Out of every hundred new ideas ninety-nine or more will…
“Out of every hundred new ideas ninety-nine or more will probably be inferior to the traditional responses which they propose to replace. No one man, however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for those are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
New ideas often appear inferior to established practices because they lack the depth of accumulated wisdom.
In simple terms: New ideas may seem worse than old ones.
Key Takeaway
Value tradition while testing innovation.
Themes
innovation
tradition
wisdom
history
evaluation
Mood
reflective
analytical
cautious
Type
advice
philosophical
critical
When to use this quote
- product development
- policy reform
- academic research
- entrepreneurship
- artistic creation
Key Concepts
cumulative knowledge
risk assessment
cultural inertia
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we balance respect for tradition with openness to new ideas?
- What mechanisms help identify truly valuable innovations?
A Different Perspective
Even superior ideas can be dismissed if they clash with entrenched norms.