I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.

The line frames Einstein’s creativity as a long discipline of trial, error, and self-correction rather than a steady stream of “genius” insights. It emphasizes that sustained thinking often produces many plausible but ultimately wrong conclusions, and that progress depends on tolerating repeated failure until a rare, well-founded result emerges. Read this way, the quote functions as a defense of patience and intellectual humility: being wrong is not a disqualification but a normal stage in serious inquiry. It also hints at a probabilistic view of discovery—breakthroughs are infrequent outcomes of persistent effort—countering popular myths that scientific advances arrive fully formed in moments of inspiration.