It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits; it is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician scientific proofs.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Seek precision only as much as the topic allows.
- In plain terms
- Accept different levels of accuracy for different subjects.
- What can you take from it?
- Match your expectations to the subject's nature.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is precision too much?
- How do you judge a topic's limits?
Another view
Sometimes precision is needed everywhere for safety.
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