--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dullards would have you believe that once…" description: "\"“Dullards would have you believe that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth... but to a math..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13e/kim-newman-26953_deduction_dullards-would-have-you-believe-that-onc_994233.jpg" --- # Dullards would have you believe that once you have… ![“Dullards would have you believe that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth... but to a mathematical mind, the impossible is simply a theorem yet to be solved. We must not eliminate the impossible, we must conquer it, suborn it to our…” quote by Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13e/kim-newman-26953_deduction_dullards-would-have-you-believe-that-onc_994233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13e/kim-newman-26953_deduction_dullards-would-have-you-believe-that-onc_994233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13e/kim-newman-26953_deduction_dullards-would-have-you-believe-that-onc_994233.jpg) > ““Dullards would have you believe that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth... but to a mathematical mind, the impossible is simply a theorem yet to be solved. We must not eliminate the impossible, we must conquer it, suborn it to our purpose.”” [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Impossible problems are not to be dismissed but tackled; they become solvable through creative effort. **In simple terms:** Impossible is a challenge, not a stop. Key Takeaway Turn impossibility into opportunity. Themes innovation perseverance logic Mood inspired determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research projects - technical troubleshooting - creative writing - strategic planning Key Concepts problem solving theoretical physics Questions to Reflect On - What “impossible” problem excites you? - How can you reframe obstacles as opportunities? A Different Perspective Some “impossible” tasks may be fundamentally unsolvable given current knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deduction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deduction/) [Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moriarty/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“ Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/entia-non-sunt-multiplicanda-praeter-necessitatem-no-more-things/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“How did your parents come to be "lost at sea", Moriarty?' The professor paused, and said, 'Mysteriously, Moran.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/how-did-your-parents-come-to-be-lost-at-sea-moriarty-the-professor/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“He left the room, and closeted himself in the dark, buzzing space where he raised his wasps and plotted the courses of heavenly bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/he-left-the-room-and-closeted-himself-in-the-dark-buzzing-space-where/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Somehow, the notion that Professor Moriarty had parents - might have been a child - never sat right. A viper is a snake straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/somehow-the-notion-that-professor-moriarty-had-parents-might-have/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Only an idiot guesses or reasons or deduces ,’ the Professor said, patiently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/only-an-idiot-guesses-or-reasons-or-deduces-the-professor-said/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“No crime too small’ was never exactly Moriarty’s slogan, but the criminal genius would apply himself to minor offences if an unusual challenge was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/no-crime-too-small-was-never-exactly-moriarty-s-slogan-but-the/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Moriarty smiled his adder’s smile. And I relaxed. I knew . My destiny and his wound together. It was a sensation I’d never got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/moriarty-smiled-his-adder-s-smile-and-i-relaxed-i-knew-my-destiny-and/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Moriarty rarely smiled,and then usually to terrify some poor victim. The first time I heard him laugh, I thought he had been struck by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/moriarty-rarely-smiled-and-then-usually-to-terrify-some-poor-victim/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [Too often we jump to the conclusion that something is impossible simply because we cannot see the solution. No one knows enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/too-often-we-jump-to-the-conclusion-that-something-is-impossible/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“The difference between possible and impossible is simply determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-difference-between-possible-and-impossible-is-simply-determination/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But somewhere along the journey I learned that much of what I thought was impossible was simply very, very difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-pharr-davis/but-somewhere-along-the-journey-i-learned-that-much-of-what-i-thought/) [Jennifer Pharr Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-pharr-davis/) > [“Nothing is impossible, you simply just have to believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jensen/nothing-is-impossible-you-simply-just-have-to-believe-it/) [Jim Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jensen/) > [What we usually consider as impossible are simply engineering problems... there's no law of physics preventing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/what-we-usually-consider-as-impossible-are-simply-engineering/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/when-you-eliminate-the-impossible-whatever-remains-however-improbable/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [ “Eliminate the impossible, and what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth,”\[40\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-p-brazee/eliminate-the-impossible-and-what-remains-no-matter-how-improbable/) Jonathan P. Brazee ## More by Kim Newman > [“Good things come to an end, bad things have to be stopped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/good-things-come-to-an-end-bad-things-have-to-be-stopped/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Moriarty rarely smiled,and then usually to terrify some poor victim. The first time I heard him laugh, I thought he had been struck by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/moriarty-rarely-smiled-and-then-usually-to-terrify-some-poor-victim/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“No crime too small’ was never exactly Moriarty’s slogan, but the criminal genius would apply himself to minor offences if an unusual challenge was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/no-crime-too-small-was-never-exactly-moriarty-s-slogan-but-the/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Moriarty smiled his adder’s smile. And I relaxed. I knew . My destiny and his wound together. It was a sensation I’d never got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/moriarty-smiled-his-adder-s-smile-and-i-relaxed-i-knew-my-destiny-and/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“There will never be slaves in Britain,' Godalming continued, 'but those who stay warm will naturally serve us, as the excellent Bessie has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/there-will-never-be-slaves-in-britain-godalming-continued-but-those/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“The Firm would go to war! Not soon enough, said I. For I wasn’t content to be content, to grow plump and pampered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/the-firm-would-go-to-war-not-soon-enough-said-i-for-i-wasn-t-content/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Power is based, at bottom, on the ability to kill; thus the means of killing have to be available, even if only to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/power-is-based-at-bottom-on-the-ability-to-kill-thus-the-means-of/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Places, she told herself, were not evil: they were what people made of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/places-she-told-herself-were-not-evil-they-were-what-people-made-of/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“In a battle which might interest scholars of modern urban warfare, the Conduit Street Comanche whipped the tar out of an irregular band of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/in-a-battle-which-might-interest-scholars-of-modern-urban-warfare-the/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Writing. It's a trivial pursuit, hardly worth the effort, inconsequential on any cosmic level. It's just blood and sweat and guts and bone hauled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/writing-it-s-a-trivial-pursuit-hardly-worth-the-effort/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“W ere you aware,’ began Lord Ruthven, ‘that there are people in these isles whose sole objection to the marriage of our dear Queen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/w-ere-you-aware-began-lord-ruthven-that-there-are-people-in-these/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Quite a few vampires, especially the elders, regarded those who creep through graveyard shadows in batwing capes and fingerless black gloves as an Edinburgh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/quite-a-few-vampires-especially-the-elders-regarded-those-who-creep/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“We need to stop the little girl," said Richard "pass me that shotgun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/we-need-to-stop-the-little-girl-said-richard-pass-me-that-shotgun/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Impaler,’ she declared, ‘I have no equal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/impaler-she-declared-i-have-no-equal/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) > [“Somehow, the notion that Professor Moriarty had parents - might have been a child - never sat right. A viper is a snake straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/somehow-the-notion-that-professor-moriarty-had-parents-might-have/) [Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) [Explore all 21 Kim Newman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/) ## More Deduction quotes > [Induction for deduction, with a view to construction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/induction-for-deduction-with-a-view-to-construction/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [Even tax breaks that are supposed to help the middle class too often skew toward the wealthy. Consider the mortgage interest deduction. While political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/even-tax-breaks-that-are-supposed-to-help-the-middle-class-too-often/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [No amount of reading and intelligent deduction could supplant the direct experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/no-amount-of-reading-and-intelligent-deduction-could-supplant-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“What a lovely thing a rose is!" He walked past the couch to the open window and held up the drooping stalk of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/what-a-lovely-thing-a-rose-is-he-walked-past-the-couch-to-the-open/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [If you ask any economist, they'll tell you all the mortgage interest deduction does is raise the price of the house. So a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-reid/if-you-ask-any-economist-they-ll-tell-you-all-the-mortgage-interest/) [T.R. Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-reid/) > [Unlike every other retirement vehicle, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, you receive a tax deduction for making contributions to your HSA but don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-zane-pilzer/unlike-every-other-retirement-vehicle-such-as-iras-and-401-k-s-you/) [Paul Zane Pilzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-zane-pilzer/) > [“The sensible man,' Crow had said (to Sherlock Holmes), 'don't look to confirm what he already knows -- he looks to deny it. Finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lane/the-sensible-man-crow-had-said-to-sherlock-holmes-don-t-look-to/) [Andrew Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lane/) > [“There is nothing distinctively scientific about the hypothetico-deductive process. It is not even distinctively intellectual. It is merely a scientific context for a much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/there-is-nothing-distinctively-scientific-about-the-hypothetico/) Peter B. Medawar > [Deduction, which takes us from the general proposition to facts again-teaches us, if I may so say, to anticipate from the ticket what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/deduction-which-takes-us-from-the-general-proposition-to-facts-again/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“There's also a possibility that the landlord is in there right now, wearing women's undergarments. Or a drug addict is inside stealing jewelry.Or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-b-miller/there-s-also-a-possibility-that-the-landlord-is-in-there-right-now/) [Derek B. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-b-miller/) > [“It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For my part, however, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many-exceptional-ideas-and-that/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [You also get a deduction in America for taking a night school course, growing sugarcane, moving to a new city for a job, replanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-reid/you-also-get-a-deduction-in-america-for-taking-a-night-school-course/) [T.R. Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-reid/) > [I must begin with a good body of facts and not from a principle (in which I always suspect some fallacy) and then as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-must-begin-with-a-good-body-of-facts-and-not-from-a-principle-in/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Lawmakers misrepresent the facts when they call the manufacturing deduction known as Section 199 - passed by Congress in 2004 to spur domestic job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ford-jr/lawmakers-misrepresent-the-facts-when-they-call-the-manufacturing/) [Harold Ford, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ford-jr/) > [The precise point at which a tax deduction becomes a 'loophole' or a tax incentive becomes a 'subsidy for special interests' is one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/the-precise-point-at-which-a-tax-deduction-becomes-a-loophole-or-a/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) [Browse all 40 Deduction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deduction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dullards would have you believe that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth... but to a mathematical mind, the impossible is simply a theorem yet to be solved. 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