--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know a great deal, but our ignorance…" description: "\"We know a great deal, but our ignorance is sobering and boundless. With each step forward, with each problem which we solve, we not only discover new a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg" --- # We know a great deal, but our ignorance is sobering and… ![“We know a great deal, but our ignorance is sobering and boundless. With each step forward, with each problem which we solve, we not only discover new and unsolved problems, but we also discover that where we believed that we were standing on firm and safe ground, all things are, in truth, insecure…” quote by Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg) > “We know a great deal, but our ignorance is sobering and boundless. With each step forward, with each problem which we solve, we not only discover new and unsolved problems, but we also discover that where we believed that we were standing on firm and safe ground, all things are, in truth, insecure and in a state of flux.” [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge expands, but each discovery reveals new uncertainties; certainty is always provisional. **In simple terms:** Knowledge grows, exposing more unknowns. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and continuous inquiry. Themes knowledge uncertainty progress Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - research - education - policy making Key Concepts epistemology science critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle uncertainty in decisions? - What methods keep inquiry open‑ended? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on certainty can stall innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boundless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundless/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Steps forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps-forward/) [Unsolved problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsolved-problems/) ## Related quotes > [The first thing the reasonable man must do is to be content with a very little knowledge and a very great deal of ignorance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-david-ritchie/the-first-thing-the-reasonable-man-must-do-is-to-be-content-with-a/) [Arthur David Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-david-ritchie/) > [We should all learn from our experiences, but I don't think hatred is the best way to deal with ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doja-cat/we-should-all-learn-from-our-experiences-but-i-don-t-think-hatred-is/) [Doja Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doja-cat/) > [Every solution of a problem raises new unsolved problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/every-solution-of-a-problem-raises-new-unsolved-problems/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Although the cooking of food presents some unsolved problems, the quick warming of cooked food and the thawing of frozen food both open up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-guy-suits/although-the-cooking-of-food-presents-some-unsolved-problems-the/) Chauncey Guy Suits > [The world is not an unsolved problem for scientists or sociologists. The world is a living mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-world-is-not-an-unsolved-problem-for-scientists-or-sociologists/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It is one of our most exciting discoveries that local discovery leads to a complex of further discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/it-is-one-of-our-most-exciting-discoveries-that-local-discovery-leads/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors, concern for the great unsolved problems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/concern-for-man-himself-and-his-fate-must-always-form-the-chief/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Our teaching of mathematics revolves around a fundamental conflict. Rightly or wrongly, students are required to master a series of mathematical concepts and techniques,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/our-teaching-of-mathematics-revolves-around-a-fundamental-conflict/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unsolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-bettelheim/play-permits-the-child-to-resolve-in-symbolic-form-unsolved-problems/) [Bruno Bettelheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-bettelheim/) > [Theorems are fun especially when you are the prover, but then the pleasure fades. What keeps us going are the unsolved problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-pomerance/theorems-are-fun-especially-when-you-are-the-prover-but-then-the/) Carl Pomerance > [How wrong it is to use God as a stop-gap for the incompleteness of our knowledge. . . . We are to find God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/how-wrong-it-is-to-use-god-as-a-stop-gap-for-the-incompleteness-of/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The quest for a quantum gravity is one of the greatest unsolved problems in all of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/the-quest-for-a-quantum-gravity-is-one-of-the-greatest-unsolved/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [I believe that each young person is different from any other who has ever lived, as different as his fingerprints: that he could bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/i-believe-that-each-young-person-is-different-from-any-other-who-has/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Nausea is an unsolved problem of medicine and marijuana is the finest anti-nausea medication known to science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/nausea-is-an-unsolved-problem-of-medicine-and-marijuana-is-the-finest/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [Empathic listening takes time, but it doesn't take anywhere near as much time as it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/empathic-listening-takes-time-but-it-doesn-t-take-anywhere-near-as/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) ## More by Karl Popper > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-not-a-system-of-certain-or-established-statements-nor-is/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/as-indicated-by-our-example-methodological-nominalism-is-nowadays/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Science is perhaps the only human activity in which errors are systematically criticized and, in time, corrected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-perhaps-the-only-human-activity-in-which-errors-are/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only-if-it-is-capable-of-being/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/bold-ideas-unjustified-anticipations-and-speculative-thought-are-our/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [ \[The aim of science is\] to explain what so far has taken to be an explicans, such as a law of nature. The task… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-aim-of-science-is-to-explain-what-so-far-has-taken-to-be-an/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [There can be no ultimate statements science: there can be no statements in science which can not be tested, and therefore none which cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-can-be-no-ultimate-statements-science-there-can-be-no/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Evolution is not a fact. Evolution doesn't even qualify as a theory or as a hypothesis. It is a metaphysical research program, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/evolution-is-not-a-fact-evolution-doesn-t-even-qualify-as-a-theory-or/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [I am opposed to looking upon logic as a kind of game. ... One might think that it is a matter of choice or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/i-am-opposed-to-looking-upon-logic-as-a-kind-of-game-one-might-think/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [The history of science, like the history of all human ideas, is a history of irresponsible dreams, of obstinacy, and of error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-history-of-science-like-the-history-of-all-human-ideas-is-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Good tests kill flawed theories; we remain alive to guess again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/good-tests-kill-flawed-theories-we-remain-alive-to-guess-again/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [There is no pure, disinterested, theory-free observation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-is-no-pure-disinterested-theory-free-observation/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [We have the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should tolerate even them whenever we can do so without running a great risk;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-have-the-right-not-to-tolerate-the-intolerant-we-should-tolerate/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Better our hypotheses die for our errors than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/better-our-hypotheses-die-for-our-errors-than-ourselves/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“Every time we proceed to explain some conjectural law or theory by a new conjectural theory of a higher degree of universality, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/every-time-we-proceed-to-explain-some-conjectural-law-or-theory-by-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) [Explore all 181 Karl Popper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) ## More All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/) [Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The U.S. Army has recently removed the cross from the insignia worn by chaplains. In its place is a sun with its rays, symbolizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/the-u-s-army-has-recently-removed-the-cross-from-the-insignia-worn-by/) [Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/) > [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) Browse all 2,486 All things quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We know a great deal, but our ignorance is sobering and boundless. With each step forward, with each problem which we solve, we not only discover new and unsolved problems, but we also discover that where we believed that we were standing on firm and safe ground, all things are, in truth, insecure and in a state of flux.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Popper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-is-sobering-and-boundless-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-is-sobering-and-boundless-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/karl-popper-2167_all-things_we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-i_1625142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We know a great deal, but our ignorance is sobering and boundless. With each step forward, with each problem…” — Karl Popper", "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": "Karl Popper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We know a great deal, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-is-sobering-and-boundless-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-know-a-great-deal-but-our-ignorance-is-sobering-and-boundless-with/#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 } } ] } ```