The quote of the post title comes from R. B. Woodward explaining the genesis of the discovery of what are now known as the Woodward-Hoffmann rules for pericyclic reactions.[cite]10.1021/ja01080a054[/cite] I first wrote about this in 2012, noting that “*for (that) blog, I do not want to investigate the transition states”.* Here I take a closer look at this aspect. I will start by explaining my then reluctance to discuss transition states.