---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All discoveries in art and science result…"
description: "\"All discoveries in art and science result from an accumulation of errors.\" — Marshall McLuhan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png"
---

#  All discoveries in art and science result from an…

![“All discoveries in art and science result from an accumulation of errors.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png)

> “All discoveries in art and science result from an accumulation of errors.”

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

## About This Quote

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

Progress in creative fields comes from trial and error, where mistakes accumulate and lead to breakthroughs.

**In simple terms:** Mistakes build up to breakthroughs.

Key Takeaway

Embrace failure as a learning tool.

Themes

creativity innovation science art

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- research labs
- art studios
- product development
- software engineering

Key Concepts

error accumulation serendipity iterative learning

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you turn a mistake into a useful insight?
- What safeguards prevent harmful errors?

A Different Perspective

Not all errors are productive; some can stall or mislead.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art and science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-and-science/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [“Sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson later said that there should be a “consilience” between art and science. 79 Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison took selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lewis/sociobiologist-edward-o-wilson-later-said-that-there-should-be-a/)

[Sarah Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lewis/)

> [Art and science work in quite different ways: agreed. But, bad as it may sound, I have to admit that I cannot get along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/art-and-science-work-in-quite-different-ways-agreed-but-bad-as-it-may/)

[Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/)

> [Comedy is very hard, but you have to learn the art and science of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-wayans/comedy-is-very-hard-but-you-have-to-learn-the-art-and-science-of-it/)

[Marlon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-wayans/)

> [“Understand: we live in the world of a sad separation that began some five hundred years ago when art and science split apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/understand-we-live-in-the-world-of-a-sad-separation-that-began-some/)

[Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/)

> [I was attracted to things that combined art and science equally. I've always been equally interested in art design, science and engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bran-ferren/i-was-attracted-to-things-that-combined-art-and-science-equally-i-ve/)

[Bran Ferren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bran-ferren/)

> [Design, art, and science are all a melange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-mazumdar-shaw/design-art-and-science-are-all-a-melange/)

[Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-mazumdar-shaw/)

> [Yoga is the art and science of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-devi/yoga-is-the-art-and-science-of-living/)

[Indra Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-devi/)

> [To me the most interesting thing about man is that he is an animal who practices art and science and in every known society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/to-me-the-most-interesting-thing-about-man-is-that-he-is-an-animal/)

[Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/)

> [He who has art and science also has religion, but those who do not have them better have religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/he-who-has-art-and-science-also-has-religion-but-those-who-do-not/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [There are two avenues from the little passions and the drear calamities of earth; both lead to the heaven and away from hell-Art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/there-are-two-avenues-from-the-little-passions-and-the-drear/)

[Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/)

> [To sell is above all to master the art and science of listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/to-sell-is-above-all-to-master-the-art-and-science-of-listening/)

[Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/)

> [I was always exploring relationships between art and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-garten/i-was-always-exploring-relationships-between-art-and-science/)

[Ariel Garten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-garten/)

> [People believe that art and science are two distinct realms. It is far from the truth because, if you look at science from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-mazumdar-shaw/people-believe-that-art-and-science-are-two-distinct-realms-it-is-far/)

[Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-mazumdar-shaw/)

> [“Owen remarked "The basis of science and art is magical - vice versa, magic is art and science. It goes both ways. There's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luvelle-raevan/owen-remarked-the-basis-of-science-and-art-is-magical-vice-versa/)

Luvelle Raevan

> [One of the strongest motives that leads men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/one-of-the-strongest-motives-that-leads-men-to-art-and-science-is/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

## More by Marshall McLuhan

> [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

[Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

## 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": "All discoveries in art and science result from an accumulation of errors.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marshall McLuhan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-result-from-an-accumulation-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accumulation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-result-from-an-accumulation-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/marshall-mcluhan-641_accumulation_all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-resul_1147994.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All discoveries in art and science result from an accumulation of errors.” — Marshall McLuhan",
                "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": "Marshall McLuhan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "All discoveries in art and science...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-result-from-an-accumulation-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/all-discoveries-in-art-and-science-result-from-an-accumulation-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
