Accepted Quote by Georg Cantor
“A false conclusion once arrived at and widely accepted is not easily dislodged and the less it is understood the more tenaciously it is held.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Contributions to the Foundations of Mathematics, 1885
Widely accepted false beliefs persist, especially when poorly understood, making them hard to change.
In simple terms: False ideas cling when misunderstood.
Key Takeaway
Challenge accepted misconceptions.
Themes
knowledge
bias
truth
acceptance
Mood
analytical
skeptical
Type
academic
philosophical
When to use this quote
- education
- science communication
- policy making
Key Concepts
epistemology
cognitive bias
Questions to Reflect On
- Why are false conclusions resilient?
- How to improve understanding?
A Different Perspective
Changing beliefs requires deep understanding.
![“The old and oft-repeated proposition "Totum est majus sua parte" [the whole is larger than the part] may be applied without proof only in the case of entities that are based upon whole and part; then and only then is it an undeniable consequence of the concepts "totum" and "pars". Unfortunately…” quote by Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1c9/georg-cantor-20252_axioms_the-old-and-oft-repeated-proposition-tot_1288544.jpg)
![“We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. [This is] mythology rather than science.” quote by Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c31/robert-shapiro-26969_accepted_we-have-reached-a-situation-where-a-theo_19120.jpg)
