--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It can be said with complete confidence…" description: "\"It can be said with complete confidence that any scientist of any age who wants to make important discoveries must study important problems. Dull or pi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/peter-medawar-9996_age_it-can-be-said-with-complete-confidence_2063776.jpg" --- # It can be said with complete confidence that any scientist… ![“It can be said with complete confidence that any scientist of any age who wants to make important discoveries must study important problems. Dull or piffling problems yield dull or piffling answers. It is not enough that a problem should be "interesting".” quote by Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/peter-medawar-9996_age_it-can-be-said-with-complete-confidence_2063776.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/peter-medawar-9996_age_it-can-be-said-with-complete-confidence_2063776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/peter-medawar-9996_age_it-can-be-said-with-complete-confidence_2063776.jpg) > “It can be said with complete confidence that any scientist of any age who wants to make important discoveries must study important problems. Dull or piffling problems yield dull or piffling answers. It is not enough that a problem should be "interesting".” [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Important discoveries arise from tackling significant problems; trivial problems produce trivial results. **In simple terms:** Study big problems for big answers. Key Takeaway Focus on meaningful challenges. Themes science discovery problem solving Mood inspired determined Type advisory motivational When to use this quote - grant proposals - research planning - career development - academic mentorship Key Concepts research methodology impact assessment Questions to Reflect On - What important problem could you address today? - How do you prioritize research topics? A Different Perspective Trivial problems can still lead to unexpected insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) ## Related quotes > [Any scientist of any age who wants to make important discoveries must study important problems. Dull or piffling problems yield dull or piffling answers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/any-scientist-of-any-age-who-wants-to-make-important-discoveries-must/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [I cannot give any scientist of any age better advice than this: the intensity of a conviction that a hypothesis is true has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/i-cannot-give-any-scientist-of-any-age-better-advice-than-this-the-2/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Statistically, it would seem improbable that any mathematician or scientist, at the age of 66, would be able through continued research efforts, to add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-forbes-nash/statistically-it-would-seem-improbable-that-any-mathematician-or/) [John Forbes Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-forbes-nash/) > [“I cannot give any scientist of any age better advice than this: the intensity of the conviction that a hypothesis is true has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/i-cannot-give-any-scientist-of-any-age-better-advice-than-this-the/) Peter B. Medawar > [“he was the most gifted English scientist of his age, but also the strangest. He suffered, in the words of one of his few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/he-was-the-most-gifted-english-scientist-of-his-age-but-also-the/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I believe that the problem of how you depict something is a formal problem. It's an interesting one and it's a permanent one; there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-believe-that-the-problem-of-how-you-depict-something-is-a-formal/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I am very seldom interested in applications. I am more interested in the elegance of a problem. Is it a good problem, an interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-shannon/i-am-very-seldom-interested-in-applications-i-am-more-interested-in/) [Claude Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-shannon/) > [You have to trust your instincts and know that the right question or the right answer will come to you. You don’t always have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/you-have-to-trust-your-instincts-and-know-that-the-right-question-or/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [The data center side of the world is kind of like a solved problem, but you see interesting things happening on the edge with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gosling/the-data-center-side-of-the-world-is-kind-of-like-a-solved-problem/) [James Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gosling/) > [To solve an interesting problem, start by finding a problem that is interesting to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-s-raymond/to-solve-an-interesting-problem-start-by-finding-a-problem-that-is/) [Eric S. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-s-raymond/) > [Every problem that is interesting is also soluble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/every-problem-that-is-interesting-is-also-soluble/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [“Once you have the solution, the problem might not be interesting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/once-you-have-the-solution-the-problem-might-not-be-interesting/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [“I believe...that education is not only the most important societal problem but the most interesting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/i-believe-that-education-is-not-only-the-most-important-societal/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [Running a farm is about solving a problem, and that's always interesting to me. But it's a constant process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-blackwell/running-a-farm-is-about-solving-a-problem-and-that-s-always/) [Chris Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-blackwell/) > [The more difficult a problem becomes, the more interesting it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/the-more-difficult-a-problem-becomes-the-more-interesting-it-is/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) ## More by Peter Medawar > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/innocent-unbiased-observation-is-a-myth/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/an-experiment-not-worth-doing-is-not-worth-doing-well/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Science is the art of the solvable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/science-is-the-art-of-the-solvable/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [ \[A certain class of explanations in science are\] analgesics that dull the ache of incomprehension without removing the cause. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/a-certain-class-of-explanations-in-science-are-analgesics-that-dull/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Twice in my life I have spent two weary and scientifically profitless years seeking evidence to corroborate dearly loved hypotheses that later proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/twice-in-my-life-i-have-spent-two-weary-and-scientifically-profitless/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If politics is the art of the possible, research is surely the art of the soluble. 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