--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am only an experimenter. Do not set the…" description: "\"“I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not, as if I pretended to settle any thing as ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png" --- # I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on… ![“I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not, as if I pretended to settle any thing as true or false. I unsettle all things. No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png) > ““I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not, as if I pretended to settle any thing as true or false. I unsettle all things. No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker.”” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emerson declares he is a perpetual experimenter, rejecting absolute truths and valuing inquiry over certainty. **In simple terms:** He sees life as endless experimentation, not fixed facts. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity, question assumptions. Themes philosophy experimentation skepticism Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - personal growth - creative projects - scientific inquiry Key Concepts existentialism critical thinking epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs do you hold without questioning? - How can you balance experimentation with needed? A Different Perspective May lead to indecision if no firm foundations are accepted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) [Experiment Endless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment-endless-5338212/) [Experimenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimenter-765891/) [Experimenter Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimenter-set-6025848/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Simply Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simply-experiment-5338214/) [True or false](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-or-false/) ## Related quotes > [No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker, with no past at my back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-facts-are-to-me-sacred-none-are-profane-i-simply-experiment-an/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [But lest I should mislead any when I have my own head and obey my whims, let me remind the reader that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-lest-i-should-mislead-any-when-i-have-my-own-head-and-obey-my/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The true worth of an experimenter consists in his pursuing not only what he seeks in his experiment, but also what he did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-true-worth-of-an-experimenter-consists-in-his-pursuing-not-only/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [The experimenter dealing with nature faces an outside and often hard world. Natures' curriculum cannot be changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-lewis-perl/the-experimenter-dealing-with-nature-faces-an-outside-and-often-hard/) [Martin Lewis Perl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-lewis-perl/) > [The experimenter who does not know what he is looking for will not understand what he finds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-experimenter-who-does-not-know-what-he-is-looking-for-will-not/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [I'm sort of an experimenter; I thought it'd be interesting to play around and see what's there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-m-sort-of-an-experimenter-i-thought-it-d-be-interesting-to-play/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [I'm a keen experimenter in the kitchen. With food, not with anything else!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zawe-ashton/i-m-a-keen-experimenter-in-the-kitchen-with-food-not-with-anything/) [Zawe Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zawe-ashton/) > [Nature is an experimenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/nature-is-an-experimenter/) [Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/) > [How hard, how desperately hard, is the way of the experimenter in art!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/how-hard-how-desperately-hard-is-the-way-of-the-experimenter-in-art/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [No one believes an hypothesis except its originator but everyone believes an experiment except the experimenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beveridge/no-one-believes-an-hypothesis-except-its-originator-but-everyone/) [William Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beveridge/) > [The modern marketer is: an experimenter, a lover of data, a content creator, a justifier of ROI.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberley-walsh/the-modern-marketer-is-an-experimenter-a-lover-of-data-a-content/) [Kimberley Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberley-walsh/) > [To be worthy of the name, an experimenter must be at once theorist and practitioner. While he must completely master the art of establishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/to-be-worthy-of-the-name-an-experimenter-must-be-at-once-theorist-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [The observer listens to nature: the experimenter questions and forces her to reveal herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-cuvier/the-observer-listens-to-nature-the-experimenter-questions-and-forces/) [Georges Cuvier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-cuvier/) > [I did this little movie I really love called 'Experimenter,' but that took six years to get made and no money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-did-this-little-movie-i-really-love-called-experimenter-but-that/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [I am an experimenter, or rather I used to be one. Then I stopped working, and since then people think I am a theoretician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-placzek/i-am-an-experimenter-or-rather-i-used-to-be-one-then-i-stopped/) [George Placzek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-placzek/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Experiment quotes > [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [Your responsibility as an artist is to experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squarepusher/your-responsibility-as-an-artist-is-to-experiment/) [Squarepusher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squarepusher/) > [Have I got the right to experiment with my child's life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/have-i-got-the-right-to-experiment-with-my-child-s-life/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [“There is a time and place for electromagnetic shielding and I regard it as a last resort due to the long term biological problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-is-a-time-and-place-for-electromagnetic-shielding-and-i-regard/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I picked economics at the end of my undergraduate time because it seemed to be a really nice combination of theory, including mathematical theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/i-picked-economics-at-the-end-of-my-undergraduate-time-because-it/) [Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/) > [As an artiste you want to experiment, meet new people and do different kind of songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-tiwari/as-an-artiste-you-want-to-experiment-meet-new-people-and-do-different/) [Ankit Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit-tiwari/) > [I don't really know who I am as an actor: the best thing would be to experiment with it for the next 30 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-barnes/i-don-t-really-know-who-i-am-as-an-actor-the-best-thing-would-be-to/) [Ben Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-barnes/) > [I love finding out-of-the-box inspirations and blending them with what I've done in the past. And when I started to experiment with genres, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avicii/i-love-finding-out-of-the-box-inspirations-and-blending-them-with/) [Avicii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avicii/) > [In the Indian film industry, especially those of us who are in mainstream cinema, we invariably play a typical hero's role. More often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-bachchan/in-the-indian-film-industry-especially-those-of-us-who-are-in/) [Abhishek Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-bachchan/) > [In Spain, we mainly use red plum tomatoes, but it is always fun to experiment. Try using a mix of colors or substitute green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-spain-we-mainly-use-red-plum-tomatoes-but-it-is-always-fun-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All life is an experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-life-is-an-experiment/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [What will the greatest experiment discover? I have no idea!, maybe nothing!, If we won't check, we will never know. In science there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-seiberg/what-will-the-greatest-experiment-discover-i-have-no-idea-maybe/) [Nathan Seiberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-seiberg/) > [“Life is an experiment in which you may fail or succeed. Explore more, expect least.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/life-is-an-experiment-in-which-you-may-fail-or-succeed-explore-more/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [. . . in the full tide of successful experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-the-full-tide-of-successful-experiment/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The Vanguard Experiment was designed to prove that mutual funds could operate independently, and do so in a manner that would directly benefit their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/the-vanguard-experiment-was-designed-to-prove-that-mutual-funds-could/) [John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) [Browse all 668 Experiment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not, as if I pretended to settle any thing as true or false. I unsettle all things. No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the-least-value-on-what-i-do-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Experiment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the-least-value-on-what-i-do-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_experiment_i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the_2403172.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not…” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I am only an experimenter. Do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the-least-value-on-what-i-do-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-only-an-experimenter-do-not-set-the-least-value-on-what-i-do-or/#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 } } ] } ```