--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To produce a valuable observation, one…" description: "\"“To produce a valuable observation, one has first to have an idea of what to observe, a preconception of what is possible. Scientific advances often co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/francois-jacob-32171_observation_to-produce-a-valuable-observation-one-ha_1046716.png" --- # To produce a valuable observation, one has first to have… ![“To produce a valuable observation, one has first to have an idea of what to observe, a preconception of what is possible. Scientific advances often come from uncovering a hitherto unseen aspect of things as a result, not so much of using new instruments, but rather of looking at objects from a…” quote by François Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/francois-jacob-32171_observation_to-produce-a-valuable-observation-one-ha_1046716.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/francois-jacob-32171_observation_to-produce-a-valuable-observation-one-ha_1046716.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/francois-jacob-32171_observation_to-produce-a-valuable-observation-one-ha_1046716.png) > ““To produce a valuable observation, one has first to have an idea of what to observe, a preconception of what is possible. Scientific advances often come from uncovering a hitherto unseen aspect of things as a result, not so much of using new instruments, but rather of looking at objects from a different angle. This look is necessarily guided by a certain idea of what this so-called reality might be. It always involves a certain conception about the unknown, that is, about what lies beyond that which one has logical or experimental reasons to believe.”” [François Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific insight requires a prior idea of what to look for; breakthroughs arise from viewing familiar things through a new conceptual lens. **In simple terms:** Ideas guide observation; new views reveal hidden truths. Key Takeaway Cultivate fresh perspectives before experiments. Themes science observation creativity paradigm shift Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research planning - lab work - data analysis - innovation meetings Key Concepts hypothesis framework cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit your current observations? - How can you reframe a problem to see hidden aspects? A Different Perspective New tools alone rarely replace the need for conceptual shifts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experimental Reasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental-reasons-2480023/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Observation Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation-idea-2480021/) [Observe Preconception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observe-preconception-2480020/) [Preconception Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preconception-possible-2480022/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't be fool enough to think you can know a person's character after a few moments of observation. You can't. You have no idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/don-t-be-fool-enough-to-think-you-can-know-a-person-s-character-after/) [Richelle E. 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It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [ \[An engineer's\] invention causes things to come into existence from ideas, makes world conform to thought; whereas science, by deriving ideas from observation, makes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-mitcham/an-engineer-s-invention-causes-things-to-come-into-existence-from/) [Carl Mitcham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-mitcham/) > [I think that for thousands of years people have made the observation that there are certain kinds of extreme depressive states that seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-think-that-for-thousands-of-years-people-have-made-the-observation/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Science has to be understood in its broadest sense, as a method for apprehending all observable reality, and not merely as an instrument for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-carrel/science-has-to-be-understood-in-its-broadest-sense-as-a-method-for/) [Alexis Carrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-carrel/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The observation of the way in which the children pass from the first disordered movements to those which are spontaneous and ordered -- this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-observation-of-the-way-in-which-the-children-pass-from-the-first/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [There are few defects in our nature so glaring as not to be veiled from observation by politeness and good-breeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/there-are-few-defects-in-our-nature-so-glaring-as-not-to-be-veiled/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [“The person who can learn by observation can create his own culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/the-person-who-can-learn-by-observation-can-create-his-own-culture/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [But what is of great importance to me is observation of the movement of colors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-delaunay/but-what-is-of-great-importance-to-me-is-observation-of-the-movement/) [Robert Delaunay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-delaunay/) > [No theory about our bodies as mere objects of observation and calculation (as distinct from partners in communicative interaction, assumed to be free) can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/no-theory-about-our-bodies-as-mere-objects-of-observation-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) ## More by François Jacob > [“What man seeks, to the point of anguish, in his gods, in his art, in his science, is meaning. He cannot bear the void.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/what-man-seeks-to-the-point-of-anguish-in-his-gods-in-his-art-in-his/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [Contrary to what I once thought, scientific progress did not consist simply in observing, in accurately formulating experimental facts and drawing up a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/contrary-to-what-i-once-thought-scientific-progress-did-not-consist/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [Evolution is a tinkerer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/evolution-is-a-tinkerer/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [For me, this world of questions and the provisional, this chase after an answer that was always put off to the next day, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/for-me-this-world-of-questions-and-the-provisional-this-chase-after/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [It is natural selection that gives direction to changes, orients chance, and slowly, progressively produces more complex structures, new organs, and new species. Novelties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/it-is-natural-selection-that-gives-direction-to-changes-orients/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [I think I’ve just thought up something important,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/i-think-i-ve-just-thought-up-something-important/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [It is hope that gives life meaning. And hope is based on the prospect of being able one day to turn the actual world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/it-is-hope-that-gives-life-meaning-and-hope-is-based-on-the-prospect/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [Nature is a tinkerer, not an inventor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/nature-is-a-tinkerer-not-an-inventor/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [Myths and science fulfill a similar function: they both provide human beings with a representation of the world and of the forces that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/myths-and-science-fulfill-a-similar-function-they-both-provide-human/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [One of the deepest functions of a living organisms is to look ahead... to produce future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/one-of-the-deepest-functions-of-a-living-organisms-is-to-look-ahead/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [The game was that of continually inventing a possible world, or a piece of a possible world, and then of comparing it with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/the-game-was-that-of-continually-inventing-a-possible-world-or-a/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [I had turned my anxiety into my profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/i-had-turned-my-anxiety-into-my-profession/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [The Place of No Shadows, in Isaac Asimovs Science Fiction Magazine (1990) In our Universe, matter is arranged in a hierarchy of structures by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/the-place-of-no-shadows-in-isaac-asimovs-science-fiction-magazine/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [In today’s vastly expanded scientific enterprise, obsessed with impact factors and competition, we will need much more night science to unveil the many mysteries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/in-today-s-vastly-expanded-scientific-enterprise-obsessed-with-impact/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [The dream of every cell is to become two cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/the-dream-of-every-cell-is-to-become-two-cells/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) [Explore all 16 François Jacob quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) ## More Observation quotes > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [We ought to observe that practice which is the hardest of all-especially for young physicians-we ought to throw in no medicine at all-to abstain-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph-of-roanoke/we-ought-to-observe-that-practice-which-is-the-hardest-of-all/) [John Randolph of Roanoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-randolph-of-roanoke/) > [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [No theory about our bodies as mere objects of observation and calculation (as distinct from partners in communicative interaction, assumed to be free) can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/no-theory-about-our-bodies-as-mere-objects-of-observation-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [But what is of great importance to me is observation of the movement of colors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-delaunay/but-what-is-of-great-importance-to-me-is-observation-of-the-movement/) [Robert Delaunay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-delaunay/) > [“The person who can learn by observation can create his own culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/the-person-who-can-learn-by-observation-can-create-his-own-culture/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [There are few defects in our nature so glaring as not to be veiled from observation by politeness and good-breeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/there-are-few-defects-in-our-nature-so-glaring-as-not-to-be-veiled/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [The observation of the way in which the children pass from the first disordered movements to those which are spontaneous and ordered -- this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-observation-of-the-way-in-which-the-children-pass-from-the-first/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Science has to be understood in its broadest sense, as a method for apprehending all observable reality, and not merely as an instrument for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-carrel/science-has-to-be-understood-in-its-broadest-sense-as-a-method-for/) [Alexis Carrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-carrel/) > [I think that for thousands of years people have made the observation that there are certain kinds of extreme depressive states that seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-think-that-for-thousands-of-years-people-have-made-the-observation/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“There was an omnivorous intellect that won him the family sobriquet of Walking Encyclopedia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/there-was-an-omnivorous-intellect-that-won-him-the-family-sobriquet/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Browse all 1,645 Observation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To produce a valuable observation, one has first to have an idea of what to observe, a preconception of what is possible. 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