--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The actual state of our knowledge is…" description: "\"The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional and... there must be, beyond what is actually known, immense new regions to discover.\" — Louis ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png" --- # The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional… ![“The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional and... there must be, beyond what is actually known, immense new regions to discover.” quote by Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png) > “The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional and... there must be, beyond what is actually known, immense new regions to discover.” [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our knowledge is always tentative, and beyond current understanding lie vast, unknown realms awaiting discovery. **In simple terms:** Science is provisional, with endless unknowns beyond it. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and keep exploring. Themes science philosophy exploration Mood curious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research planning - academic study - future technologies - policy making Key Concepts epistemology quantum theory unknown frontiers Questions to Reflect On - What unknowns could reshape current theories? - How does provisional knowledge affect decision making? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on certainty can hinder innovative thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conventionality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventionality/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I have no admiration for culture. I have no reserve knowledge, no provisional knowledge. And everything that I learn, I learn for a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/i-have-no-admiration-for-culture-i-have-no-reserve-knowledge-no/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [ Those new regions \[America\] which we found and explored with the fleet . . . we may rightly call a New World . .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amerigo-vespucci/those-new-regions-america-which-we-found-and-explored-with-the-fleet/) Amerigo Vespucci > [Man could not stay there forever. He was bound to spread to new regions, partly because of his innate migratory tendency and partly because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-huntington/man-could-not-stay-there-forever-he-was-bound-to-spread-to-new/) [Ellsworth Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-huntington/) > [That the state of knowledge in any country will exert a directive influence on the general system of instruction adopted in it, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/that-the-state-of-knowledge-in-any-country-will-exert-a-directive/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [“The current state of knowledge can be summarized thus: in the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-current-state-of-knowledge-can-be-summarized-thus-in-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [... if a person is to be unconventional, he must be amusing or he is intolerable: for, in the nature of the case, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/if-a-person-is-to-be-unconventional-he-must-be-amusing-or-he-is/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [Nobody can live in society without conventions. The reason why sensible people are as conventional as they can bear to be is that conventionality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nobody-can-live-in-society-without-conventions-the-reason-why/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This was life! Ah, how he loved it! Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/this-was-life-ah-how-he-loved-it-civilization-held-nothing-like-this/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham-2/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-think-of-them-for-the/) [W Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham-2/) > [Conventionality is the tacit agreement to set appearances before reality, form before content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/conventionality-is-the-tacit-agreement-to-set-appearances-before/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [The need of an insecure psychiatrist to draw security from a virtuous adjustment to the conventionalities of his time and from a quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frieda-fromm-reichmann/the-need-of-an-insecure-psychiatrist-to-draw-security-from-a-virtuous/) Frieda Fromm-Reichmann > [England is so surrounded by the boredom of conventionalities, that it is all one to them whether music is good or bad, since they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/england-is-so-surrounded-by-the-boredom-of-conventionalities-that-it/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [If you are not gonna tell the truth,at least tell me a convincing lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/if-you-are-not-gonna-tell-the-truth-at-least-tell-me-a-convincing-lie/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > […She was, obviously, one of those women whose polished words may reflect a book club or bridge club, or any other deadly conventionality, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/she-was-obviously-one-of-those-women-whose-polished-words-may-reflect/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Conventionality is not morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/conventionality-is-not-morality/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More by Louis de Broglie > [The electron can no longer be conceived as a single, small granule of electricity; it must be associated with a wave, and this wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-electron-can-no-longer-be-conceived-as-a-single-small-granule-of/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [It seems a little paradoxical to construct a configuration space with the coordinates of points which do not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/it-seems-a-little-paradoxical-to-construct-a-configuration-space-with/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [“Many scientists have tried to make determinism and complementarity the basis of conclusions that seem to me weak and dangerous; for instance, they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/many-scientists-have-tried-to-make-determinism-and-complementarity/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [Two seemingly incompatible conceptions can each represent an aspect of the truth... They may serve in turn to represent the facts without ever entering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/two-seemingly-incompatible-conceptions-can-each-represent-an-aspect/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [“After long reflection in solitude and meditation, I suddenly had the idea, during the year 1923, that the discovery made by Einstein in 1905…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/after-long-reflection-in-solitude-and-meditation-i-suddenly-had-the/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [The history of science shows that the progress of science has constantly been hampered by the tyrannical influence of certain conceptions that finally came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-history-of-science-shows-that-the-progress-of-science-has/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [For X-rays, the phenomenon of diffraction by crystals was a natural consequence of the idea that X-rays are waves analogous to light and differ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/for-x-rays-the-phenomenon-of-diffraction-by-crystals-was-a-natural/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [“Science itself, no matter whether it is the search for truth or merely the need to gain control over the external world, to alleviate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/science-itself-no-matter-whether-it-is-the-search-for-truth-or-merely/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [ “Vulnerable, like all men, to the temptations of arrogance, of which intellectual pride is the worst, he \[ the scientist \] must nevertheless remain… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/vulnerable-like-all-men-to-the-temptations-of-arrogance-of-which/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [We are not sufficiently astonished by the fact that any science may be possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/we-are-not-sufficiently-astonished-by-the-fact-that-any-science-may/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [In space-time everything which for each of us constitutes the past, the present and the future is given en bloc...Each observer, as his time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/in-space-time-everything-which-for-each-of-us-constitutes-the-past/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) [Explore all 12 Louis de Broglie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) ## More Conventionality quotes > [Nobody can live in society without conventions. The reason why sensible people are as conventional as they can bear to be is that conventionality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nobody-can-live-in-society-without-conventions-the-reason-why/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This was life! Ah, how he loved it! Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/this-was-life-ah-how-he-loved-it-civilization-held-nothing-like-this/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [England is so surrounded by the boredom of conventionalities, that it is all one to them whether music is good or bad, since they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/england-is-so-surrounded-by-the-boredom-of-conventionalities-that-it/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [If you are not gonna tell the truth,at least tell me a convincing lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/if-you-are-not-gonna-tell-the-truth-at-least-tell-me-a-convincing-lie/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [... if a person is to be unconventional, he must be amusing or he is intolerable: for, in the nature of the case, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/if-a-person-is-to-be-unconventional-he-must-be-amusing-or-he-is/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > […She was, obviously, one of those women whose polished words may reflect a book club or bridge club, or any other deadly conventionality, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/she-was-obviously-one-of-those-women-whose-polished-words-may-reflect/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Conventionality is not morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/conventionality-is-not-morality/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The need of an insecure psychiatrist to draw security from a virtuous adjustment to the conventionalities of his time and from a quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frieda-fromm-reichmann/the-need-of-an-insecure-psychiatrist-to-draw-security-from-a-virtuous/) Frieda Fromm-Reichmann > [Conventionality is the tacit agreement to set appearances before reality, form before content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/conventionality-is-the-tacit-agreement-to-set-appearances-before/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham-2/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-think-of-them-for-the/) [W Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham-2/) > [The barriers of conventionality have been raised so high, and so strangely cemented by long existence, that the only hope of overt hrowing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-louise-demorest/the-barriers-of-conventionality-have-been-raised-so-high-and-so/) Ellen Louise Demorest > [I want to emphasize the idea of black as intellectuality and conventionality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-want-to-emphasize-the-idea-of-black-as-intellectuality-and/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/conventionality-is-not-morality-self-righteousness-is-not-religion-to/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham-2/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-think-of-them-for-the-3/) [W Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham-2/) > [Conventional beauty & size isn't found in every gene. So why not be large with large dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-clark/conventional-beauty-size-isn-t-found-in-every-gene-so-why-not-be/) [Denise Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-clark/) [Browse all 45 Conventionality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventionality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional and... there must be, beyond what is actually known, immense new regions to discover.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louis de Broglie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-always-provisional-and-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conventionality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-always-provisional-and-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/louis-de-broglie-37016_conventionality_the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-alw_1906207.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The actual state of our knowledge is always provisional and... there must be, beyond what is actually known…” — Louis de Broglie", "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": "Louis de Broglie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The actual state of our knowledge...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-always-provisional-and-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-actual-state-of-our-knowledge-is-always-provisional-and-there/#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 } } ] } ```