Beaver Quote by Norton Juster
““What a shame," signed the Dodecahedron. "They're so very useful. Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all you would need to build Boulder Dam is a beaver sixty-eight feet long with a fifty-one-foot tail?" "Where would you find a beaver that big?" grumbled the Humbug as his pencil point snapped. "I'm sure I don't know," he replied, "but if you did, you'd certainly know what to do with him." "That's absurd," objected Milo, whose head was spinning from all the numbers and questions. "That may be true," he acknowledged, "but it's completely accurate, and as long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? If you want sense, you'll have to make it yourself.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, 1961
Absurd logic highlights that solutions can be found by questioning premises, even when the question seems nonsensical.
In simple terms: Questioning odd premises can reveal useful answers.
Key Takeaway
Challenge assumptions to find solutions.
Themes
logic
absurdity
problem solving
creativity
Mood
playful
thoughtful
Type
humorous
philosophical
When to use this quote
- engineering
- education
- design thinking
- everyday decision making
Key Concepts
Socratic method
lateral thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions are you accepting without scrutiny?
- How can you turn a nonsensical problem into a useful insight?
A Different Perspective
Absurd premises may lead to impractical solutions; not all questions need answers.
![“[Footnote:] To give the Beaver his due, he does things because he has to do them, not because he believes that hard work per se will somehow make him a better Beaver -- the Beaver may be dumb, but he is not that dumb! The Beaver was made to gnaw, and gnaw he does. There you have him in a nutshell.” quote by Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/698/will-cuppy-7569_beavers_footnote-to-give-the-beaver-his-due-he-d_941758.jpg)
