What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education.
Interpretation
The quote criticizes the superficial interpretation of complex subjects by those who lack understanding.
George Bernard Shaw's quote reflects on how a fool misinterprets profound knowledge, reducing philosophy to foolishness, science to superstition, and art to mere pedantry. He critiques university education for potentially perpetuating this cycle, highlighting the danger of shallow learning and the importance of true understanding.
In practice
In a speech about critical thinking, you might use this quote to emphasize how important it is to deeply understand the subjects we study.
What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow firm there, firm as weeds among stones.
Many black youths are defying stereotypes, achieving good academic results, finding employment and contributing to their communities. But helping those who fall behind is not an exercise in political correctness, it is a precisely what a compassionate - and sensible - state should concern itself with.
Reading was like a drug, a dope. The novels created moods in which I lived for days.
Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in quotations.
When you educate a girl, you kick-start a cycle of success. It makes economic sense. It makes social sense. It makes moral sense. But, it seems, it's not common sense yet.
Don't be afraid to ask the 'dumb' question, everyone else will be relieved you had the guts to ask!
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