--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten…" description: "\"An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten miles of after-thought.\" — Jack Vance" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg" --- # An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten miles of… ![“An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten miles of after-thought.” quote by Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg) > “An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten miles of after-thought.” [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Having a small amount of foresight is far more valuable than extensive post‑event analysis, saving effort and guiding better decisions. **In simple terms:** Foreknowledge beats hindsight. Key Takeaway Seek early insight, avoid costly hindsight. Themes planning decision‑making strategy wisdom Mood pragmatic optimistic Type strategic inspirational When to use this quote - project management - personal goal setting - emergency preparedness - investment decisions Key Concepts prediction risk assessment learning curves Questions to Reflect On - What small insight could change your plans? - How do you balance foresight with flexibility? A Different Perspective Overconfidence in limited foresight can lead to errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foreknowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreknowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“Interesting, Miles thought. Like himself, Father Mark, as a child, had been reassured by the imagined proximity of God, whereas adults, perhaps because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/interesting-miles-thought-like-himself-father-mark-as-a-child-had/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“I don’t know what Miles thought about while we walked home but I thought about Leo. I guess I was wrong about him fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-don-t-know-what-miles-thought-about-while-we-walked-home-but-i/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“She’d pulled back her hair to air her neck, just for one second, fanning her flushed cheeks by flapping her other hand. She’d smiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-lawless/she-d-pulled-back-her-hair-to-air-her-neck-just-for-one-second/) [Erin Lawless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-lawless/) > [Many other means there be, that promise the foreknowledge of things to come: besides the raising up and conjuring of ghosts departed, the conference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/many-other-means-there-be-that-promise-the-foreknowledge-of-things-to/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [“Providence is not the same thing as God’s foreknowledge or prescience. Foreknowledge is His ability to look down the corridors of time and know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul-2/providence-is-not-the-same-thing-as-god-s-foreknowledge-or-prescience/) [R.C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul-2/) > [What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/what-enables-the-wise-sovereign-and-the-good-general-to-strike-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“You know me. I'll hurt you. Welcome home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cross/you-know-me-i-ll-hurt-you-welcome-home/) [Sarah Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cross/) > [“You see him and you think me and I knew if you saw him first you would be afraid because it is frightening! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-him-and-you-think-me-and-i-knew-if-you-saw-him-first-you/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/now-this-foreknowledge-cannot-be-elicited-from-spirits-it-cannot-be/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [We certainly have to have a view about knowledge in order to decide whether some version of foreknowledge is necessary for inquiry or whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-fine/we-certainly-have-to-have-a-view-about-knowledge-in-order-to-decide/) [Gail Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-fine/) > [There is a certain destiny of everything, regulated by the foreknowledge and providence of God in His works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-a-certain-destiny-of-everything-regulated-by-the/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Foreknowledge is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/foreknowledge-is-power/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [“What enables the enlightened rulers and good generals to conquer the enemy at every move and achieve extraordinary success is foreknowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-enables-the-enlightened-rulers-and-good-generals-to-conquer-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is no going back. There is no revival of our humans. There is no erasure of our horrors. No healing except of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/there-is-no-going-back-there-is-no-revival-of-our-humans-there-is-no/) [Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/) > [“And further, God should not be regarded as older than His creations by any period of time, but rather by the peculiar property of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/and-further-god-should-not-be-regarded-as-older-than-his-creations-by/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) ## More by Jack Vance > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [But, for instance, when I was awfully young, I read all the Oz books. They were an enormous influence on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/but-for-instance-when-i-was-awfully-young-i-read-all-the-oz-books/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [I categorically declare first my absolute innocence, second my lack of criminal intent, and third my effusive apologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-categorically-declare-first-my-absolute-innocence-second-my-lack-of/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Right now I'm so old that if I had a big gush of money, I don't know what I'd do with it. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/right-now-i-m-so-old-that-if-i-had-a-big-gush-of-money-i-don-t-know/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [This is no science, this is art, where equations fall away to elements like resolving chords, and where always prevails a symmetry either explicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/this-is-no-science-this-is-art-where-equations-fall-away-to-elements/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“I will be glad to go. There is no poetry here. It is as I have always set forth: joy comes of its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-will-be-glad-to-go-there-is-no-poetry-here-it-is-as-i-have-always/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Jack Vance's Lyonesse books are the greatest fairy tale of the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/jack-vance-s-lyonesse-books-are-the-greatest-fairy-tale-of-the/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Good music always defeats bad luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/good-music-always-defeats-bad-luck/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“I am not Cugel the Clever for nothing!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-am-not-cugel-the-clever-for-nothing/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“Twango's hospitality, though largely symbolic, does him credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/twango-s-hospitality-though-largely-symbolic-does-him-credit/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Nothing is more conspicuous than a farting princess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/nothing-is-more-conspicuous-than-a-farting-princess/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“The dead man's companions at the counter started to their feet, but halted as Voynod with great aplomb turned to face them. "Take care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/the-dead-man-s-companions-at-the-counter-started-to-their-feet-but/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [The story was such that I couldn't make a graceful ending and then make a graceful new beginning. I could have, but I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/the-story-was-such-that-i-couldn-t-make-a-graceful-ending-and-then/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Vance has a genius in evoking the beauty of strangeness, the strangeness of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/vance-has-a-genius-in-evoking-the-beauty-of-strangeness-the/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [This flattery has been rather slow in coming. I think all of sudden late in life now I'm getting some credit for what I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/this-flattery-has-been-rather-slow-in-coming-i-think-all-of-sudden/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) [Explore all 120 Jack Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) ## More Foreknowledge quotes > [“There is no going back. There is no revival of our humans. There is no erasure of our horrors. No healing except of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/there-is-no-going-back-there-is-no-revival-of-our-humans-there-is-no/) [Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/) > [“What enables the enlightened rulers and good generals to conquer the enemy at every move and achieve extraordinary success is foreknowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-enables-the-enlightened-rulers-and-good-generals-to-conquer-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Foreknowledge is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/foreknowledge-is-power/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [There is a certain destiny of everything, regulated by the foreknowledge and providence of God in His works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-a-certain-destiny-of-everything-regulated-by-the/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [We certainly have to have a view about knowledge in order to decide whether some version of foreknowledge is necessary for inquiry or whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-fine/we-certainly-have-to-have-a-view-about-knowledge-in-order-to-decide/) [Gail Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-fine/) > [Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/now-this-foreknowledge-cannot-be-elicited-from-spirits-it-cannot-be/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“You see him and you think me and I knew if you saw him first you would be afraid because it is frightening! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-him-and-you-think-me-and-i-knew-if-you-saw-him-first-you/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You know me. I'll hurt you. Welcome home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cross/you-know-me-i-ll-hurt-you-welcome-home/) [Sarah Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cross/) > [What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/what-enables-the-wise-sovereign-and-the-good-general-to-strike-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Providence is not the same thing as God’s foreknowledge or prescience. Foreknowledge is His ability to look down the corridors of time and know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul-2/providence-is-not-the-same-thing-as-god-s-foreknowledge-or-prescience/) [R.C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul-2/) > [Many other means there be, that promise the foreknowledge of things to come: besides the raising up and conjuring of ghosts departed, the conference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/many-other-means-there-be-that-promise-the-foreknowledge-of-things-to/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [“And further, God should not be regarded as older than His creations by any period of time, but rather by the peculiar property of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/and-further-god-should-not-be-regarded-as-older-than-his-creations-by/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [“God knew man would evolve. People think some of the Old Testament laws are absurd now because we live in a very different culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/god-knew-man-would-evolve-people-think-some-of-the-old-testament-laws/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“The unavoidable sign of not being God is the absence of foreknowledge!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-unavoidable-sign-of-not-being-god-is-the-absence-of-foreknowledge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Foreknowledge of the future makes it possible to manipulate both enemies and supporters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-aron/foreknowledge-of-the-future-makes-it-possible-to-manipulate-both/) [Raymond Aron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-aron/) [Browse all 18 Foreknowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreknowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten miles of after-thought.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Vance" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-miles-of-after-thought/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Foreknowledge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-miles-of-after-thought/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/jack-vance-3851_inches_an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-mi_1313618.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An inch of foreknowledge is worth ten miles of after-thought.” — Jack Vance", "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": "Jack Vance", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An inch of foreknowledge is worth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-miles-of-after-thought/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/an-inch-of-foreknowledge-is-worth-ten-miles-of-after-thought/#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 } } ] } ```