--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is the way of the scientist. He will…" description: "\"That is the way of the scientist. He will spend thirty years in building up a mountain range of facts with the intent to prove a certain theory; then h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/mark-twain-22_accumulation_that-is-the-way-of-the-scientist-he-will_1831339.jpg" --- # That is the way of the scientist. He will spend thirty… ![“That is the way of the scientist. He will spend thirty years in building up a mountain range of facts with the intent to prove a certain theory; then he is so happy with his achievement that as a rule he overlooks the main chief fact of all-that all his accumulation proves an entirely different…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/mark-twain-22_accumulation_that-is-the-way-of-the-scientist-he-will_1831339.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/mark-twain-22_accumulation_that-is-the-way-of-the-scientist-he-will_1831339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/mark-twain-22_accumulation_that-is-the-way-of-the-scientist-he-will_1831339.jpg) > “That is the way of the scientist. He will spend thirty years in building up a mountain range of facts with the intent to prove a certain theory; then he is so happy with his achievement that as a rule he overlooks the main chief fact of all-that all his accumulation proves an entirely different thing.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists may build extensive evidence for a theory, yet miss that the data actually supports a different conclusion. **In simple terms:** Evidence can prove the opposite of what you expect. Key Takeaway Check if your data truly supports your hypothesis. Themes science methodology bias interpretation Mood skeptical reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - research design - data analysis - peer review - theory testing Key Concepts confirmation bias paradigm shift epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you making about your data? - How might you test for opposite conclusions? A Different Perspective Overreliance on a single theory can blind researchers to alternative explanations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Mountain ranges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain-ranges/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) ## Related quotes > [“I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, nor did I have access to information like you do today via the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-was-not-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-my-mouth-nor-did-i-have-access/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [If it had been a heart attack, the newspapermight have used the word massive,as if a mountain range had openedinside her, but insteadit used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/if-it-had-been-a-heart-attack-the-newspapermight-have-used-the-word/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [Of all the mountain ranges I have climbed, I like the Sierra Nevada the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/of-all-the-mountain-ranges-i-have-climbed-i-like-the-sierra-nevada/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [And this was the main precondition, that anything might be something else. Once I'd accepted that, it followed that I might be mad, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/and-this-was-the-main-precondition-that-anything-might-be-something/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/oh-these-vast-calm-measureless-mountain-days-inciting-at-once-to-work/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Whether one sees the world as God's creation or as a secular mystery that science is on the way to figuring out, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-c-solomon/whether-one-sees-the-world-as-god-s-creation-or-as-a-secular-mystery/) [Robert C. Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-c-solomon/) > [In the belly of the furnace of creativity is a sexual fire; the flames twine about each other in fear and delight. The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/in-the-belly-of-the-furnace-of-creativity-is-a-sexual-fire-the-flames/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [The breaking up of the terrestrial globe, this it is we witness. It doubtless began a long time ago, and the brevity of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduard-suess/the-breaking-up-of-the-terrestrial-globe-this-it-is-we-witness-it/) Eduard Suess > [I like to paint mountain ranges that are just curved blobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/i-like-to-paint-mountain-ranges-that-are-just-curved-blobs/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [I was sitting here without a shirt on, absentmindedly scratching my back with a pen for about five minutes and I just looked in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-puget/i-was-sitting-here-without-a-shirt-on-absentmindedly-scratching-my/) [Jade Puget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-puget/) > [We can meet the obligations of Social security and Medicare. If we stay on the path that your party has us on, we'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/we-can-meet-the-obligations-of-social-security-and-medicare-if-we/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [For the record, if there's anyone who could flirt with a mountain range, it's probably the person standing in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara/for-the-record-if-there-s-anyone-who-could-flirt-with-a-mountain/) [Clara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara/) > [I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, Of rugged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-mackellar/i-love-a-sunburnt-country-a-land-of-sweeping-plains-of-rugged/) Dorothea Mackellar > [Mozart is a garden, Schubert is a forest in light and shade, but Beethoven is a mountain range.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artur-schnabel/mozart-is-a-garden-schubert-is-a-forest-in-light-and-shade-but/) [Artur Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artur-schnabel/) > [Can we talk of integration until there is integration of hearts and minds? Unless you have this, you only have a physical presence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-dan-george/can-we-talk-of-integration-until-there-is-integration-of-hearts-and/) [Chief Dan George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-dan-george/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Accumulation quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [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 accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/) [Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/) > [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That is the way of the scientist. 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