--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is probably true quite generally that…" description: "\"It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where tw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/werner-heisenberg-4501_development_it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that_201091.jpg" --- # It is probably true quite generally that in the history of… ![“It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These lines may have their roots in quite different parts of human nature, in different times or different…” quote by Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/werner-heisenberg-4501_development_it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that_201091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/werner-heisenberg-4501_development_it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that_201091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/werner-heisenberg-4501_development_it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that_201091.jpg) > “It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These lines may have their roots in quite different parts of human nature, in different times or different cultural environments or different religious traditions: hence if they actually meet, that is, if they are at least so much related to each other that a real interaction can take place, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may follow.” [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When distinct ideas or traditions intersect, they can spark innovative breakthroughs that advance knowledge. **In simple terms:** Crossing ideas creates breakthroughs. Key Takeaway Seek interdisciplinary collaboration. Themes innovation interdisciplinary creativity progress Mood curious optimistic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research teams - product development - cultural exchange - policy making - education curricula Key Concepts synergy cognitive diversity paradigm shift Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify complementary ideas? - What barriers exist to merging different traditions? A Different Perspective If the fields are too dissimilar, integration may be superficial or forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/development/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-times/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Human Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-thinking-536386/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interaction/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Lines Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines-thought-2100339/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/related/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious traditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-traditions/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Fruitful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-fruitful-2100340/) [Thought Meet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-meet-2100338/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/it-is-probably-true-quite-generally-that-in-the-history-of-human-2/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Charcoal stares one foot at a time smear those lines. 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If you don't think, you're not really a human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/then-you-have-a-big-problem-because-a-human-is-a-thinking-animal-if/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Human's can't live in the present as animals do; they just live in the present. But human's are always thinking about the future or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/townes-van-zandt/human-s-can-t-live-in-the-present-as-animals-do-they-just-live-in-the/) [Townes Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/townes-van-zandt/) > [Mathematics is the summit of human thinking. It has all the creativity and imagination that you can find in all kinds of art, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-shalev/mathematics-is-the-summit-of-human-thinking-it-has-all-the-creativity/) [Meir Shalev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-shalev/) > [“Blindness to larger contexts is a constitutional defect of human thinking imposed by the painful necessity of being able to concentrate on only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/blindness-to-larger-contexts-is-a-constitutional-defect-of-human/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Human thinking envelope the world with mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/you-ng-micky-m-yzzy/human-thinking-envelope-the-world-with-mystery/) [You'ng Micky M'yzzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/you-ng-micky-m-yzzy/) ## More by Werner Heisenberg > [“Revere those things beyond science which really matter and about which it is so difficult to speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/revere-those-things-beyond-science-which-really-matter-and-about/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [“In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/in-the-history-of-science-ever-since-the-famous-trial-of-galileo-it/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [The more closely you look at one thing, the less closely can you see something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-more-closely-you-look-at-one-thing-the-less-closely-can-you-see/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I think that if a United States of Europe were to be formed, it would be in our interests to fight for it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-think-that-if-a-united-states-of-europe-were-to-be-formed-it-would/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [Whether we electrons, light quanta, benzol molecules, or stones, we shall always come up against these two characteristics, the corpuscular and the undular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/whether-we-electrons-light-quanta-benzol-molecules-or-stones-we-shall/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [If we made atomic bombs, we would bring about a terrible change in the world. 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I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-bravo/a-lot-of-times-i-ll-show-someone-a-technique-i-got-really-good-with/) [Eddie Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-bravo/) > [Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-understand-and-not-only-will-you/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [Close contact between science and the practice of collective farms and State farms creates inexhaustible opportunities for the development of theoretical knowledge, enabling us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/close-contact-between-science-and-the-practice-of-collective-farms/) [Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/) > [The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. 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