--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the art of being good at approximations…" description: "\"“the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently valued.”\" — Ray Dalio" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg" --- # the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently… ![“the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently valued.” quote by Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg) > ““the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently valued.”” [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skill in estimation is undervalued compared to precise knowledge. **In simple terms:** Approximation skill is often ignored. Key Takeaway Value and develop estimation abilities. Themes decision-making uncertainty valuation Mood analytical pragmatic Type business self‑help When to use this quote - business strategy - financial analysis - risk assessment Key Concepts cognitive bias probability theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve your approximation skills? - When is approximation preferable to exactness? A Different Perspective Exact data may be unavailable; approximations can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approximations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximations-394529/) [Approximations Insufficiently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximations-insufficiently-1291706/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Good Approximations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-approximations-1291709/) [Insufficiently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insufficiently-1291708/) [Insufficiently Valued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insufficiently-valued-1291707/) ## Related quotes > [“Because our educational system is hung up on precision, the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently valued. This impedes conceptual thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/because-our-educational-system-is-hung-up-on-precision-the-art-of/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Be imprecise. Understand the concept of “by-and-large” and use approximations. Because our educational system is hung up on precision, the art of being good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/be-imprecise-understand-the-concept-of-by-and-large-and-use/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [...all models are approximations. Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful. However, the approximate nature of the model must always be borne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-p-box/all-models-are-approximations-essentially-all-models-are-wrong-but/) [George E. P. Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-e-p-box/) > [Truth is much too complicated to allow anything but approximations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/truth-is-much-too-complicated-to-allow-anything-but-approximations/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [We live in a system of approximations. 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Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Ray Dalio > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision. 2. Write the criteria down as a principle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Having a process that ensures problems are brought to the surface, and their root causes diagnosed, assures that continual improvements occur.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/having-a-process-that-ensures-problems-are-brought-to-the-surface-and/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“If you can’t successfully do something, don’t think you can tell others how it should be done”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/if-you-can-t-successfully-do-something-don-t-think-you-can-tell/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Remember that a good plan should resemble a movie script.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/remember-that-a-good-plan-should-resemble-a-movie-script/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“I believe that the key to success lies in knowing how to both strive for a lot and fail well. 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You get better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/life-is-like-a-game-where-you-seek-to-overcome-the-obstacles-that/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“when we look down on ourselves through the eyes of nature we are of absolutely no significance. It is a reality that each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/when-we-look-down-on-ourselves-through-the-eyes-of-nature-we-are-of/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/great-questions-are-a-much-better-indicator-of-future-success-than/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Georgi Plekhanov’s classic On the Role of the Individual in History.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/georgi-plekhanov-s-classic-on-the-role-of-the-individual-in-history/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) [Explore all 716 Ray Dalio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently valued.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ray Dalio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations-is-insufficiently-valued/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations-is-insufficiently-valued/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ray-dalio-299_art_the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations_1715910.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the art of being good at approximations is insufficiently valued.” — Ray Dalio", "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": "Ray Dalio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the art of being good at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations-is-insufficiently-valued/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/the-art-of-being-good-at-approximations-is-insufficiently-valued/#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 } } ] } ```