--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A single observation that is inconsistent…" description: "\"A single observation that is inconsistent with some generalization points to the falsehood of the generalization, and thereby 'points to itself'.\" — Ia..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg" --- # A single observation that is inconsistent with some… ![“A single observation that is inconsistent with some generalization points to the falsehood of the generalization, and thereby 'points to itself'.” quote by Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg) > “A single observation that is inconsistent with some generalization points to the falsehood of the generalization, and thereby 'points to itself'.” [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A contradictory observation reveals the flaw in a broad claim, exposing its self‑refuting nature **In simple terms:** Exceptions show a rule is false Key Takeaway Question generalizations when faced with anomalies Themes logic philosophy science critical thinking Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research analysis - policy making - education - debate Key Concepts falsifiability self‑refutation epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your generalizations? - How can we test for hidden contradictions? A Different Perspective Complex data may hide underlying patterns ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Generalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generalization/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) ## Related quotes > [As the generalization goes about the art industry, people can be really challenging and thought-provoking in their thinking and questioning the status quo, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-cole/as-the-generalization-goes-about-the-art-industry-people-can-be/) [Lily Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-cole/) > [Data without generalization is just gossip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/data-without-generalization-is-just-gossip/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [I think women are really good at making friends and not good at networking. Men are good at networking and not necessarily making friends.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/i-think-women-are-really-good-at-making-friends-and-not-good-at/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Writing about race and crime was not new territory for me. But it can be treacherous. So here are my rules: No stereotypes. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-flaherty/writing-about-race-and-crime-was-not-new-territory-for-me-but-it-can/) [Colin Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-flaherty/) > [If it is to be effective as a tool of thought, a notation must allow convenient expression not only of notions arising directly from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-iverson/if-it-is-to-be-effective-as-a-tool-of-thought-a-notation-must-allow/) [Kenneth E. Iverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-iverson/) > [All generalizations are inaccurate, including this one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/all-generalizations-are-inaccurate-including-this-one/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [I only know from my own personal experience, and I personally feel that there's a cyclical nature to things, so you don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-jones/i-only-know-from-my-own-personal-experience-and-i-personally-feel/) [Jeffrey Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-jones/) > [During the first half of the present century we had an Alexander von Humboldt, who was able to scan the scientific knowledge of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-von-helmholtz/during-the-first-half-of-the-present-century-we-had-an-alexander-von/) [Hermann von Helmholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-von-helmholtz/) > [Everyone in America (according to my generalizations) is a potential millionaire waiting for his or her big break. I was astonished lately to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/everyone-in-america-according-to-my-generalizations-is-a-potential/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [In a novella, a whole lot of crap can happen, and you can build momentum and suspense and leave room for a surprise or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/in-a-novella-a-whole-lot-of-crap-can-happen-and-you-can-build/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [So the English approach to show business and their work is more - and this is a big generalization, I hasten to say -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/so-the-english-approach-to-show-business-and-their-work-is-more-and/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) > [God is our name for the last generalization to which we can arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/god-is-our-name-for-the-last-generalization-to-which-we-can-arrive/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“I am not trying to make a point by telling stories. Chosen examples are never serious evidence for any worthwhile generalization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-am-not-trying-to-make-a-point-by-telling-stories-chosen-examples/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I think it's very difficult to make any single, generalized statements about the press, of course the press is such varied character and quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-millis/i-think-it-s-very-difficult-to-make-any-single-generalized-statements/) [Walter Millis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-millis/) > [If I can make a generalization, men get into politics because, from the time they're little boys, they've been wanting to be President.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-boxer/if-i-can-make-a-generalization-men-get-into-politics-because-from-the/) [Barbara Boxer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-boxer/) ## More by Ian Hacking > [The best reaction to a paradox is to invent a genuinely new and deep idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/the-best-reaction-to-a-paradox-is-to-invent-a-genuinely-new-and-deep/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One of the things Kuhn said about normal science is that people 'expect' things to be discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-of-the-things-kuhn-said-about-normal-science-is-that-people/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Probability fractions arise from our knowledge and from our ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/probability-fractions-arise-from-our-knowledge-and-from-our-ignorance/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One ought to begin an analysis of power from the ground up, at the level of tiny local events where battles are unwittingly enacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-ought-to-begin-an-analysis-of-power-from-the-ground-up-at-the/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is possible to argue that our present conception of revolution was staked out more securely in science than in political action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-possible-to-argue-that-our-present-conception-of-revolution-was/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Why should there be the method of science? There is not just one way to build a house, or even to grow tomatoes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/why-should-there-be-the-method-of-science-there-is-not-just-one-way/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Opinion is the companion of probability within the medieval epistemology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/opinion-is-the-companion-of-probability-within-the-medieval/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Risk analysis can cater to any sort of hazard, but their profession owes its existence to a relatively narrow band of possible dangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/risk-analysis-can-cater-to-any-sort-of-hazard-but-their-profession/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is so hard to make important decisions that we have a great urge to reduce them to rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-so-hard-to-make-important-decisions-that-we-have-a-great-urge/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [In each case you settle on an act. Doing nothing at all counts as an act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/in-each-case-you-settle-on-an-act-doing-nothing-at-all-counts-as-an/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [I think it's unfortunate when people say that there is just one true story of science. For one thing, there are many different sciences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/i-think-it-s-unfortunate-when-people-say-that-there-is-just-one-true/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [As a political metaphor, a revolution could, in that sense, mean only a return to better times, or to the true constitution: a ridding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/as-a-political-metaphor-a-revolution-could-in-that-sense-mean-only-a/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [“Labels such as ‘‘the culture wars,’’ ‘‘the science wars,’’ or ‘‘the Freud wars’’ are now widely used to refer to some of the disagreements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/labels-such-as-the-culture-wars-the-science-wars-or-the-freud-wars/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [There are two ways in which a science develops; in response to problems which is itself creates, and in response to problems that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/there-are-two-ways-in-which-a-science-develops-in-response-to/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [From any vocabulary of ideas we can build other ideas by formal combinations of signs. But not any set of ideas will be instructive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/from-any-vocabulary-of-ideas-we-can-build-other-ideas-by-formal/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) [Explore all 75 Ian Hacking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## More Falsehood quotes > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“God is not as a man.” He thus shows that all men are indeed guilty of falsehood, inasmuch as they change from one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/god-is-not-as-a-man-he-thus-shows-that-all-men-are-indeed-guilty-of/) The Church Fathers > [People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-have-been-gulled-into-thinking/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [One of the reasons, surely, why women have been credited with less perfect veracity than men is that the burden of conventional falsehood falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-reasons-surely-why-women-have-been-credited-with-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-had-the-unlucky-capacity-many-men-have-of-seeing-and-believing-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Browse all 724 Falsehood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A single observation that is inconsistent with some generalization points to the falsehood of the generalization, and thereby 'points to itself'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Hacking" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/a-single-observation-that-is-inconsistent-with-some-generalization/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Falsehood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/a-single-observation-that-is-inconsistent-with-some-generalization/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/ian-hacking-9085_falsehood_a-single-observation-that-is-inconsisten_1911734.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A single observation that is inconsistent with some generalization points to the falsehood of the…” — Ian Hacking", "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": "Ian Hacking", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A single observation that is inconsistent...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/a-single-observation-that-is-inconsistent-with-some-generalization/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/a-single-observation-that-is-inconsistent-with-some-generalization/#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 } } ] } ```