---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is impossible, by the way, when…"
description: "\"It is impossible, by the way, when picking one example of anything, to avoid picking one which is atypical in some sense.\" — Richard P. Feynman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/richard-p-feynman-495_example_it-is-impossible-by-the-way-when-picking_110795.png"
---

#  It is impossible, by the way, when picking one example of…

![“It is impossible, by the way, when picking one example of anything, to avoid picking one which is atypical in some sense.” quote by Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/richard-p-feynman-495_example_it-is-impossible-by-the-way-when-picking_110795.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/richard-p-feynman-495_example_it-is-impossible-by-the-way-when-picking_110795.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/richard-p-feynman-495_example_it-is-impossible-by-the-way-when-picking_110795.png)

> “It is impossible, by the way, when picking one example of anything, to avoid picking one which is atypical in some sense.”

[Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When selecting a single example, you inevitably encounter an outlier; no example can fully represent a whole, highlighting the limits of anecdotal evidence.

**In simple terms:** Any single example will be atypical in some way.

Key Takeaway

Examples are inherently limited.

Themes

logic statistics argumentation bias

Mood

analytical cautious

Type

observation cautionary note

When to use this quote

- scientific reporting
- policy making
- marketing claims

Key Concepts

representativeness heuristic sampling error

Practical Applications

- Complement single examples with broader data.
- Explicitly acknowledge the atypical nature of a case study.

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you guard against overgeneralizing from one case?
- When is an atypical example useful?

A Different Perspective

Sometimes a striking outlier can illustrate a principle better than average cases.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atypical Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atypical-sense-1317369/) [Avoid Picking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoid-picking-1317367/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Example Avoid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example-avoid-1317368/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Picking Atypical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picking-atypical-1317365/) [Picking Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picking-example-1317366/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/)

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