Auguste Comte, The Positive Philosophy, 1853.
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Every attempt to refer chemical questions to mathematical doctrines must be considered, now and always, profoundly irrational, as being contrary to the nature of the phenomena. . . . but if the employment of mathematical analysis should ever become so preponderant in chemistry (an aberration which is happily almost impossible) it would occasion vast and rapid retrogradation....
— Auguste Comte on Incorrect predictions
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Every attempt to refer chemical questions to mathematical doctrines must be considered, now and always, profoundly irrational, as being contrary to the nature of the phenomena. . . . but if the employment of mathematical analysis should ever become so preponderant in chemistry (an aberration which is happily almost impossible) it would occasion vast and rapid retrogradation...." in the context of "Auguste Comte, The Positive Philosophy, 1853." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Incorrect predictions" (Quotes, Miscellaneous)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Auguste Comte
Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher who coined the terms "sociology" and "altruism" and developed forms of social discipline he called Positivism.
About Auguste Comte
Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher who coined the terms "sociology" and "altruism" and developed forms of social discipline he called Positivism.
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