# Quote — John Allen Paulos, A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper

> Always be smart; seldom be certain.

- Author: [John Allen Paulos](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos.md)
- Book: [A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper.md)
- Page: 201
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Allen_Paulos#A_Mathematician_Reads_the_Newspaper_(1995)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/always-be-smart

## More from this book

> Having been involved in a couple of lawsuits as an expert probability witness and having observed that a prudent skepticism is often less prized than an indefensible certainty, I turned down preliminary requests from both sides to testify.

p. 45 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/having-been-involved.md)

> You can only predict things after they’ve happened.

p. 7 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/you-can-only.md)

> Two dangers threaten the world—order and disorder.

p. 123 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/two-dangers-threaten.md)