--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If God has made the world a perfect…" description: "\"If God has made the world a perfect mechanism, He has at least conceded so much to our imperfect intellect that in order to predict little parts of it,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg" --- # If God has made the world a perfect mechanism, He has at… ![“If God has made the world a perfect mechanism, He has at least conceded so much to our imperfect intellect that in order to predict little parts of it, we need not solve innumerable differential equations, but can use dice with fair success.” quote by Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg) > “If God has made the world a perfect mechanism, He has at least conceded so much to our imperfect intellect that in order to predict little parts of it, we need not solve innumerable differential equations, but can use dice with fair success.” [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The universe's complexity allows simple probabilistic tools like dice to predict outcomes without solving every equation. **In simple terms:** Simple tools can predict complex systems. Key Takeaway Embrace probabilistic thinking in problem solving. Themes science probability philosophy Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - Weather forecasting - financial modeling - risk assessment - engineering design Key Concepts Determinism ComplexSystems StatisticalMechanics Questions to Reflect On - When is a simple model insufficient? - How do you balance precision and practicality? A Different Perspective Probabilistic models may miss rare but critical events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceded/) [Conceded Imperfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceded-imperfect-5213720/) [Dice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dice/) [Differential equations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differential-equations/) [Equations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equations/) [Imperfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfect/) [Imperfect Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfect-intellect-5213719/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanism/) [Mechanism Conceded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanism-conceded-5213721/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The difficulty involved in the proper and adequate means of describing changes in continuous deformable bodies is the method of differential equations. ... They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/the-difficulty-involved-in-the-proper-and-adequate-means-of/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [The emphasis on mathematical methods seems to be shifted more towards combinatorics and set theory - and away from the algorithm of differential equations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/the-emphasis-on-mathematical-methods-seems-to-be-shifted-more-towards/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [We have the only cookbook in the world that has partial differential equations in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/we-have-the-only-cookbook-in-the-world-that-has-partial-differential/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [The principle is so perfectly general that no particular application of it is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/the-principle-is-so-perfectly-general-that-no-particular-application/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [In order to solve this differential equation you look at it until a solution occurs to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/in-order-to-solve-this-differential-equation-you-look-at-it-until-a/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [“The system prefers that our neurons solve differential equations rather than smell our neighbours.5”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-system-prefers-that-our-neurons-solve-differential-equations/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Man's destiny is to know, if only because societies with knowledge culturally dominate societies that lack it. Luddites and anti-intellectuals do not master the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/man-s-destiny-is-to-know-if-only-because-societies-with-knowledge/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Geometry is the science of correct reasoning on incorrect figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/geometry-is-the-science-of-correct-reasoning-on-incorrect-figures/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [What is the origin of the urge, the fascincation that drives physicists, mathematicians, and presumably other scientists as well? Psychoanalysis suggests that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ruelle/what-is-the-origin-of-the-urge-the-fascincation-that-drives/) [David Ruelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ruelle/) > [“differential equations that can be solved in “closed form,” that is, by means of a formula for the unknown function f, are the exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-gowers/differential-equations-that-can-be-solved-in-closed-form-that-is-by/) [Timothy Gowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-gowers/) > [There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/there-s-no-doubt-that-scientific-training-helps-many-authors-to-write/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [It is well known that the central problem of the whole of modern mathematics is the study of transcendental functions defined by differential equations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-klein/it-is-well-known-that-the-central-problem-of-the-whole-of-modern/) [Felix Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-klein/) > [Among all of the mathematical disciplines the theory of differential equations is the most important... It furnishes the explanation of all those elementary manifestations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophus-lie/among-all-of-the-mathematical-disciplines-the-theory-of-differential/) [Sophus Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophus-lie/) > [In the broad light of day mathematicians check their equations and their proofs, leaving no stone unturned in their search for rigour. But, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atiyah/in-the-broad-light-of-day-mathematicians-check-their-equations-and/) [Michael Atiyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atiyah/) > [Knowing what is big and what is small is more important than being able to solve partial differential equations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-ulam/knowing-what-is-big-and-what-is-small-is-more-important-than-being/) [Stanislaw Ulam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-ulam/) ## More by Max Born > [To present a scientific subject in an attractive and stimulating manner is an artistic task, similar to that of a novelist or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/to-present-a-scientific-subject-in-an-attractive-and-stimulating/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [All attempts to adapt our ethical code to our situation in the technological age have failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/all-attempts-to-adapt-our-ethical-code-to-our-situation-in-the/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/i-believe-that-ideas-such-as-absolute-certitude-absolute-exactness/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [Science is not formal logic-it needs the free play of the mind in as great a degree as any other creative art. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/science-is-not-formal-logic-it-needs-the-free-play-of-the-mind-in-as/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [During my span of life science has become a matter of public concern and the l'art pour l'art standpoint of my youth is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/during-my-span-of-life-science-has-become-a-matter-of-public-concern/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [We have sought for firm ground and found none. The deeper we penetrate, the more restless becomes the universe; all is rushing about and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/we-have-sought-for-firm-ground-and-found-none-the-deeper-we-penetrate/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [Science?is so greatly opposed to history and tradition that it cannot be absorbed by our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/science-is-so-greatly-opposed-to-history-and-tradition-that-it-cannot/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [The human race has today the means for annihilating itself--either in a fit of complete lunacy, i.e., in a big war...or by the careless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/the-human-race-has-today-the-means-for-annihilating-itself-either-in/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [It is odd to think that there is a word for something which, strictly speaking, does not exist, namely, "rest." We distinguish between living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/it-is-odd-to-think-that-there-is-a-word-for-something-which-strictly/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [And the continuity of our science has not been affected by all these turbulent happenings, as the older theories have always been included as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/and-the-continuity-of-our-science-has-not-been-affected-by-all-these/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [The difficulty involved in the proper and adequate means of describing changes in continuous deformable bodies is the method of differential equations. ... They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/the-difficulty-involved-in-the-proper-and-adequate-means-of/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [“There are two objectionable types of believers: those who believe the far-fetched, and those who believe that 'belief' must be discarded and replaced by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/there-are-two-objectionable-types-of-believers-those-who-believe-the/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [My advice to those who which to learn the art of scientific prophesy is not to rely on abstract reason, but to decipher the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/my-advice-to-those-who-which-to-learn-the-art-of-scientific-prophesy/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [I am now convinced that theoretical physics is actually philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/i-am-now-convinced-that-theoretical-physics-is-actually-philosophy/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/the-belief-that-there-is-only-one-truth-and-that-oneself-is-in/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) [Explore all 37 Max Born quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) ## More Conceded quotes > [But a most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/but-a-most-pernicious-error-widely-prevails-that-scripture-has-only/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [I'm going to give Vargas the chance to cash his last paycheck. 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Nothing adds such dignity to character as the recognition of one's self-sovereignty; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/nothing-strengthens-the-judgment-and-quickens-the-conscience-like-2/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [A prudent man will think more important what fate has conceded to him, than what it has denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/a-prudent-man-will-think-more-important-what-fate-has-conceded-to-him/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [I think it is conceded that I generally do pretty big things as a manager, am audacious in my outlays and risks, give much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/i-think-it-is-conceded-that-i-generally-do-pretty-big-things-as-a/) [P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/) > [At John Schlesinger's funeral at a synagogue in St John's Wood some years ago the person I stood next to said to me encouragingly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/at-john-schlesinger-s-funeral-at-a-synagogue-in-st-john-s-wood-some/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [What is scurrilously called ragtime is an invention that is here to stay. That is now conceded by all classes of musicians... All publication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-joplin/what-is-scurrilously-called-ragtime-is-an-invention-that-is-here-to/) [Scott Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-joplin/) > [My favorite shots are the practice swing and the conceded putt. The rest can never be mastered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-robertson-baron-robertson-of-port-ellen/my-favorite-shots-are-the-practice-swing-and-the-conceded-putt-the/) [George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-robertson-baron-robertson-of-port-ellen/) > [It must be conceded by those who admit the authority of Scripture (such only he is addressing) that from the decision of the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/it-must-be-conceded-by-those-who-admit-the-authority-of-scripture/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [Hale!' Kat cried, but the boy only stared at her. 'Fine,' she conceded. 'I love your boat.' 'Ship.' 'Ship ... Your ship is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/hale-kat-cried-but-the-boy-only-stared-at-her-fine-she-conceded-i/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [If my aim is to prove I am 'enough,' the project goes on to infinity-because the battle was already lost on the day I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-my-aim-is-to-prove-i-am-enough-the-project-goes-on-to-infinity/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [How much sweeter life would be if it all happened in reverse, if, after decades of disappointments, you finally arrived at an age when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/how-much-sweeter-life-would-be-if-it-all-happened-in-reverse-if-after/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [The real struggle between an American government and the people was one of power, which was settled when they designed their Constitution, which conceded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ndabaningi-sithole/the-real-struggle-between-an-american-government-and-the-people-was/) [Ndabaningi Sithole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ndabaningi-sithole/) [Browse all 63 Conceded quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceded/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If God has made the world a perfect mechanism, He has at least conceded so much to our imperfect intellect that in order to predict little parts of it, we need not solve innumerable differential equations, but can use dice with fair success.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Born" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mechanism-he-has-at-least/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conceded" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mechanism-he-has-at-least/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/max-born-17349_conceded_if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mech_652269.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If God has made the world a perfect mechanism, He has at least conceded so much to our imperfect intellect…” — Max Born", "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": "Max Born", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If God has made the world...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mechanism-he-has-at-least/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/if-god-has-made-the-world-a-perfect-mechanism-he-has-at-least/#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 } } ] } ```