Who said “Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very…”?

Verified

Alfred North Whitehead. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceScience and the Modern World (1925)

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For academic work, cite the original where you can: Science and the Modern World (1925).

APA

Whitehead, A. N. (n.d.). Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/12587-familiar-things-happen-and-mankind-does-not-bother/

MLA

Whitehead, Alfred North. “Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/12587-familiar-things-happen-and-mankind-does-not-bother/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Whitehead, Alfred North. “Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/12587-familiar-things-happen-and-mankind-does-not-bother/.

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“The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.”
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