--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We find out soon enough that the universe…" description: "\"We find out soon enough that the universe is not capricious: the child who learns that fire burns and knife-edges cut know that there are inexorable li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/max-black-50226_capricious_we-find-out-soon-enough-that-the-univers_2189243.jpg" --- # We find out soon enough that the universe is not… ![“We find out soon enough that the universe is not capricious: the child who learns that fire burns and knife-edges cut know that there are inexorable limits set upon his desires. Language must conform to the discovered regularities and irregularities of experience.” quote by Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/max-black-50226_capricious_we-find-out-soon-enough-that-the-univers_2189243.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/max-black-50226_capricious_we-find-out-soon-enough-that-the-univers_2189243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/max-black-50226_capricious_we-find-out-soon-enough-that-the-univers_2189243.jpg) > “We find out soon enough that the universe is not capricious: the child who learns that fire burns and knife-edges cut know that there are inexorable limits set upon his desires. Language must conform to the discovered regularities and irregularities of experience.” [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human desires are bounded by natural laws; language must reflect the regularities and limits discovered through experience. **In simple terms:** Limits shape desire and language. Key Takeaway Align expectations with reality. Themes philosophy language limits Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - education - scientific research - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts metaphysics epistemology semiotics Questions to Reflect On - What limits shape your aspirations? - How does language reveal those limits? A Different Perspective May underestimate human creativity beyond constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capricious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capricious/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Conform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conform/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Inexorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inexorable/) [Inexorable Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inexorable-limits-4761717/) [Irregularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irregularity/) [Knives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knives/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Conform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-conform-4761718/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Limits Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits-set-812699/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Regularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regularity/) [Soon enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soon-enough/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Universe Capricious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-capricious-4761716/) ## Related quotes > [The only real limits on your success in life are the limits you set on yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/the-only-real-limits-on-your-success-in-life-are-the-limits-you-set/) [Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/) > [Is there not a certain satisfaction in the fact that natural limits are set to the life of the individual, so that at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/is-there-not-a-certain-satisfaction-in-the-fact-that-natural-limits/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [My limits will be better marked. Both the limits I will set, and my own limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-adjani/my-limits-will-be-better-marked-both-the-limits-i-will-set-and-my-own/) [Isabelle Adjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-adjani/) > [The fundamental facts about the Greek was that he had to use his mind. The ancient priest had said, "Thus far and no farther.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/the-fundamental-facts-about-the-greek-was-that-he-had-to-use-his-mind/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [The only limits in life are the limits you set yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-limits-in-life-are-the-limits-you-set-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We all make our limits, and we set them further out than we have any right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/we-all-make-our-limits-and-we-set-them-further-out-than-we-have-any/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Your only limits are those you set yourself!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-kalicharan/your-only-limits-are-those-you-set-yourself/) [Alvin Kalicharan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-kalicharan/) > [The limits are set by the referees. Those are the ones who are in charge of making sure this is football and not American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-enrique/the-limits-are-set-by-the-referees-those-are-the-ones-who-are-in/) [Luis Enrique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-enrique/) > [No limits are set to the ascent of man, and to each and everyone the highest stands open. Here it is only your personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/no-limits-are-set-to-the-ascent-of-man-and-to-each-and-everyone-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“It has ever been the tendency of power to add to itself, to enlarge its sphere, to encroach beyond the limits set for it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-ricketson-tucker/it-has-ever-been-the-tendency-of-power-to-add-to-itself-to-enlarge/) [Benjamin Ricketson Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-ricketson-tucker/) > [Each person needs different limits to set him or her free. Finding yours is what practice is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-a-mathieu/each-person-needs-different-limits-to-set-him-or-her-free-finding/) [W.A. Mathieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-a-mathieu/) > [“Rise above the limits they set for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/rise-above-the-limits-they-set-for-you/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [The only rules and limits are those we set for ourselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/the-only-rules-and-limits-are-those-we-set-for-ourselves/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [Limits have to be set on how far one can simply use the... cleverness that we have to make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/limits-have-to-be-set-on-how-far-one-can-simply-use-the-cleverness/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Clear limits should be set on how power is exercised in cyberspace by companies as well as governments through the democratic political process and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/clear-limits-should-be-set-on-how-power-is-exercised-in-cyberspace-by/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) ## More by Max Black > [... a result once generally accepted by mathematicians is seldom retracted, and then only with great pangs. The Nature of Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-black/a-result-once-generally-accepted-by-mathematicians-is-seldom/) [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) > [No doubt metaphors are dangerous- and perhaps especially so in philosophy. But a prohibition against their use would be a willful and harmful restriction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-black/no-doubt-metaphors-are-dangerous-and-perhaps-especially-so-in/) [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) > [Fine doesn't mean fine! The scale goes: great, good, okay, not okay, I hate you, fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-black/fine-doesn-t-mean-fine-the-scale-goes-great-good-okay-not-okay-i-hate/) [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) > [Understanding a metaphor is like deciphering a code or unraveling a riddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-black/understanding-a-metaphor-is-like-deciphering-a-code-or-unraveling-a/) [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) > [...a metaphor that works in one society may seem preposterous in another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-black/a-metaphor-that-works-in-one-society-may-seem-preposterous-in-another/) [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) > [... I still wish to contend that some metaphors enable us to see aspects of reality that the metaphor's production helps to constitute. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-black/i-still-wish-to-contend-that-some-metaphors-enable-us-to-see-aspects/) [Max Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) [Explore all 7 Max Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-black/) ## More Capricious quotes > [Not to be offensive, not to be capricious, not to be arbitrary, not to be neurotic, not to be an actor outer, you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/not-to-be-offensive-not-to-be-capricious-not-to-be-arbitrary-not-to/) [William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/) > [How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/how-dare-you-how-dare-you-create-a-world-in-which-there-is-such/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [O Logic: born gatekeeper to the Temple of Science, victim of capricious destiny: doomed hitherto to be the drudge of pedants: come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/o-logic-born-gatekeeper-to-the-temple-of-science-victim-of-capricious/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/any-test-that-turns-on-what-is-offensive-to-the-community-s-standards/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Capricious, wanton, bold, and brutal Lust Is meanly selfish; when resisted, cruel; And, like the blast of Pestilential Winds, Taints the sweet bloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/capricious-wanton-bold-and-brutal-lust-is-meanly-selfish-when/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [The Greeks understood perfectly that if there were divine beings they are capricious, unkind, malicious mostly, temperamental, envious and mostly deeply unpleasant because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-greeks-understood-perfectly-that-if-there-were-divine-beings-they/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Like many air travelers, I am aware that airplanes fly aided by capricious fairies and invisible strings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-maarten-troost/like-many-air-travelers-i-am-aware-that-airplanes-fly-aided-by/) [J. Maarten Troost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-maarten-troost/) > [When you die, you are extinguished. From being you will be transformed to non-being. A god does not necessarily dwell among our capricious atoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/when-you-die-you-are-extinguished-from-being-you-will-be-transformed/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [Society is capricious and rewards the bad as often as the good. But it never rewards the quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/society-is-capricious-and-rewards-the-bad-as-often-as-the-good-but-it/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [Einstein repeatedly argued that there must be simplified explanations of nature, because God is not capricious or arbitrary. No such faith comforts the software…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/einstein-repeatedly-argued-that-there-must-be-simplified-explanations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For many people, God is a frightening idea. Asking God for help doesn't seem very comforting if we think of Him as something outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/for-many-people-god-is-a-frightening-idea-asking-god-for-help-doesn-t/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Evolution is, as well as smarter than we are, infinitely more callous and cruel, and also capricious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/evolution-is-as-well-as-smarter-than-we-are-infinitely-more-callous/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A man who has cured himself of all ridiculous prepossessions, and is fully, sincerely, and steadily convinced, from experience as well as philosophy, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/a-man-who-has-cured-himself-of-all-ridiculous-prepossessions-and-is/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Unconsciously, I fell in love with the small round sphere, with its amusing and capricious rebounds which sometimes play with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabien-barthez/unconsciously-i-fell-in-love-with-the-small-round-sphere-with-its/) [Fabien Barthez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabien-barthez/) [Browse all 124 Capricious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capricious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We find out soon enough that the universe is not capricious: the child who learns that fire burns and knife-edges cut know that there are inexorable limits set upon his desires. 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