“Chance favors only the prepared mind.”

— Blaise Pascal

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Blaise Pascal144

French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and Chri… 1623–1662

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 16

“In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind.”

Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) French chemist and microbiologist

Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.
Lecture, University of Lille (7 December 1854)
Alternate translations of this or similar statements include:
Chance favors the prepared mind.
Fortune favors the prepared mind.
In the field of observation, chance favors the prepared mind.
Where observation is concerned, chance favors only the prepared mind.

“The laws of nature are rigged not only in favor of complexity, or just in favor of life, but also in favor of mind. To put it dramatically, it implies that mind is written into the laws of nature in a fundamental way.”

Paul Davies (1946) British physicist

Source: The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin and Meaning of Life (1999), Ch. 10: 'A Bio-Friendly Universe?', p. 271

“… (a flash of insight) never comes by itself, in the sense that it comes effortless. You really need to work for it. There is a good proverb that says "fortuity helps the prepared mind." Insight will come by chance, but you only get it if you are prepared. Insight doesn't come by its own.”

Carlo Beenakker (1960) Dutch physicist

... (een flits van inzicht) komt nooit vanzelf, in de zin dat je er geen moeite voor hoeft te doen. Je moet je er echt wel voor inspannen. Er is een mooi spreekwoord voor: “toeval schiet de voorbereide geest te hulp”.
Zo’n inzicht komt wel toevallig, maar je krijgt het alleen als je bent voorbereid. Het inzicht komt niet vanzelf.
In Interview with Professor Carlo Beenakker. Interviewers: Ramy El-Dardiry and Roderick Knuiman (February 1, 2006).

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

Robertson Davies book Tempest-Tost

Source: Tempest-Tost