Assets Quote by William Crookes
“Most students of nature sooner or later pass through a process of writing off a large percentage of their supposed capital of knowledge as a merely illusory asset. As we trace more accurately certain familiar sequences of phenomena we begin to realize how closely these sequences, or laws , as we call them, are hemmed round by still other laws of which we can form no notion. With myself this writing off of illusory assets has gone rather far and the cobweb of supposed knowledge has been pinched (as some one has phrased) into a particularly small pill.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Scientific Method, William Crookes, 1902
Knowledge often appears solid but later reveals itself as an illusion when deeper laws are discovered.
In simple terms: What knowledge may be illusionary.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions and seek deeper laws.
Themes
knowledge
illusion
science
Mood
skeptical
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
scientific
When to use this quote
- research
- education
- philosophical inquiry
Key Concepts
epistemology
law of nature
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions have you uncovered as false?
- How do you test the robustness of a belief?
A Different Perspective
New laws may be hard to prove, limiting acceptance.
![“Probably if half a kilogram [of radium] were in a bottle on that table it would kill us all. It would almost certainly destroy our sight and burn our skins to such an extent that we could not survive. The smallest bit placed on one's arm would produce a blister which it would need months to heal.” quote by William Crookes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/285/william-crookes-34055_arms_probably-if-half-a-kilogram-of-radium-we_1915688.jpg)
![“[When I die], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered.” quote by Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba3/anthony-bourdain-649_advantage_when-i-die-i-will-decidedly-not-be-regre_24502.jpg)
