--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A simple intuition, a single observation…" description: "\"“A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas of unimagined potential. Once caught in the web of an idea, the researcher is happily doomed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wade-davis-18196_inquiry_a-simple-intuition-a-single-observation_1186269.jpg" --- # A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas… ![“A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas of unimagined potential. Once caught in the web of an idea, the researcher is happily doomed, for the outcome is always uncertain, and the resolution of the mystery may take years to unfold. Such was the case in my encounter with the magic…” quote by Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wade-davis-18196_inquiry_a-simple-intuition-a-single-observation_1186269.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wade-davis-18196_inquiry_a-simple-intuition-a-single-observation_1186269.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wade-davis-18196_inquiry_a-simple-intuition-a-single-observation_1186269.jpg) > ““A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas of unimagined potential. Once caught in the web of an idea, the researcher is happily doomed, for the outcome is always uncertain, and the resolution of the mystery may take years to unfold. Such was the case in my encounter with the magic toads of the Americas.”” [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single insight can launch a researcher into a long, uncertain quest for discovery. **In simple terms:** One observation can start a long research journey. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and persist despite uncertainty. Themes curiosity research uncertainty discovery Mood wonder determination reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - fieldwork - academic study - exploration Key Concepts insight observation long‑term inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What observation has sparked your biggest project? - How do you stay motivated during long uncertainties? A Different Perspective The path may be fraught with dead ends and funding challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Magic Toads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic-toads-3500055/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Simple Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-intuition-3500053/) [Single Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-observation-306652/) [Unimagined Potential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimagined-potential-3500054/) ## Related quotes > [“life is a collection of similarities rather than identities; no single observation is a perfect example of generality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/life-is-a-collection-of-similarities-rather-than-identities-no-single/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [“When you look at the past, the past will always be deterministic, since only one single observation took place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/when-you-look-at-the-past-the-past-will-always-be-deterministic-since/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [ \[T\]here are depths of thousands of miles which are hidden from our inquiry. The only tidings we have from those unfathomable regions are by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/t-here-are-depths-of-thousands-of-miles-which-are-hidden-from-our/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [The greater the interest involved in a truth the more careful, self-distrustful, and patient should be the inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-greater-the-interest-involved-in-a-truth-the-more-careful-self/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Becoming adept at the process of self inquiry and symbolic insight is a vital spiritual task that leads to the growth of faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/becoming-adept-at-the-process-of-self-inquiry-and-symbolic-insight-is/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-dwell-in-the-here-and-now-does-not-mean-you-never-think-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop looking all over the place for "the answers" - whatever they are - and start looking for the questions - the inquiries which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/stop-looking-all-over-the-place-for-the-answers-whatever-they-are-and/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-keep-the-subject-of-my-inquiry-constantly-before-me-and-wait-till/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/it-is-by-losing-himself-in-the-objective-in-inquiry-creation-and/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/to-read-is-to-fly-it-is-to-soar-to-a-point-of-vantage-which-gives-a/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/the-philosophic-spirit-of-inquiry-may-be-traced-to-brute-curiosity/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) ## More by Wade Davis > [“Even now I am haunted by the touching look of the young, bright, anxious eyes as we passed along the rows of sufferers. There,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/even-now-i-am-haunted-by-the-touching-look-of-the-young-bright/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Its haunting to realize that half of the languages of the world are teetering on the brink of extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/its-haunting-to-realize-that-half-of-the-languages-of-the-world-are/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [We accept it as normal that people who have never been on the land, who have no history or connection to the country, may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/we-accept-it-as-normal-that-people-who-have-never-been-on-the-land/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Change is no threat to culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/change-is-no-threat-to-culture/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The measure of a society is not only what it does but the quality of its aspirations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/the-measure-of-a-society-is-not-only-what-it-does-but-the-quality-of/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of people's way of life, is not only not condemned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-people-is-universally-condemned/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“What is even more astonishing is that the entire science of wayfinding is based on dead reckoning. You only know where you are by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/what-is-even-more-astonishing-is-that-the-entire-science-of/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“Marsh had travelled on foot to the source of the Nile and once stood down a charging rhinoceros by intrepidly opening a pink umbrella…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/marsh-had-travelled-on-foot-to-the-source-of-the-nile-and-once-stood/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The world can only appear monochromatic to those who persist in interpreting what they experience through the lens of a single cultural paradigm, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/the-world-can-only-appear-monochromatic-to-those-who-persist-in/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“Risk discomfort and solitude for understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/risk-discomfort-and-solitude-for-understanding/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Sensitivity to nature is not an innate attribute of indigenous peoples. It is a consequence of adaptive choices that have resulted in the development…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/sensitivity-to-nature-is-not-an-innate-attribute-of-indigenous/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [So be patient. Do not compromise. And give your destiny time to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/so-be-patient-do-not-compromise-and-give-your-destiny-time-to-find-you/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [You know, once something freezes, it's solid. That's the key to the arctic - they didn't fear the cold, they made use of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/you-know-once-something-freezes-it-s-solid-that-s-the-key-to-the/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“These other cultures are not failed attempts to be us; they are unique manifestations of the spirit—other options, other visions of life itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/these-other-cultures-are-not-failed-attempts-to-be-us-they-are-unique/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The problem is that those of us sympathetic with the plight of indigenous people view them as quaint and colorful, but somehow reduced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/the-problem-is-that-those-of-us-sympathetic-with-the-plight-of/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) [Explore all 35 Wade Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) ## More Inquiry quotes > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/the-philosophic-spirit-of-inquiry-may-be-traced-to-brute-curiosity/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/to-read-is-to-fly-it-is-to-soar-to-a-point-of-vantage-which-gives-a/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/it-is-by-losing-himself-in-the-objective-in-inquiry-creation-and/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-keep-the-subject-of-my-inquiry-constantly-before-me-and-wait-till/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Stop looking all over the place for "the answers" - whatever they are - and start looking for the questions - the inquiries which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/stop-looking-all-over-the-place-for-the-answers-whatever-they-are-and/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-dwell-in-the-here-and-now-does-not-mean-you-never-think-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Becoming adept at the process of self inquiry and symbolic insight is a vital spiritual task that leads to the growth of faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/becoming-adept-at-the-process-of-self-inquiry-and-symbolic-insight-is/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [The greater the interest involved in a truth the more careful, self-distrustful, and patient should be the inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-greater-the-interest-involved-in-a-truth-the-more-careful-self/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [ \[T\]here are depths of thousands of miles which are hidden from our inquiry. The only tidings we have from those unfathomable regions are by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/t-here-are-depths-of-thousands-of-miles-which-are-hidden-from-our/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Mathematics is of two kinds, Rigorous and Physical. The former is Narrow: the latter Bold and Broad. To have to stop to formulate rigorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-heaviside/mathematics-is-of-two-kinds-rigorous-and-physical-the-former-is/) [Oliver Heaviside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-heaviside/) > [In 1995, the Paul Keating Labor government commissioned an inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-1995-the-paul-keating-labor-government-commissioned-an-inquiry/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) [Browse all 549 Inquiry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas of unimagined potential. Once caught in the web of an idea, the researcher is happily doomed, for the outcome is always uncertain, and the resolution of the mystery may take years to unfold. 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