Popper quote check re: falling in love with a problem

Apr 21, 2026 · By Dennis Hackethal · Fork · Check another quote

Original text

To conclude, I think that there is only one way to science—or to philosophy, for that matter: to meet a problem, to see its beauty and fall in love with it; to get married to it, and to live with it happily, till death do ye part—unless you should meet another and even more fascinating problem, or unless, indeed, you should obtain a solution. But even if you do obtain a solution, you may then discover, to your delight, the existence of a whole family of enchanting though perhaps difficult problem children for whose welfare you may work, with a purpose, to the end of your days.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Realism_and_the_Aim_of_Science/tlowU8nS2ygC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22fall%20in%20love%20with%20it%22

Quote text

I think that there is only one way to science — or to philosophy, for that matter: to meet a problem, to see its beauty and fall in love with it… even if you do obtain a solution, you may then discover, to your delight, the existence of a whole family of enchanting, though perhaps difficult, problem children
Ellipsis used (if any): ‘…’
Found 6 issue(s) using regular expression . and Myers algorithm, underlined in wavy red. 
To‧conclude,‧I‧think‧that‧there‧is‧only‧one‧way‧to‧science‧—‧or‧to‧philosophy,‧for‧that‧matter:‧to‧meet‧a‧problem,‧to‧see‧its‧beauty‧and‧fall‧in‧love‧with‧it;‧to‧get‧married‧to‧it,‧and‧to‧live‧with‧it‧happily,‧till‧death‧do‧ye‧part—unless‧you‧should‧meet‧another‧and‧even‧more‧fascinating‧problem,‧or‧unless,‧indeed,‧you‧should‧obtain‧a‧solution.‧But…‧even‧if‧you‧do‧obtain‧a‧solution,‧you‧may‧then‧discover,‧to‧your‧delight,‧the‧existence‧of‧a‧whole‧family‧of‧enchanting,‧though‧perhaps‧difficult,‧problem‧children‧for‧whose‧welfare‧you‧may‧work,‧with‧a‧purpose,‧to‧the‧end‧of‧your‧days.

Explanation

# Part Valid? Explanation
1 
To‧conclude,‧
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘…’ or [replacement].
2 
I‧think‧that‧there‧is‧only‧one‧way‧to‧science
3 
‧
 × no A single added space must either follow or precede a valid insertion.
4 
—
5 
‧
 × no A single added space must either follow or precede a valid insertion.
6 
or‧to‧philosophy,‧for‧that‧matter:‧to‧meet‧a‧problem,‧to‧see‧its‧beauty‧and‧fall‧in‧love‧with‧it
7 
;‧to‧get‧married‧to‧it,‧and‧to‧live‧with‧it‧happily,‧till‧death‧do‧ye‧part—unless‧you‧should‧meet‧another‧and‧even‧more‧fascinating‧problem,‧or‧unless,‧indeed,‧you‧should‧obtain‧a‧solution.‧But
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
8 
…
 ✓ yes Insertion is an ellipsis.
9 
‧even‧if‧you‧do‧obtain‧a‧solution,‧you‧may‧then‧discover,‧to‧your‧delight,‧the‧existence‧of‧a‧whole‧family‧of‧enchanting
10 
,
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
11 
‧though‧perhaps‧difficult
12 
,
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
13 
‧problem‧children
14 
‧for‧whose‧welfare‧you‧may‧work,‧with‧a‧purpose,‧to‧the‧end‧of‧your‧days.
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘…’ or [replacement].

Embed

Click this button to copy the embed code, then paste it where you want the diff to appear:

Please note
  • This tool is in its beta stage. Expect things to break; proceed with caution.
  • This tool isn't magic. It can only catch errors that can be determined programmatically. But quoting properly is also about accurately reflecting the meaning of the quoted content to the reader. That requires an understanding of the content, which is something this site cannot give you. Quoting properly is still your responsibility.
  • Red markings indicate that something was removed in the quote that was present in the original. Conversely, green markings indicate that something added in the quote that wasn't present in the original. Red and green markings don't necessarily error – improper additions and deletions are underlined in wavy red.
  • When no issues are found, that is NOT a guarantee that a quote is not a misquote.
  • Results are not necessarily in line with your styleguide. For example, for ellipses at the end of a sentence, preceding punctuation may or may not be omitted depending on your style guide. Given the following original...
    Tim had dinner, and he enjoyed it.
    ...the quote below will be marked as incorrect because it omits the comma:
    Tim had dinner [...].
    This quote, however, will pass with zero issues:
    Tim had dinner, [...].
    Whether punctuation can be omitted without breaking the meaning the author of the quoted text intended also depends on context and content, so you need to check yourself.
  • Depending on your styleguide, ‘swallowing’ a linebreak with an ellipsis may not be permissible, but this site does permit it.
  • Formatting, such as italics and bold text, is not yet supported. Consequently, changes in formatting cannot be detected. Use something like markdown syntax – *single asterisks for italics*, **double asterisks for bold text**, etc. – to indicate and detect changes in formatting. Pasting from other websites should convert to this syntax automatically. If your quote adds or omits emphasis, be sure to indicate that in your text (eg by saying 'emphasis added' or 'emphasis removed').