QuoteProject
That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in another.
Adlai E. Stevenson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

What is considered foolish today may be seen as wise tomorrow.

This quote by Adlai E. Stevenson reflects the changing perceptions of wisdom and absurdity across generations. What one generation deems illogical or ridiculous may later be recognized as insightful and profound by the next, highlighting the evolving nature of knowledge and societal values over time.

Themes

WisdomAbsurdityGenerationsKnowledgeSociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about changing societal norms, this quote can highlight how future generations may come to understand practices we find absurd today.

More from Adlai E. Stevenson

There is...a spiritual hunger in the world today and it cannot be satisfied...by better cars on longer credit terms.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
What a man knows at fifty that he did not know at twenty is, for the most part, incommunicable.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
Journalists do not live by words alone, although sometimes they have to eat them.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
Accuracy to a newspaper is what virtue is to a lady; but a newspaper can always print a retraction.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.
Adlai E. StevensonRead

Similar quotes

Delusions are states of mind which, when they arise within our mental continuum, leave us disturbed, confused and unhappy. Therefore, those states of mind which delude or afflict us are called 'delusions.'
Dalai LamaRead
The man who perceives life only with his eye, his ear, his hand, and his tongue, is but little higher than the ox or an intelligent dog; but he who has imagination sees things around and above him, as the angels see them.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
The past doesn't determine your future unless you carry it with you into the present. Forgiving yourself and others, you free the universe to begin again at any moment.
Marianne WilliamsonRead
Fools and wise men are equally harmless. It is the half-fools and half-wise that are dangerous.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Those who prepared for all the emergencies of life beforehand may equip themselves at the expense of joy.
E. M. ForsterRead
Ah! realize your youth while you have it. Don’t squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.
Oscar WildeRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.