---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the nature of an hypothesis, when…"
description: "\"It is the nature of an hypothesis, when once a man has conceived it, that it assimilates every thing to itself, as proper nourishment; and, from the fi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg"
---

#  It is the nature of an hypothesis, when once a man has…

![“It is the nature of an hypothesis, when once a man has conceived it, that it assimilates every thing to itself, as proper nourishment; and, from the first moment of your begetting it, it generally grows the stronger by every thing you see, hear, read, or understand.” quote by Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg)

> “It is the nature of an hypothesis, when once a man has conceived it, that it assimilates every thing to itself, as proper nourishment; and, from the first moment of your begetting it, it generally grows the stronger by every thing you see, hear, read, or understand.”

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

## About This Quote

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

An idea, once formed, absorbs all experiences, strengthening itself as it feeds on what we encounter.

**In simple terms:** Ideas grow by absorbing everything we encounter.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how ideas shape perception.

Themes

cognition growth perception

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

philosophical analytical

When to use this quote

- learning
- research
- creative work
- personal development

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you test an idea against evidence?
- What safeguards prevent echo chambers?

A Different Perspective

Ideas may become biased if unchecked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Assimilates Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilates-thing-5549946/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis/) [Hypothesis Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis-man-1758339/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-hypothesis-5549947/) [Nourishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nourishment/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger/)

## Related quotes

> [Man need not be degraded to a machine by being denied to be a ghost in a machine. He might, after all, be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/man-need-not-be-degraded-to-a-machine-by-being-denied-to-be-a-ghost/)

[Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/)

> [“This – some say – confirms the hypothesis that each man bears in his mind a city made only of differences, a city without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/this-some-say-confirms-the-hypothesis-that-each-man-bears-in-his-mind/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [ How many thousands of \[lives\] are there every year that comes cast away, (in all civilized countries at least)--and consider'd asnothing but common air,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/how-many-thousands-of-lives-are-there-every-year-that-comes-cast-away/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Thou mayest as well expect to grow stronger by always eating as wiser by always reading. Too much overcharges Nature, and turns more into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/thou-mayest-as-well-expect-to-grow-stronger-by-always-eating-as-wiser/)

[R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/)

> [ \[Jesus\] teaches that just as the sun gives light to both wicked and good, and the rain brings nourishment to righteous and unrighteous, God's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mitchell/jesus-teaches-that-just-as-the-sun-gives-light-to-both-wicked-and/)

[Stephen Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mitchell/)

> [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/)

[Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/)

> [Someday your life will be over, no matter how much attention you give to your health. Will you look back with regret, because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/someday-your-life-will-be-over-no-matter-how-much-attention-you-give/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [The will to domination is a ravenous beast. There are never enough warm bodies to satiate its monstrous hunger. Once alive, this beast grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-will-to-domination-is-a-ravenous-beast-there-are-never-enough/)

[Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/)

> [The living cell almost always contains, locked in its interior, the visible or invisible products of its physiological activity or its nourishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albrecht-kossel/the-living-cell-almost-always-contains-locked-in-its-interior-the/)

[Albrecht Kossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albrecht-kossel/)

> [Daily fervent prayers seeking forgiveness and special help and direction are essential to our lives and the nourishment of our testimonies. When we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-l-staheli/daily-fervent-prayers-seeking-forgiveness-and-special-help-and/)

[Donald L. Staheli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-l-staheli/)

> [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [I always have this sense of food as triangular, in that one point is nourishment, one point is connection, and one point is pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/i-always-have-this-sense-of-food-as-triangular-in-that-one-point-is/)

[Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/)

> [The plants look up to heaven, from whence they have their nourishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-plants-look-up-to-heaven-from-whence-they-have-their-nourishment/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [To be at peace with self, to find company and nourishment in self-this would be the test of the free and productive psyche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/to-be-at-peace-with-self-to-find-company-and-nourishment-in-self-this/)

[Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/)

> [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/)

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

## More by Laurence Sterne

> [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [The world is ashamed of being virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-world-is-ashamed-of-being-virtuous/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Digressions incontestably are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/digressions-incontestably-are-the-sunshine-they-are-the-life-the-soul/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-was-acquainted-once-with-a-gallant-soldier-who-assured-me-that-his/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [A man's body and his mind, with the utmost reverence to both I speak it, are exactly like a jerkin and a jerkin's lining;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/a-man-s-body-and-his-mind-with-the-utmost-reverence-to-both-i-speak/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [When the affections so kindly break loose, Joy, is another name for Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/when-the-affections-so-kindly-break-loose-joy-is-another-name-for/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Sweet pliability of man's spirit, that can at once surrender itself to illusions, which cheat expectation and sorrow of their weary moments! - long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/sweet-pliability-of-man-s-spirit-that-can-at-once-surrender-itself-to/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Philosophy has a fine saying for everything.-For Death it has an entire set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/philosophy-has-a-fine-saying-for-everything-for-death-it-has-an/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Dear sensibility! Source inexhausted of all that's precious in our joys, or costly in our sorrows! Eternal fountain of our feelings! 'tis here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/dear-sensibility-source-inexhausted-of-all-that-s-precious-in-our/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [The best friends in the world may differ sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-friends-in-the-world-may-differ-sometimes/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Beauty has so many charms, one knows not how to speak against it; and when it happens that a graceful figure is the habitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/beauty-has-so-many-charms-one-knows-not-how-to-speak-against-it-and/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [The best hearts are ever the bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-hearts-are-ever-the-bravest/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [Hail! the small courtesies of life, for smooth do ye make the road of it, like grace and beauty, which beget inclinations to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/hail-the-small-courtesies-of-life-for-smooth-do-ye-make-the-road-of/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [There are a thousand unnoticed openings, continued my father, which let penetrating eye at once into a man's soul; and I maintain it, added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/there-are-a-thousand-unnoticed-openings-continued-my-father-which-let/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [“Button-holes! there is something lively in the very idea of 'em - and trust me, when I get amongst 'em - you gentry with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/button-holes-there-is-something-lively-in-the-very-idea-of-em-and/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

[Explore all 244 Laurence Sterne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

## More Firsts quotes

> [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/my-first-ever-job-after-college-was-as-a-flight-attendant-i-wanted-to/)

[Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/)

> [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/)

[A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/)

> [You sort of can't talk about the post production unless you talk about what comes first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-greengrass/you-sort-of-can-t-talk-about-the-post-production-unless-you-talk/)

[Paul Greengrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-greengrass/)

> [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/)

[Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/)

[Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/)

> [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/)

[Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/)

[Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/)

> [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/)

[Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/)

> [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/)

[Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/)

[Browse all 32,432 Firsts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is the nature of an hypothesis, when once a man has conceived it, that it assimilates every thing to itself, as proper nourishment; and, from the first moment of your begetting it, it generally grows the stronger by every thing you see, hear, read, or understand.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Laurence Sterne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-once-a-man-has-conceived-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Firsts"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-once-a-man-has-conceived-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/laurence-sterne-1405_firsts_it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-o_2321197.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is the nature of an hypothesis, when once a man has conceived it, that it assimilates every thing to…” — Laurence Sterne",
                "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": "Laurence Sterne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is the nature of an...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-once-a-man-has-conceived-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/it-is-the-nature-of-an-hypothesis-when-once-a-man-has-conceived-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
