--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The scientist … must always be prepared…" description: "\"The scientist … must always be prepared to deal with the unknown. It is an essential part of science that you should be able to describe matters in a w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/hermann-bondi-28727_able_the-scientist-must-always-be-prepared-to_2636246.jpg" --- # The scientist … must always be prepared to deal with the… ![“The scientist … must always be prepared to deal with the unknown. It is an essential part of science that you should be able to describe matters in a way where you can say something without knowing everything.” quote by Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/hermann-bondi-28727_able_the-scientist-must-always-be-prepared-to_2636246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/hermann-bondi-28727_able_the-scientist-must-always-be-prepared-to_2636246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/hermann-bondi-28727_able_the-scientist-must-always-be-prepared-to_2636246.jpg) > “The scientist … must always be prepared to deal with the unknown. It is an essential part of science that you should be able to describe matters in a way where you can say something without knowing everything.” [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science thrives on embracing uncertainty and describing phenomena without full knowledge. **In simple terms:** Accept unknowns to advance knowledge. Key Takeaway Be comfortable with uncertainty. Themes science uncertainty knowledge Mood curious analytical Type scientific inspirational When to use this quote - research - education - problem solving - innovation Key Concepts Epistemology methodology Questions to Reflect On - What unknowns do you avoid? - How can you describe what you don’t fully know? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on certainty can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowing everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-everything/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) ## Related quotes > [Wanting to say something but knowing it's gonna start an argument...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-to-say-something-but-knowing-it-s-gonna-start-an-argument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It can be very lonely knowing that you have things to say but you daren't say them. 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Of these, about 80 per cent are insoluble, while 19½…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/if-you-walk-along-the-street-you-will-encounter-a-number-of/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [What I remember most clearly was that when I put down a suggestion that seemed to me cogent and reasonable, Einstein did not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/what-i-remember-most-clearly-was-that-when-i-put-down-a-suggestion/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [The true contrast between science and religion is that science unites the world and makes it possible for people of widely differing backgrounds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/the-true-contrast-between-science-and-religion-is-that-science-unites/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [The test of science is not whether you are reasonable—there would not be much of physics if that was the case—the test is whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/the-test-of-science-is-not-whether-you-are-reasonable-there-would-not/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [ \[Newton's calculations\] entered the marrow of what we know without knowing how we know it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/newton-s-calculations-entered-the-marrow-of-what-we-know-without/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [The kind of lecture which I have been so kindly invited to give, and which now appears in book form, gives one a rare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/the-kind-of-lecture-which-i-have-been-so-kindly-invited-to-give-and/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [We find no sense in talking about something unless we specify how we measure it; a definition by the method of measuring a quantity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/we-find-no-sense-in-talking-about-something-unless-we-specify-how-we/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [On the most usual assumption, the universe is homogeneous on the large scale, i.e. down to regions containing each an appreciable number of nebulae.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/on-the-most-usual-assumption-the-universe-is-homogeneous-on-the-large/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [... an opportunity to allow the bees in one's bonnet to buzz even more noisily than usual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/an-opportunity-to-allow-the-bees-in-one-s-bonnet-to-buzz-even-more/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [Our humanist attitude should therefore throughout be to stress what we all have in common with each other and relegate quarrelsome religion to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/our-humanist-attitude-should-therefore-throughout-be-to-stress-what/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [Sometimes I am a little unkind to all my many friends in education ... by saying that from the time it learns to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/sometimes-i-am-a-little-unkind-to-all-my-many-friends-in-education-by/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [The landscape has been so totally changed, the ways of thinking have been so deeply affected, that it is very hard to get hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/the-landscape-has-been-so-totally-changed-the-ways-of-thinking-have/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [ \[Science doesn't deal with facts; indeed\] fact is an emotion-loaded word for which there is little place in scientific debate. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/science-doesn-t-deal-with-facts-indeed-fact-is-an-emotion-loaded-word/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) [Explore all 19 Hermann Bondi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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