---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One's instinct is at first to try and get…"
description: "\"“One's instinct is at first to try and get rid of a discrepancy, but I believe that experience shows such an endeavour to be a mistake. What one ought ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/john-william-strutt-56273_discrepancy_one-s-instinct-is-at-first-to-try-and-ge_673725.png"
---

#  One's instinct is at first to try and get rid of a…

![“One's instinct is at first to try and get rid of a discrepancy, but I believe that experience shows such an endeavour to be a mistake. What one ought to do is to magnify a small discrepancy with a view to finding out the explanation.” quote by John William Strutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/john-william-strutt-56273_discrepancy_one-s-instinct-is-at-first-to-try-and-ge_673725.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/john-william-strutt-56273_discrepancy_one-s-instinct-is-at-first-to-try-and-ge_673725.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/john-william-strutt-56273_discrepancy_one-s-instinct-is-at-first-to-try-and-ge_673725.png)

> ““One's instinct is at first to try and get rid of a discrepancy, but I believe that experience shows such an endeavour to be a mistake. What one ought to do is to magnify a small discrepancy with a view to finding out the explanation.””

[John William Strutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-william-strutt/)

## About This Quote

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

Instead of dismissing minor inconsistencies, expand them to uncover underlying causes.

**In simple terms:** Explore small differences to learn.

Key Takeaway

Investigate inconsistencies for deeper insight.

Themes

curiosity science analysis

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

- laboratory research
- debugging software
- quality control
- investigative journalism
- medical diagnosis

Key Concepts

critical thinking epistemology error analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you turn a small error into a learning opportunity?
- When is it better to ignore a discrepancy?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on minor details can stall progress if not balanced with broader context.

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[Discrepancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrepancy/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Nobel-laureate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-laureate/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/)

## Related quotes

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> [No, I think that we've got a basic discrepancy here between the rule of law versus the rule of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-moore/no-i-think-that-we-ve-got-a-basic-discrepancy-here-between-the-rule/)

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Jake Lacy

> [“he justified the discrepancy by saying that the coworker was married with children to support,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-berlin/he-justified-the-discrepancy-by-saying-that-the-coworker-was-married/)

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> [“It is an unthinkable discrepancy that fifty-four men should consume the food intended for fifty-three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/it-is-an-unthinkable-discrepancy-that-fifty-four-men-should-consume/)

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> [What a great discrepancy there is between men and the results they achieve! It is due to the difference in their power of calling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/what-a-great-discrepancy-there-is-between-men-and-the-results-they/)

[Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/)

> [Discrepancy between theory and practice, which in sound physical and mechanical science is a delusion, has a real existence in the minds of men;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-john-macquorn-rankine/discrepancy-between-theory-and-practice-which-in-sound-physical-and/)

[William John Macquorn Rankine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-john-macquorn-rankine/)

> [The discrepancy or contradiction is the entire story. And being the entire story, it by itself discredits the entire twenty-six volumes of the Warren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/the-discrepancy-or-contradiction-is-the-entire-story-and-being-the/)

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> [“A lie is a discrepancy of belief, not fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/a-lie-is-a-discrepancy-of-belief-not-fact/)

[Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/)

> [ Accounting incomes were reduced by discrepancy \[ but\] "the net amount paid by lawyers for lawyerly discrepancy is close to zippo. In this case,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/accounting-incomes-were-reduced-by-discrepancy-but-the-net-amount/)

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> [“A moment ago you were a smart, independent individual and now you claim to be a silly, ignorant pawn. You cannot be both. Make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-h-o-neil/a-moment-ago-you-were-a-smart-independent-individual-and-now-you/)

[Vincent H. O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-h-o-neil/)

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[Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/)

## More by John William Strutt

> [Examples ... which might be multiplied ad libitum, show how difficult it often is for an experimenter to interpret his results without the aid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-william-strutt/examples-which-might-be-multiplied-ad-libitum-show-how-difficult-it/)

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[Explore all 6 John William Strutt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-william-strutt/)

## More Discrepancy quotes

> [The discrepancy between what actually happened and the version of what happened provided by sources is an enormous gray area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jay-epstein/the-discrepancy-between-what-actually-happened-and-the-version-of/)

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> [No, I think that we've got a basic discrepancy here between the rule of law versus the rule of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-moore/no-i-think-that-we-ve-got-a-basic-discrepancy-here-between-the-rule/)

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