--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who has heard the same thing told by…" description: "\"He who has heard the same thing told by 12,000 eye-witnesses has only 12,000 probabilities, which are equal to one strong probability, which is far fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/voltaire-173_certain_he-who-has-heard-the-same-thing-told-by_527569.png" --- # He who has heard the same thing told by 12,000… ![“He who has heard the same thing told by 12,000 eye-witnesses has only 12,000 probabilities, which are equal to one strong probability, which is far from certain.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/voltaire-173_certain_he-who-has-heard-the-same-thing-told-by_527569.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/voltaire-173_certain_he-who-has-heard-the-same-thing-told-by_527569.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/voltaire-173_certain_he-who-has-heard-the-same-thing-told-by_527569.png) > “He who has heard the same thing told by 12,000 eye-witnesses has only 12,000 probabilities, which are equal to one strong probability, which is far from certain.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Multiple eyewitness accounts increase perceived probability but still do not guarantee certainty. **In simple terms:** More witnesses don’t guarantee truth. Key Takeaway Question evidence critically. Themes probability truth evidence Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - legal testimony - scientific research - media reports Key Concepts critical thinking decision making Questions to Reflect On - How many sources are enough for certainty? - What limits affect eyewitness reliability? A Different Perspective Even many accounts can be biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [000 Probabilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/000-probabilities-4439108/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Probabilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probabilities/) [Probabilities Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probabilities-equal-4439109/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Probability Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability-far-4439111/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Strong Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-probability-4439110/) [Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witness/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't simply create probabilities, I guide them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-suggs/i-don-t-simply-create-probabilities-i-guide-them/) [Lionel Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-suggs/) > [Fear was stronger than the calculation of probabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/fear-was-stronger-than-the-calculation-of-probabilities/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [If an event can be produced by a number n of different causes, the probabilities of the existence of these causes, given the event…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-simon-laplace/if-an-event-can-be-produced-by-a-number-n-of-different-causes-the/) [Pierre-Simon Laplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-simon-laplace/) > [The more people you contact, the higher your sales will be because of the law of probabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-more-people-you-contact-the-higher-your-sales-will-be-because-of/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Our beliefs are not just estimates of probabilities. They are also the instruments that guide our actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/our-beliefs-are-not-just-estimates-of-probabilities-they-are-also-the/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [History cannot be reduced to a set of statistics and probabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/history-cannot-be-reduced-to-a-set-of-statistics-and-probabilities/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [As for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/as-for-a-future-life-every-man-must-judge-for-himself-between/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The true Logic for this world is the Calculus of Probabilities, which takes account of the magnitude of the probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/the-true-logic-for-this-world-is-the-calculus-of-probabilities-which/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [Probabilities direct the conduct of the wise man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/probabilities-direct-the-conduct-of-the-wise-man/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“If the universe was scientific and just left to itself, then we’d have statistical probabilities to rely on. But once people are involved it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/if-the-universe-was-scientific-and-just-left-to-itself-then-we-d-have/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arguments derived from probabilities are idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/arguments-derived-from-probabilities-are-idle/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We can never achieve absolute truth but we can live hopefully by a system of calculated probabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-can-never-achieve-absolute-truth-but-we-can-live-hopefully-by-a/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [Scientists are stuck in this belief that we tell people probabilities, not absolute answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-schneider/scientists-are-stuck-in-this-belief-that-we-tell-people-probabilities/) [Stephen Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-schneider/) > [It has been pointed out already that no knowledge of probabilities, less in degree than certainty, helps us to know what conclusions are true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-has-been-pointed-out-already-that-no-knowledge-of-probabilities/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [We balance probabilities and choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/we-balance-probabilities-and-choose-the-most-likely-it-is-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) [T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [We've all seen talented young players who get to a certain level but there comes a point where that talent will only take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-gatland/we-ve-all-seen-talented-young-players-who-get-to-a-certain-level-but/) [Warren Gatland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-gatland/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. 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