Abundance Quote by William Stanley Jevons
“Fertility of imagination and abundance of guesses at truth are among the first requisites of discovery; but the erroneous guesses must almost of necessity be many times as numerous as those which prove well founded.”
About This Quote
Discovery relies on many imaginative guesses, but most are wrong; the correct ones are few, yet essential.
In simple terms: Many guesses, few correct, drive discovery.
Embrace trial and error in research.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- research labs
- product development
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you efficiently filter out bad hypotheses?
- What balance between imagination and rigor is optimal?
Too many false leads can waste time.