--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But be excessively reasonable and you…" description: "\"“But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.”\" — Yann Martel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/yann-martel-395_excessively_but-be-excessively-reasonable-and-you-ri_685558.jpg" --- # But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out… ![“But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/yann-martel-395_excessively_but-be-excessively-reasonable-and-you-ri_685558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/yann-martel-395_excessively_but-be-excessively-reasonable-and-you-ri_685558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/yann-martel-395_excessively_but-be-excessively-reasonable-and-you-ri_685558.jpg) > ““But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.”” [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive caution can discard valuable possibilities along with problems. **In simple terms:** Being too careful may lose the whole picture. Key Takeaway Balance caution with openness. Themes reason risk balance Mood thoughtful cautious Type literary motivational When to use this quote - business strategy - personal growth - creative projects Key Concepts philosophy decision‑making Questions to Reflect On - When have you thrown away something valuable while trying to avoid risk? - How can you stay reasonable without losing opportunity? A Different Perspective Over‑cautiousness can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excessively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessively/) [Excessively Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessively-reasonable-758439/) [Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable/) [Reasonable Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable-risk-758438/) [Universe Bathwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-bathwater-5416551/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. 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She had been sheltered excessively by her husband and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/from-my-mother-i-learned-just-how-violent-and-unquenchable-a-woman-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [“People who newly taste freedom tend to act excessively.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/people-who-newly-taste-freedom-tend-to-act-excessively/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [I have always found that if I came in excessively prepared, emphasis on excessively, that was sort of the best case I could make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mina-kimes/i-have-always-found-that-if-i-came-in-excessively-prepared-emphasis/) [Mina Kimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mina-kimes/) ## More by Yann Martel > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The word isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-word-isn-t-just-the-way-it-is-it-is-how-we-understand-it-no-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/remember-that-your-days-on-this-earth-are-counted-and-you-might-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I must say a word about fear. It's is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. 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But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/nothing-beats-reason-for-keeping-tigers-away-but-be-excessively/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Uvek ima onih koji uzmu za pravo da brane Boga, kao da je Poslednja stvarnost, kao da je temeljni ram postojanja nešto slabašno i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/uvek-ima-onih-koji-uzmu-za-pravo-da-brane-boga-kao-da-je-poslednja/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity- its envy. 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Cancer teaches you how important and critical that is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comic-strip-mama/the-i-love-you-s-are-exchanged-excessively-under-our-roof-cancer/) [Comic Strip Mama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comic-strip-mama/) > [I am excessively diverted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-am-excessively-diverted/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [It is the nature of the artist to mind excessively what is said about him. Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-the-nature-of-the-artist-to-mind-excessively-what-is-said-about/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Remember, I come from such an excessively overdone, red-carpet place called Hollywood. So I'm used to people blowing up their success in ways that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/remember-i-come-from-such-an-excessively-overdone-red-carpet-place/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Despite all the media coverage, glitz and glam of hedge funds, they have not done well for their investors. They have high - some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/despite-all-the-media-coverage-glitz-and-glam-of-hedge-funds-they/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [“The excessively but not necessarily lycanthropically hirsute”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-excessively-but-not-necessarily-lycanthropically-hirsute/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [If you are not making any mistakes, you are being excessively risk-averse. Investing involves risk, and that means you will occasionally be wrong. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/if-you-are-not-making-any-mistakes-you-are-being-excessively-risk/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [“However, this translation is, in the words of Dr. Giles, "excessively bad." 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