal of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/the-greatest-problem-with-irish-wolfhounds-though-is-that-they-don-t/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/dashed-hopes-and-good-intentions-good-better-best-bested/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [Writing has got to be an act of discovery…I write to find out what I'm thinking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/writing-has-got-to-be-an-act-of-discovery-i-write-to-find-out-what-i/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [I'm back in fashion again for a while now. But I imagine that three or four years from now I'll be out again. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-m-back-in-fashion-again-for-a-while-now-but-i-imagine-that-three-or/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [What people really want in the theater is fantasy involvement and not reality involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/what-people-really-want-in-the-theater-is-fantasy-involvement-and-not/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [Art should never try to be popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/art-should-never-try-to-be-popular/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

[Explore all 216 Edward Albee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

## More Assumption quotes

> [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/)

[Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/)

> [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/)

Richard Doll

> [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/)

[Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/)

> [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/)

[Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/)

> [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/)

[Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/)

> [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/)

Philip Selznick

> [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/)

[Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/)

> [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/)

[Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/)

> [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/)

[Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/)

> [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

[Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Progress is a set of assumptions.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edward Albee"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assumption"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/edward-albee-1684_assumption_progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions-1762304_1762304.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Progress is a set of assumptions.” — Edward Albee",
                "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": "Edward Albee",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Progress is a set of assumptions.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/progress-is-a-set-of-assumptions/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
