--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost all the greatest discoveries in…" description: "\"Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have resulted from what we have elsewhere termed Residual Phenomena, of a qualitative or numerical kin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg" --- # Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have… ![“Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have resulted from what we have elsewhere termed Residual Phenomena, of a qualitative or numerical kind, of such portions of the numerical or quantitative results of observation as remain outstanding and unaccounted for, after subducting and…” quote by John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg) > “Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have resulted from what we have elsewhere termed Residual Phenomena, of a qualitative or numerical kind, of such portions of the numerical or quantitative results of observation as remain outstanding and unaccounted for, after subducting and allowing for all that would result from the strict application of known principles.” [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexplained data points often lead to major breakthroughs when examined closely. **In simple terms:** Unexpected results can spark discovery. Key Takeaway Investigate anomalies thoroughly. Themes science discovery curiosity Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific educational When to use this quote - research labs - observational studies - theoretical modeling Key Concepts astronomy residual phenomena data analysis Questions to Reflect On - What data do you dismiss? - How can you test if an anomaly is meaningful? A Different Perspective Anomalies may be noise rather than signal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [New Orleans, more than many places I know, actually tangibly lives its culture. It's not just a residual of life; it's a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-pierce/new-orleans-more-than-many-places-i-know-actually-tangibly-lives-its/) [Wendell Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-pierce/) > [A residual sea of symbols which is shared by all mankind, usually accessed through dreams or altered states, and from which cultures draw images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/a-residual-sea-of-symbols-which-is-shared-by-all-mankind-usually/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [ Some of my enthusiasm for the \[found\] photograph was based on the fact that there was some residual illusion of reality in it always,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heinecken/some-of-my-enthusiasm-for-the-found-photograph-was-based-on-the-fact/) [Robert Heinecken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heinecken/) > [In fiction, I have a residual guilt when I focus on story over language or mood or whatever - the more "literary" things. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/in-fiction-i-have-a-residual-guilt-when-i-focus-on-story-over/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [Often you hear stories about never working with children. I disagree because children still have that residual magical thinking. They haven't had their imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/often-you-hear-stories-about-never-working-with-children-i-disagree/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [It seems that truth is progressive approximation in which the relative fraction of our spontaneously tolerated residual error constantly diminishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/it-seems-that-truth-is-progressive-approximation-in-which-the/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [One irreducible residual of 38 years in the business is the number of lasting, loving friendships I have made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-o-connor/one-irreducible-residual-of-38-years-in-the-business-is-the-number-of/) [Carroll O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-o-connor/) > [We are prodding, challenging, seeking contradictions or small, persistent residual errors, proposing alternative explanations, encouraging heresy. We give our highest rewards to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-are-prodding-challenging-seeking-contradictions-or-small/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Traditionally games never used professional writers to create their narrative, so there's definitely a residual feeling that hiring a proper writer is somewhat of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/traditionally-games-never-used-professional-writers-to-create-their/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [The suspicion is in the air nowadays that the superiority of one of our formulas to another may not consist so much in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-suspicion-is-in-the-air-nowadays-that-the-superiority-of-one-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The only way that residual racist feelings could affect legislation, in my opinion, is through a lack of priorities, from not doing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-that-residual-racist-feelings-could-affect-legislation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was able to do Classics, the U.S. national championships and the Pan American Games and feel like I improved with each meet, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-johnson/i-was-able-to-do-classics-the-u-s-national-championships-and-the-pan/) [Shawn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-johnson/) > [The reason for not going out and sinning all you like is the same as the reason for not going out and putting your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-reason-for-not-going-out-and-sinning-all-you-like-is-the-same-as/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [If you don't put the spiritual and religious dimension into our political conversation, you won't be asking the really big and important question. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-brilliant/if-you-don-t-put-the-spiritual-and-religious-dimension-into-our/) [Larry Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-brilliant/) > [The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-working-of-great-institutions-is-mainly-the-result-of-a-vast-mass/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## More by John Herschel > [Self-respect,--the corner-stone of all virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/self-respect-the-corner-stone-of-all-virtue/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [ \[When nature appears complicated:\] The moment we contemplate it as it is, and attain a position from which we can take a commanding view,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/when-nature-appears-complicated-the-moment-we-contemplate-it-as-it-is/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated-2/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [The novel, in its best form, I regard as one of the most powerful engines of civilization ever invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/the-novel-in-its-best-form-i-regard-as-one-of-the-most-powerful/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [No doubt the testimony of natural reason, on whatever exercised, must, of necessity, stop short of those truths which it is the object of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/no-doubt-the-testimony-of-natural-reason-on-whatever-exercised-must/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [The end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century were remarkable for the small amount of scientific movement going on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/the-end-of-the-eighteenth-and-the-beginning-of-the-nineteenth-century/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Occurrences which according to received theories ought not to happen, are the facts which serve as clues to new discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/occurrences-which-according-to-received-theories-ought-not-to-happen/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Accustomed to trace the operation of general causes, and the exemplification of general laws, in circumstances where the uninformed and unenquiring eye perceives neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/accustomed-to-trace-the-operation-of-general-causes-and-the/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Geology, in the magnitude and sublimity of the objects of which it treats, undoubtedly ranks, in the scale of the sciences, next to astronomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/geology-in-the-magnitude-and-sublimity-of-the-objects-of-which-it/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Were I to pray for a taste which should stand me in good stead under every variety of circumstances and be a source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/were-i-to-pray-for-a-taste-which-should-stand-me-in-good-stead-under/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Humans always have fear of an unknown situation -- this is normal. The important thing is what we do about it. If fear is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/humans-always-have-fear-of-an-unknown-situation-this-is-normal-the/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [First, In showing in how to avoid attempting impossibilities. Second, In securing us from important mistakes in attempting what is, in itself possible, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/first-in-showing-in-how-to-avoid-attempting-impossibilities-second-in/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [The end of the eighteenth and the commencement of the nineteenth century are remarkable for the small amount of scientific movement going on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/the-end-of-the-eighteenth-and-the-commencement-of-the-nineteenth/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) [Explore all 33 John Herschel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) ## More Allowing quotes > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Is the minor convenience of allowing the present generation the luxury of doubling its energy consumption every 10 years worth the major hazard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/is-the-minor-convenience-of-allowing-the-present-generation-the/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Once again I was shamelessly allowing myself to be defined by another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginny-babcock-kinflicks/once-again-i-was-shamelessly-allowing-myself-to-be-defined-by-another/) Ginny Babcock Kinflicks > [Even when I was saying I was Agnostic and trying to figure out my thoughts, I felt God was allowing me to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfre-woodard/even-when-i-was-saying-i-was-agnostic-and-trying-to-figure-out-my/) [Alfre Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfre-woodard/) > [By allowing multiple partners to contribute, an open platform can nurture an entire ecosystem of developers and apps. Good products integrate and become great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holmes/by-allowing-multiple-partners-to-contribute-an-open-platform-can/) [Ryan Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holmes/) > [When you ask for patience, what you get is a line at the bank. In other words, life gives you the people, places, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-mcmillan/when-you-ask-for-patience-what-you-get-is-a-line-at-the-bank-in-other/) [Tracy McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-mcmillan/) > [Sometimes, I get afraid it has defined me, that sense of grief, loss and illness. But actually, it is about allowing myself to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-afraid-it-has-defined-me-that-sense-of-grief-loss-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Meditation is actually a very simple exercise in resting in the natural state of your present mind, and allowing yourself to be simply and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/meditation-is-actually-a-very-simple-exercise-in-resting-in-the/) [Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/) > [When you're still, and some actors are really brilliant at that, you bring a kind of energy to you as opposed to sending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/when-you-re-still-and-some-actors-are-really-brilliant-at-that-you/) [Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/) > [The only reason I would write a break-up song is because my own problem of allowing myself to relate to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zola-jesus/the-only-reason-i-would-write-a-break-up-song-is-because-my-own/) [Zola Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zola-jesus/) > [I just think fashion is about enjoying yourself and being comfortable in your skin and allowing you to be you - all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/i-just-think-fashion-is-about-enjoying-yourself-and-being-comfortable/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [I don't think there's any harm at all in allowing a kid to fantasize. In fact, I think to stop people from fantasizing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-harm-at-all-in-allowing-a-kid-to-fantasize/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [All I wanted to do was put together one of the best home maths systems in the world, and that's what we've done. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-vorderman/all-i-wanted-to-do-was-put-together-one-of-the-best-home-maths/) [Carol Vorderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-vorderman/) > [I want to deal with the homeless situation here in Washington, D.C. I think it is a travesty that we've got men - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-to-deal-with-the-homeless-situation-here-in-washington-d-c-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) Browse all 916 Allowing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have resulted from what we have elsewhere termed Residual Phenomena, of a qualitative or numerical kind, of such portions of the numerical or quantitative results of observation as remain outstanding and unaccounted for, after subducting and allowing for all that would result from the strict application of known principles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Herschel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-astronomy-have-resulted-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Allowing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-astronomy-have-resulted-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d4/john-herschel-18983_allowing_almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-a_1002896.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Almost all the greatest discoveries in astronomy have resulted from what we have elsewhere termed Residual…” — John Herschel", "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": "John Herschel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Almost all the greatest discoveries in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-astronomy-have-resulted-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/almost-all-the-greatest-discoveries-in-astronomy-have-resulted-from/#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 } } ] } ```