QuoteProject
It is remarkable that when great discoveries are effected, their simplicity always seems to detract from their originality: on these occasions we are reminded of the egg of Columbus!
Benjamin Disraeli
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Great discoveries often appear simple in retrospect, which can make their originality seem less significant.

The quote reflects on the nature of great discoveries and insights, suggesting that once a breakthrough is achieved, it may seem straightforward and uncomplicated. This apparent simplicity can lead people to underestimate the creativity and innovation that led to such advancements, drawing a parallel to the story of Christopher Columbus, who famously made the egg stand upright, highlighting how simple solutions can often disguise their ingenious origins.

Themes

DiscoveriesSimplicityOriginalityInnovationCreativity

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about groundbreaking inventions, one might use this quote to emphasize how innovation can often appear simple in hindsight.

More from Benjamin Disraeli

Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
Grief is the agony of an instant. The indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
Yes, I am a Jew and when the ancestors of the right honorable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
The practice of politics in the East may be defined by one word: dissimulation.
Benjamin DisraeliRead

Similar quotes

For better or worse, intelligence can come to nothing when emotions hold sway.
Daniel GolemanRead
Twenty-four hours a day one looks for contentment in eight different directions but one must also explore the ninth place, which is to their own body and contemplate within. Within the body are the nine treasures of the Name of the Lord—seek the depths of these virtues. Those blessed with the karma of good actions praise the Lord and become true devotees
Guru AngadRead
Call on your Lord when your heart is brittle, that is a time when it's in pieces and the Light of Allah can fill the gaps. That is why Allāh is with the broken hearted.
Hamza YusufRead
I've learned that many of the worst things lead to the best things, that no great thing is achieved without a couple of bad, bad things on the way to them, and that the bad things that happen to you bring, in some cases, the good things.
Mike NicholsRead
What is called honors and dignities, and even honor and dignity, is generally fool's gold.
Victor HugoRead
It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and prefer things in measure to things in excess.
Seneca The ElderRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Benjamin Disraeli | QuoteProject