--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And let's remember that science isn't a…" description: "\"“And let's remember that science isn't a game of chess, although chess may be played scientifically. The other thing to remember is that if we are to o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/ralph-ellison-2676_chess_and-let-s-remember-that-science-isn-t-a_461776.png" --- # And let's remember that science isn't a game of chess… ![“And let's remember that science isn't a game of chess, although chess may be played scientifically. The other thing to remember is that if we are to organize the masses we must first organize ourselves.” quote by Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/ralph-ellison-2676_chess_and-let-s-remember-that-science-isn-t-a_461776.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/ralph-ellison-2676_chess_and-let-s-remember-that-science-isn-t-a_461776.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/ralph-ellison-2676_chess_and-let-s-remember-that-science-isn-t-a_461776.png) > ““And let's remember that science isn't a game of chess, although chess may be played scientifically. The other thing to remember is that if we are to organize the masses we must first organize ourselves.”” [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Organizing society starts with self‑organization; scientific thinking differs from strategic games like chess. **In simple terms:** Social change begins with personal discipline; science isn’t a game. Key Takeaway Focus on personal organization before leading others. Themes leadership self‑discipline science societal change Mood thoughtful determined inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - team building - personal development - community activism - policy planning Key Concepts philosophy organizational theory collective action Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits must you improve to lead others? - How does scientific rigor differ from strategic planning? A Different Perspective Self‑organization may be difficult without clear structures or resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Masses Organize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masses-organize-4009081/) [Organize Masses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organize-masses-4009080/) [Played Scientifically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-scientifically-4009082/) [Remember Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-science-763967/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-isn-263674/) ## Related quotes > [Our object is the economic freedom of the producing classes; this ultimate goal will be attained after a long and bitter struggle; therefore, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-n-roy/our-object-is-the-economic-freedom-of-the-producing-classes-this/) [M. N. 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But in science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-garrett-lisi/as-with-any-large-investment-it-can-be-emotionally-difficult-to/) [Antony Garrett Lisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-garrett-lisi/) > [Now you see, Dr. Stadler, you're speaking as if this book were addressing to a thinking audience. If it were, one would have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/now-you-see-dr-stadler-you-re-speaking-as-if-this-book-were/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Ralph Ellison > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I suspect that all the agony that goes into writing is borne precisely because the writer longs for acceptance-but it must be acceptance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-suspect-that-all-the-agony-that-goes-into-writing-is-borne/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Everywhere I've turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my own good—only /they/ were the ones who benefited. And now we start on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/everywhere-i-ve-turned-somebody-has-wanted-to-sacrifice-me-for-my-own/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Power, for the writer…lies in his ability to reveal if only a little bit more about the complexity of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/power-for-the-writer-lies-in-his-ability-to-reveal-if-only-a-little/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [...and yet I am what they think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-yet-i-am-what-they-think-i-am/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And while the ice was melting to form a flood in which I threatened to drown I awoke one afternoon to find that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-while-the-ice-was-melting-to-form-a-flood-in-which-i-threatened/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Do they come to bury the others or to be entombed to give life or to receive it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/do-they-come-to-bury-the-others-or-to-be-entombed-to-give-life-or-to/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“They could laugh at him but they couldn't ignore him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/they-could-laugh-at-him-but-they-couldn-t-ignore-him/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Commercial rock 'n' roll music is a brutalization of the stream of contemporary Negro church music an obscene looting of a cultural expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/commercial-rock-n-roll-music-is-a-brutalization-of-the-stream-of/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“All dreamers and sleepwalkers must pay the price, and even the invisible victim is responsible for the fate of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/all-dreamers-and-sleepwalkers-must-pay-the-price-and-even-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Those two spots are among the darkest of our whole civilization--pardon me, our whole culture (an important distinction, I've heard)--which might sound like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/those-two-spots-are-among-the-darkest-of-our-whole-civilization/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Above the decorous walking around me, sounds of footsteps leaving the verandas of far-flung buildings and moving toward the walks and over the walks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/above-the-decorous-walking-around-me-sounds-of-footsteps-leaving-the/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/and-my-problem-was-that-i-always-tried-to-go-in-everyone-s-way-but-my/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. 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Jake jogged slightly to catch up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-blake/the-shadows-why-do-you-think-they-invented-chess-he-s-got-you-there/) [Russell Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-blake/) > [ \[Photographer Julian Wasser\] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-great-idea-that-i-should-play/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [Chess is a good mistress but a bad master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-abrahams/chess-is-a-good-mistress-but-a-bad-master/) [Gerald Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-abrahams/) > [I am not some sort of freak. I might be very good at chess but I'm just a normal person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-carlsen/i-am-not-some-sort-of-freak-i-might-be-very-good-at-chess-but-i-m/) [Magnus Carlsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-carlsen/) > [Some sacrifices are sound; the rest are mine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-tal/some-sacrifices-are-sound-the-rest-are-mine/) [Mikhail Tal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-tal/) > [My parents were very supportive of my chess. 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Use it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-steinitz/the-king-is-a-fighting-piece-use-it/) [Wilhelm Steinitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-steinitz/) [Browse all 2,003 Chess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And let's remember that science isn't a game of chess, although chess may be played scientifically. 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