--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But absence of evidence is not evidence…" description: "\"“But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”\" — Gordon Chang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg" --- # But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. ![“But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” quote by Gordon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg) > ““But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”” [Gordon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-chang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lack of evidence does not prove something does not exist; absence of proof is not proof of absence. **In simple terms:** No proof isn’t proof of non‑existence. Key Takeaway Question assumptions when evidence is missing. Themes knowledge skepticism logic Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - decision making - policy analysis - risk assessment Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would change your view? - How do you balance doubt and action? A Different Perspective Can lead to over‑cautiousness or paranoia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Absence Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence-evidence-511578/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Evidence Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-absence-511575/) [Evidence Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-evidence-763101/) ## Related quotes > [“the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-corera/the-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/) [Gordon Corera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-corera/) > [The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-absence-of-evidence-is-not-the-evidence-of-absence/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“After all, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/after-all-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [“agree, I have no evidence, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/agree-i-have-no-evidence-but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence,,simply becouse you dont have evidence that something does exist,,does not mean that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boondox/the-absence-of-evidence-is-not-the-evidence-of-absence-simply-becouse/) [Boondox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boondox/) > [Since when does absence of evidence equate to evidence of absence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-ea/since-when-does-absence-of-evidence-equate-to-evidence-of-absence/) [Prince Ea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-ea/) > [ Until recent times, absence of evidence for his \[Jehovah's\] existence has not been sufficient to rule him out. However, we now have enough knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/until-recent-times-absence-of-evidence-for-his-jehovah-s-existence/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [“Such elusive puzzles recall the historian's basic dilemma: the absence of evidence does not always signify evidence of absence. In the end, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-markel/such-elusive-puzzles-recall-the-historian-s-basic-dilemma-the-absence/) [Howard Markel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-markel/) > [The absence of evidence is not necessarily the evidence of absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-absence-of-evidence-is-not-necessarily-the-evidence-of-absence/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [There's another way to phrase that and that is that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon Chang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-chang/but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-chang/but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/gordon-chang-22898_absence_but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence_2605371.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” — Gordon Chang", "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": "Gordon Chang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-chang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But absence of evidence is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-chang/but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-chang/but-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/#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 } } ] } ```