---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The paradox of knowledge is not confined…"
description: "\"The paradox of knowledge is not confined to the small, atomic scale; on the contrary, it is as cogent on the scale of man, and even of the stars.\" — Ja..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png"
---

#  The paradox of knowledge is not confined to the small…

![“The paradox of knowledge is not confined to the small, atomic scale; on the contrary, it is as cogent on the scale of man, and even of the stars.” quote by Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png)

> “The paradox of knowledge is not confined to the small, atomic scale; on the contrary, it is as cogent on the scale of man, and even of the stars.”

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Knowledge applies at every scale, from atoms to humanity and cosmos, showing interconnectedness of understanding.

**In simple terms:** Understanding works everywhere.

Key Takeaway

Apply insights broadly.

Themes

science philosophy interconnectedness

Mood

curious reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- education
- research
- public policy
- personal growth

Key Concepts

scale universality knowledge

Questions to Reflect On

- How does scale affect knowledge?
- Can we truly grasp cosmic scale?

A Different Perspective

Complex systems may resist simple explanations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/)

## Related quotes

> [The true bounds and limitations, whereby human knowledge is confined and circumscribed,... are three: the first, that we do not so place our felicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-true-bounds-and-limitations-whereby-human-knowledge-is-confined/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [All the quantum physics experiments have occurred chiefly on the atomic scale and we are taught to believe that nature's laws are consistent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-horowitz/all-the-quantum-physics-experiments-have-occurred-chiefly-on-the/)

[Mitch Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-horowitz/)

> [One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/one-whose-knowledge-is-confined-to-books-and-whose-wealth-is-in-the/)

[Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/)

> [Wilderness is rapidly becoming one of those aspects of the American dream which is more of the past than of the present. Wilderness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/wilderness-is-rapidly-becoming-one-of-those-aspects-of-the-american/)

[Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/)

> [Neighbor is no longer confined to the vocabulary of the individual. It is a national word. Modern inventions have annihilated distance. Commercial relations have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/neighbor-is-no-longer-confined-to-the-vocabulary-of-the-individual-it/)

[David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/)

> [If I were confined to a corner of a garret all my days, like a spider, the world would be just as large to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-i-were-confined-to-a-corner-of-a-garret-all-my-days-like-a-spider/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Most of my films I call arena films. I deal with a confined area -- an arena -- and I try to cover every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/most-of-my-films-i-call-arena-films-i-deal-with-a-confined-area-an/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [In New York, we're always confined with spaces. Our restaurants are difficult to navigate as cooks and to operate. We fight against the buildings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chang/in-new-york-we-re-always-confined-with-spaces-our-restaurants-are/)

[David Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chang/)

> [I think my sound differentiates me from everyone else. I'm able to dip and dabble in other genres, without feeling out of place. Im…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iceberg-slim/i-think-my-sound-differentiates-me-from-everyone-else-i-m-able-to-dip/)

[Iceberg Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iceberg-slim/)

> [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/)

[Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/)

> [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/)

[Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/)

> [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [Good-breeding is not confined to externals, much less to any particular dress or attitude of the body; it is the art of pleasing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/good-breeding-is-not-confined-to-externals-much-less-to-any/)

[Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/)

> [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/)

[Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/)

## More by Jacob Bronowski

> [“A man becomes creative, whether he is an artist or a scientist, when he finds a new unity in the variety of nature. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-man-becomes-creative-whether-he-is-an-artist-or-a-scientist-when-he/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [We are all shot through with enough motives to make a massacre, any day of the week that we want to give them their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/we-are-all-shot-through-with-enough-motives-to-make-a-massacre-any/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [A popular cliche in philosophy says that science is pure analysis or reductionism, like taking the rainbow to pieces; and art is pure synthesis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-popular-cliche-in-philosophy-says-that-science-is-pure-analysis-or/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [The great poem and the deep theorem are new to every reader, and yet are his own experiences, because he himself recreates them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-great-poem-and-the-deep-theorem-are-new-to-every-reader-and-yet/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [“The Renaissance established the dignity of man. The Industrial Revolution established the unity of nature. That”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-renaissance-established-the-dignity-of-man-the-industrial/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [One original thought is worth the sum total of human knowledge, because it advances the sum total of human knowledge by that one original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/one-original-thought-is-worth-the-sum-total-of-human-knowledge/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [The richness of human life is that we have many lives, we live the events that do not happen (and some that cannot) as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-richness-of-human-life-is-that-we-have-many-lives-we-live-the/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [Einstein was a man who could ask immensely simple questions. And what his work showed is that when the answers are simple too, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/einstein-was-a-man-who-could-ask-immensely-simple-questions-and-what/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [Revolutions are not made by fate but by men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/revolutions-are-not-made-by-fate-but-by-men/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [“I am infinitely saddened to find myself suddenly surrounded in the west by a sense of terrible loss of nerve, a retreat from knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/i-am-infinitely-saddened-to-find-myself-suddenly-surrounded-in-the/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [The most remarkable discovery ever made by scientists is science itself. The discovery must be compared in importance with the invention of cave-painting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-most-remarkable-discovery-ever-made-by-scientists-is-science/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [There are three creative ideas which, each in its turn, have been central to science. They are the idea of order, the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/there-are-three-creative-ideas-which-each-in-its-turn-have-been/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [It is important that students bring a certain rafamuffin, barefoot, irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/it-is-important-that-students-bring-a-certain-rafamuffin-barefoot/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-hand-is-the-cutting-edge-of-the-mind/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [To me the most interesting thing about man is that he is an animal who practices art and science and in every known society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/to-me-the-most-interesting-thing-about-man-is-that-he-is-an-animal/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

[Explore all 140 Jacob Bronowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

## More Confined quotes

> [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/)

[Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/)

> [Good-breeding is not confined to externals, much less to any particular dress or attitude of the body; it is the art of pleasing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/good-breeding-is-not-confined-to-externals-much-less-to-any/)

[Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/)

> [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/)

[Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/)

> [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/)

[Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/)

> [I think my sound differentiates me from everyone else. I'm able to dip and dabble in other genres, without feeling out of place. Im…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iceberg-slim/i-think-my-sound-differentiates-me-from-everyone-else-i-m-able-to-dip/)

[Iceberg Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iceberg-slim/)

> [In New York, we're always confined with spaces. Our restaurants are difficult to navigate as cooks and to operate. We fight against the buildings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chang/in-new-york-we-re-always-confined-with-spaces-our-restaurants-are/)

[David Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chang/)

> [Most of my films I call arena films. I deal with a confined area -- an arena -- and I try to cover every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/most-of-my-films-i-call-arena-films-i-deal-with-a-confined-area-an/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [If I were confined to a corner of a garret all my days, like a spider, the world would be just as large to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-i-were-confined-to-a-corner-of-a-garret-all-my-days-like-a-spider/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Neighbor is no longer confined to the vocabulary of the individual. It is a national word. Modern inventions have annihilated distance. Commercial relations have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/neighbor-is-no-longer-confined-to-the-vocabulary-of-the-individual-it/)

[David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/)

> [Wilderness is rapidly becoming one of those aspects of the American dream which is more of the past than of the present. Wilderness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/wilderness-is-rapidly-becoming-one-of-those-aspects-of-the-american/)

[Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/)

> [What if today.. you were inspired and fed by your thoughts instead of being confined by them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjo-riikka-makela/what-if-today-you-were-inspired-and-fed-by-your-thoughts-instead-of/)

Marjo-Riikka Makela

> [There is nothing wrong with intellectual differences flowing from freedom of thought as long as such differences remain confined to intellectual debates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pervez-musharraf/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-intellectual-differences-flowing-from/)

[Pervez Musharraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pervez-musharraf/)

> [In Great Britain, woman was subordinate and confined. But at least she was also safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/in-great-britain-woman-was-subordinate-and-confined-but-at-least-she/)

[Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/)

Browse all 393 Confined quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The paradox of knowledge is not confined to the small, atomic scale; on the contrary, it is as cogent on the scale of man, and even of the stars.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jacob Bronowski"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined-to-the-small-atomic-scale-on/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Confined"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined-to-the-small-atomic-scale-on/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/jacob-bronowski-3073_confined_the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined_2816002.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The paradox of knowledge is not confined to the small, atomic scale; on the contrary, it is as cogent on the…” — Jacob Bronowski",
                "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": "Jacob Bronowski",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The paradox of knowledge is not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined-to-the-small-atomic-scale-on/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-paradox-of-knowledge-is-not-confined-to-the-small-atomic-scale-on/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```