--- title: "10 Received Wisdom Quotes by 10 authors" description: "Browse 10 Received Wisdom quotes by 10 authors. Discover the best Received Wisdom sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/elizabeth-mcgovern-15709_careers_i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-w_717578.jpg" --- > [I'm someone who's done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is, to keep your career going into your 50s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-whatever-the-received-wisdom/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/elizabeth-mcgovern-15709_careers_i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-w_717578.jpg) > [People should not feel intimidated by received wisdom. You have to discover it yourself. If I tell you that Armstrong is great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-received-wisdom-you-have-to/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/gary-giddins-25694_intimidated_people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-re_608857.jpg) > [Nothing energizes me more than to burrow myself under a pile of received wisdom and emerge triumphant with the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/nothing-energizes-me-more-than-to-burrow-myself-under-a-pile-of/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/timothy-noah-2744_emerge_nothing-energizes-me-more-than-to-burrow_2950475.jpg) > [“She did not know what she had expected from her Dante, but she definitely hadn’t received it. So with the wisdom that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/she-did-not-know-what-she-had-expected-from-her-dante-but-she/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/sylvain-reynard-765_wisdom_she-did-not-know-what-she-had-expected-f_1034050.jpg) > [I was pushing for a career in poetry and of course the received wisdom was that you would never make a living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cooper-clarke/i-was-pushing-for-a-career-in-poetry-and-of-course-the-received/) [John Cooper Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cooper-clarke/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/john-cooper-clarke-4797_career_i-was-pushing-for-a-career-in-poetry-and_2275391.png) > [It should be possible to say that there really is such as thing as "genius" and that what it is, is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/it-should-be-possible-to-say-that-there-really-is-such-as-thing-as/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/william-irwin-thompson-19769_behavior_it-should-be-possible-to-say-that-there_2800851.png) > [The differences between the received wisdom, the standard version of events, and the facts on the ground may be subtle or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/the-differences-between-the-received-wisdom-the-standard-version-of/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/william-finnegan-21232_differences_the-differences-between-the-received-wis_129484.jpg) > [“Mankind is fallible, so we should not rely on our own reasoning. We cannot help to understand the world - all we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/mankind-is-fallible-so-we-should-not-rely-on-our-own-reasoning-we/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/ken-follett-941_true-knowledge_mankind-is-fallible-so-we-should-not-rel_760981.jpg) > [“Fats was starting to think that if you flipped every bit of received wisdom on its head you would have the truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/fats-was-starting-to-think-that-if-you-flipped-every-bit-of-received/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/245/j-k-rowling-86_freedom-of-expressio_fats-was-starting-to-think-that-if-you-f_972743.png) > [Leonardo da Vinci did not take received wisdom - whether from ancient classical thinkers or medieval scholars or from the Bible -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/leonardo-da-vinci-did-not-take-received-wisdom-whether-from-ancient/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75c/walter-isaacson-384_ancient_leonardo-da-vinci-did-not-take-received_2190790.png) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/received-wisdom/#itemlist", "name": "Received Wisdom Quotes", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm someone who's done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is, to keep your career going into your 50s.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth McGovern" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-whatever-the-received-wisdom/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/elizabeth-mcgovern-15709_careers_i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-w_717578.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/elizabeth-mcgovern-15709_careers_i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-w_717578.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/elizabeth-mcgovern-15709_careers_i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-w_717578.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm someone who's done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is, to keep your career going into your…” — Elizabeth McGovern", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People should not feel intimidated by received wisdom. You have to discover it yourself. If I tell you that Armstrong is great, it's meaningless; you have to hear it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gary Giddins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-received-wisdom-you-have-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/gary-giddins-25694_intimidated_people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-re_608857.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/gary-giddins-25694_intimidated_people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-re_608857.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/gary-giddins-25694_intimidated_people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-re_608857.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People should not feel intimidated by received wisdom. You have to discover it yourself. 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We cannot help to understand the world - all we can do is stand amazed at God's creation. True knowledge comes only from revelation. We should not question received wisdom.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Follett" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/mankind-is-fallible-so-we-should-not-rely-on-our-own-reasoning-we/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/ken-follett-941_true-knowledge_mankind-is-fallible-so-we-should-not-rel_760981.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/ken-follett-941_true-knowledge_mankind-is-fallible-so-we-should-not-rel_760981.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/ken-follett-941_true-knowledge_mankind-is-fallible-so-we-should-not-rel_760981.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mankind is fallible, so we should not rely on our own reasoning. We cannot help to understand the world…” — Ken Follett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fats was starting to think that if you flipped every bit of received wisdom on its head you would have the truth. He wanted to journey through dark labyrinths and wrestle with the strangeness that lurked within; he wanted to crack open piety and expose hypocrisy; he wanted to break taboos and squeeze wisdom from their bloody hearts; he wanted to achieve a state of amoral grace, and be baptised backwards into ignorance and simplicity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.K. Rowling" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/fats-was-starting-to-think-that-if-you-flipped-every-bit-of-received/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/245/j-k-rowling-86_freedom-of-expressio_fats-was-starting-to-think-that-if-you-f_972743.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/245/j-k-rowling-86_freedom-of-expressio_fats-was-starting-to-think-that-if-you-f_972743.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/245/j-k-rowling-86_freedom-of-expressio_fats-was-starting-to-think-that-if-you-f_972743.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fats was starting to think that if you flipped every bit of received wisdom on its head you would have the…” — J.K. Rowling", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Leonardo da Vinci did not take received wisdom - whether from ancient classical thinkers or medieval scholars or from the Bible - without questioning it. And this was the beginning of the scientific method. This is another lesson for our time: that when we have evidence that contradicts a certain belief, we should be willing to change it. I think this made Leonardo, in some ways, a person who better understood the beauty of God's creation than a person who just takes all received wisdom from the Bible on faith.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Isaacson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/leonardo-da-vinci-did-not-take-received-wisdom-whether-from-ancient/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75c/walter-isaacson-384_ancient_leonardo-da-vinci-did-not-take-received_2190790.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75c/walter-isaacson-384_ancient_leonardo-da-vinci-did-not-take-received_2190790.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75c/walter-isaacson-384_ancient_leonardo-da-vinci-did-not-take-received_2190790.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Leonardo da Vinci did not take received wisdom - whether from ancient classical thinkers or medieval…” — Walter Isaacson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/received-wisdom/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/received-wisdom/", "name": "Received Wisdom Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/received-wisdom/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/elizabeth-mcgovern-15709_careers_i-m-someone-who-s-done-the-opposite-of-w_717578.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 10 Received Wisdom quotes by 10 authors. 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