Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
H. G. WellsRead
All men, however highly educated, retain some superstitious inklings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Education does not eliminate superstitions; they persist in human thought.
This quote by H. G. Wells highlights the idea that despite advancements in education and knowledge, humans still hold onto certain superstitions and irrational beliefs. It suggests that these inclinations are a fundamental part of human nature, reflecting our psychological complexity and the limitations of rational thought.
Themes
SuperstitionEducationHuman NatureBeliefIrrationality
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the intersection of science and belief, one could use this quote to emphasize the persistence of irrational thoughts.
More from H. G. Wells
All quotes →He spares no resource in telling of his dead inventions... Bare verbs he rarely tolerates. He splits infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphis sweat and struggle; the
H. G. WellsRead
It [a new world order] needs only that the governments of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia should get together in order to set up an effective control of currency, credit, production, and distribution – that is to say, an effective ‘dictatorship of prosperity,’ for the whole world. The other sixty odd States would have to join in or accommodate themselves to the over-ruling decisions of these major Powers.
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Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.
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But I was too restless to watch long; I'm too Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years, but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours - that's another matter.
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The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
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