--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Accuracy and clarity of statement are…" description: "\"Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive.\" — Niels Bohr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png" --- # Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive. ![“Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive.” quote by Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png) > “Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive.” [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Precision and simplicity often clash; achieving both is difficult. **In simple terms:** Accuracy and clarity conflict. Key Takeaway Balance detail with brevity. Themes communication science precision Mood thoughtful analytical Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - technical writing - public speaking - teaching - policy drafting Key Concepts trade‑offs information theory Questions to Reflect On - Can you convey detail without sacrificing clarity? - When is precision more important than simplicity? A Different Perspective Complex ideas may be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accuracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accuracy/) [Clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) [Mutually exclusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutually-exclusive/) ## Related quotes > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I always tell people this: to be a savvy politician or a good head of state and to be charitable are not mutually exclusive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-always-tell-people-this-to-be-a-savvy-politician-or-a-good-head-of/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [Strength and compassion are not mutually exclusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/strength-and-compassion-are-not-mutually-exclusive/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [In California, we have some of the strongest consumer protection laws in the country. While it is easy to conceive of innovation and regulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/in-california-we-have-some-of-the-strongest-consumer-protection-laws/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [I am not saying that government has nothing to offer. Government has an important role in fostering an environment conducive to business creation while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sher-valenzuela/i-am-not-saying-that-government-has-nothing-to-offer-government-has/) [Sher Valenzuela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sher-valenzuela/) > [Economics and ethics are not mutually exclusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/economics-and-ethics-are-not-mutually-exclusive/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) > [It seems that two of the most basic forms of comedy are jokes and stories. And, of course, they are not mutually exclusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/it-seems-that-two-of-the-most-basic-forms-of-comedy-are-jokes-and/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The very moment you understand that being a Muslim and being American or European are not mutually exclusive, you enrich your society. Promote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/the-very-moment-you-understand-that-being-a-muslim-and-being-american/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [More often than not "fair" and "balanced" may be mutually exclusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-gabler/more-often-than-not-fair-and-balanced-may-be-mutually-exclusive/) [Neal Gabler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-gabler/) > [You can be funny and say what you mean; these ideas are not mutually exclusive. Some of the best jokes came from people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/you-can-be-funny-and-say-what-you-mean-these-ideas-are-not-mutually/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [Governmental intervention and personal responsibility are not mutually exclusive issues, but they do frame a 'do it ourselves' vs. 'what are you doing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/governmental-intervention-and-personal-responsibility-are-not/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Military intelligence is a meaningless phrase because the two words are mutually exclusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-kallen/military-intelligence-is-a-meaningless-phrase-because-the-two-words/) [Lucille Kallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-kallen/) > [Religion and modernity are not necessarily mutually exclusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-rania-of-jordan/religion-and-modernity-are-not-necessarily-mutually-exclusive/) [Queen Rania of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-rania-of-jordan/) > [I believe we're making a mistake if we regard job creation and job safety as mutually exclusive or inherently in conflict; they can and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perez/i-believe-we-re-making-a-mistake-if-we-regard-job-creation-and-job/) [Thomas Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perez/) > [One of the things that sets the Bible apart from all other ancient religious writings is its scientific accuracy. Without exception, every other ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-campbell/one-of-the-things-that-sets-the-bible-apart-from-all-other-ancient/) [Charlie Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-campbell/) ## More by Niels Bohr > [An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/an-expert-is-a-man-who-has-made-all-the-mistakes-which-can-be-made-in/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [“Stop telling God what to do with his dice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/stop-telling-god-what-to-do-with-his-dice/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/an-expert-is-someone-who-knows-some-of-the-worst-mistakes-which-can/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [The opposite of every great idea is another great idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/the-opposite-of-every-great-idea-is-another-great-idea/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself it’s own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/every-great-and-deep-difficulty-bears-in-itself-it-s-own-solution-it/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [It is a great pity that human beings cannot find all of their satisfaction in scientific contemplativeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/it-is-a-great-pity-that-human-beings-cannot-find-all-of-their/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [Anyone not shocked by quantum mechanics has not yet understood it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/anyone-not-shocked-by-quantum-mechanics-has-not-yet-understood-it/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [The meaning of life consists in the fact that it makes no sense to say that life has no meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/the-meaning-of-life-consists-in-the-fact-that-it-makes-no-sense-to/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [Technology has advanced more in the last thirty years than in the previous two thousand. The exponential increase in advancement will only continue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/technology-has-advanced-more-in-the-last-thirty-years-than-in-the/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [ Anybody who is not shocked by this subject has failed to understand it. \[of quantum mechanics\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/anybody-who-is-not-shocked-by-this-subject-has-failed-to-understand/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/when-it-comes-to-atoms-language-can-be-used-only-as-in-poetry-the/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [Every description of natural processes must be based on ideas which have been introduced and defined by the classical theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/every-description-of-natural-processes-must-be-based-on-ideas-which/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [It is, indeed, perhaps the greatest prospect of humanistic studies to contribute through an increasing knowledge of the history of cultural development to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/it-is-indeed-perhaps-the-greatest-prospect-of-humanistic-studies-to/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [One thought spectra are marvellous, but it is not possible to make progress there. Just as if you have the wing of a butterfly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/one-thought-spectra-are-marvellous-but-it-is-not-possible-to-make/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [If you think you understand it, that only shows that you don't know the first thing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/if-you-think-you-understand-it-that-only-shows-that-you-don-t-know/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) [Explore all 108 Niels Bohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) ## More Accuracy quotes > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [Tachyon OPC+ is a natural extension of our market-winning Tachyon platform, giving customers a clear path to minimizing the OPC error budget and producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/tachyon-opc-is-a-natural-extension-of-our-market-winning-tachyon/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Scientific accuracy confirms the Bible is the Word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/scientific-accuracy-confirms-the-bible-is-the-word-of-god/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [In software speed to market, speed to learning is really key. In hardware if you screw it up you are dead. So accuracy really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/in-software-speed-to-market-speed-to-learning-is-really-key-in/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [Lawyers tend to be bright people. They tend to be-much more than many journalists I've encountered-sticklers for detail and accuracy, and they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/lawyers-tend-to-be-bright-people-they-tend-to-be-much-more-than-many/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [There's a simplicity in typography that demands absolute accuracy... the only way you can experience it is by doing it, and you can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-maag/there-s-a-simplicity-in-typography-that-demands-absolute-accuracy-the/) Bruno Maag > [“The only thing that words can do with any real precision or accuracy is hang together. Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Am I accurately reporting what I see in such a blossom? The answer is no ... and yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-lacy/am-i-accurately-reporting-what-i-see-in-such-a-blossom-the-answer-is/) [Allen Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-lacy/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Without much accuracy, with strangely little love at all, your family will decide for you exactly who you are, and they'll keep nudging, coaxing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-gurganus/without-much-accuracy-with-strangely-little-love-at-all-your-family/) [Allan Gurganus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-gurganus/) > [The federal government is starting to plan for climate change by making extended forecasts that can help people plan for extreme weather - because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/the-federal-government-is-starting-to-plan-for-climate-change-by/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [Nobody sees reality whole; we all need others to show us the parts of it that they see better than we do. Nobody sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nobody-sees-reality-whole-we-all-need-others-to-show-us-the-parts-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The state of empathy, or being empathic, is to perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-state-of-empathy-or-being-empathic-is-to-perceive-the-internal/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [What we have learned is that Roland-Jones is a very promising prospect. Because of the way he bowls, he will not blow batsmen away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-agnew/what-we-have-learned-is-that-roland-jones-is-a-very-promising/) [Jonathan Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-agnew/) [Browse all 388 Accuracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accuracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Niels Bohr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mutually-exclusive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accuracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mutually-exclusive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/niels-bohr-4542_accuracy_accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mu_2575767.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Accuracy and clarity of statement are mutually exclusive.” — Niels Bohr", "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": "Niels Bohr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Accuracy and clarity of statement are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mutually-exclusive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/accuracy-and-clarity-of-statement-are-mutually-exclusive/#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 } } ] } ```