--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Relevance is not something you can…" description: "\"Relevance is not something you can predict. It is something you discover after the fact.\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/thomas-sowell-247_facts_relevance-is-not-something-you-can-predi_623652.jpg" --- # Relevance is not something you can predict. It is… ![“Relevance is not something you can predict. It is something you discover after the fact.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/thomas-sowell-247_facts_relevance-is-not-something-you-can-predi_623652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/thomas-sowell-247_facts_relevance-is-not-something-you-can-predi_623652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/thomas-sowell-247_facts_relevance-is-not-something-you-can-predi_623652.jpg) > “Relevance is not something you can predict. It is something you discover after the fact.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relevance emerges after events unfold; it cannot be forecasted but is recognized in hindsight. **In simple terms:** You discover relevance later. Key Takeaway Stay adaptable and learn from outcomes. Themes knowledge timing prediction Mood reflective pragmatic Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - business strategy - academic research - personal growth Key Concepts post hoc analysis emergent relevance learning cycles Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate relevance after the fact? - What methods improve foresight without assuming certainty? A Different Perspective Overreliance on prediction can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discover Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discover-fact-4892863/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Predict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predict/) [Predict Discover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predict-discover-5041679/) [Relevance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relevance/) [Relevance Predict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relevance-predict-5041678/) ## Related quotes > [What again I tell my people is that no matter how much you know, it's never enough. You will always discover, after the fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakhdar-brahimi/what-again-i-tell-my-people-is-that-no-matter-how-much-you-know-it-s/) [Lakhdar Brahimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakhdar-brahimi/) > [If you are really great, you will let others discover this fact from your actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/if-you-are-really-great-you-will-let-others-discover-this-fact-from/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Students are often in no position to judge 'relevance' until long after the fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/students-are-often-in-no-position-to-judge-relevance-until-long-after/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest thing about 'New Girl' is that you never can predict what is next!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-simone/the-greatest-thing-about-new-girl-is-that-you-never-can-predict-what/) [Hannah Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-simone/) > [We are going to see a steady stream, I predict, of Nobel prizes coming out of chemistry and given to women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/we-are-going-to-see-a-steady-stream-i-predict-of-nobel-prizes-coming/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [“Someday soon, say predictive analytics experts, it will be possible for companies to know our tastes and predict our habits better than we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/someday-soon-say-predictive-analytics-experts-it-will-be-possible-for/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Who knows how things will be years from now? Only time will tell. No need to try & predict the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-knows-how-things-will-be-years-from-now-only-time-will-tell-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody can predict the future; the idea is to have a firm grasp of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nobody-can-predict-the-future-the-idea-is-to-have-a-firm-grasp-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [I've learned that you can never predict what will happen to a film. 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But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [Le biologiste passe, la grenouille reste. 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