--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideas that are at odds with the inherited…" description: "\"Ideas that are at odds with the inherited collective wisdom of antiquity are always, on their face suspect.\" — Andrew Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg" --- # Ideas that are at odds with the inherited collective… ![“Ideas that are at odds with the inherited collective wisdom of antiquity are always, on their face suspect.” quote by Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg) > “Ideas that are at odds with the inherited collective wisdom of antiquity are always, on their face suspect.” [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Challenging traditional beliefs invites skepticism because they conflict with long‑standing cultural norms. **In simple terms:** Questioning old wisdom can seem risky. Key Takeaway Examine assumptions before accepting them. Themes skepticism tradition critical thinking Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - policy making - personal belief revision - innovation - social reform Key Concepts cultural norms historical bias Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports the new idea? - How might tradition be useful today? A Different Perspective Old ideas may hold hidden value; blind rejection can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) [Collective wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-wisdom/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [The game of chess is the most fascinating and intellectual pastime which the wisdom of antiquity has bequeathed to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-staunton/the-game-of-chess-is-the-most-fascinating-and-intellectual-pastime/) [Howard Staunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-staunton/) > [... inherited collective mind-patterns ... have kept humans in bondage to suffering for eons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/inherited-collective-mind-patterns-have-kept-humans-in-bondage-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-do-not-believe-in-the-collective-wisdom-of-individual-ignorance/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Collective wisdom, alas, is no adequate substitute for the intelligence of individuals. Individuals who opposed received opinions have been the source of all progress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/collective-wisdom-alas-is-no-adequate-substitute-for-the-intelligence/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Nothing is more senseless than to base so many expectations on the state, that is, to assume the existence of collective wisdom and foresight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/nothing-is-more-senseless-than-to-base-so-many-expectations-on-the/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Sirius is the Hidden God or "the sun behind the sun". As the moon reflects the sun, so does the sun reflect Sirius. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-nichols-and-peter-moon/sirius-is-the-hidden-god-or-the-sun-behind-the-sun-as-the-moon/) Preston Nichols and Peter Moon > [I think small groups have more collective wisdom than an individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-think-small-groups-have-more-collective-wisdom-than-an-individual/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [I also believe that at a critical point (more than six people?), that collective wisdom turns into group think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-also-believe-that-at-a-critical-point-more-than-six-people-that/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [“Democracies, as we know, are prone to every error from incompetence and corruption to misguided fetishes and gridlock. Therefore, it is astonishing, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-k-albright/democracies-as-we-know-are-prone-to-every-error-from-incompetence-and/) Madeleine K. Albright > [I'm really lucky to have colleagues in the White House press corps who are both amazing mothers and amazing journalists. Their collective wisdom has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-jackson/i-m-really-lucky-to-have-colleagues-in-the-white-house-press-corps/) [Hallie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallie-jackson/) > [Libraries have always been humanities' way of preserving its collective wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/libraries-have-always-been-humanities-way-of-preserving-its/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The anchor of all my dreams is the collective wisdom of mankind as a whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-anchor-of-all-my-dreams-is-the-collective-wisdom-of-mankind-as-a/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Democracy's premise rests on the notion that the collective wisdom of the majority will prove right more often than it's wrong; that given sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/democracy-s-premise-rests-on-the-notion-that-the-collective-wisdom-of/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/democracy-is-a-pathetic-belief-in-the-collective-wisdom-of-individual/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The secret of literature, which conventional people don't guess, is that writers are forever looking for the surprising revelation - not for reinforcement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/the-secret-of-literature-which-conventional-people-don-t-guess-is/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) ## More by Andrew Thomas > [Our success as consultants will depend upon the essential rightness of the advice we give and our capacity for convincing those in authority that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/our-success-as-consultants-will-depend-upon-the-essential-rightness/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [I promise, before God and my community, to seek reforms so that the powerful and corrupt are no longer above the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/i-promise-before-god-and-my-community-to-seek-reforms-so-that-the/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“Imagine you throw a rock in the sea off the coast of the United Kingdom. After the initial big splash, the ripples dissipate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/imagine-you-throw-a-rock-in-the-sea-off-the-coast-of-the-united/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“each elementary particle is paired with a superpartner particle. However, the LHC has not detected any of these predicted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/each-elementary-particle-is-paired-with-a-superpartner-particle/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“many experiments which intrigued him. He was particularly interested in the properties of light. By using a spinning colour”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/many-experiments-which-intrigued-him-he-was-particularly-interested/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“If we forget to give our measurements in units, or if we are not in agreement over which units we have both used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/if-we-forget-to-give-our-measurements-in-units-or-if-we-are-not-in/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [That's the whole point of... of prosecutorial discretion in the judicial system. It's finding a just outcome in an individual case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/that-s-the-whole-point-of-of-prosecutorial-discretion-in-the-judicial/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“According to Carl Sagan: "Maxwell's equations have had a greater impact on human history than any ten presidents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/according-to-carl-sagan-maxwell-s-equations-have-had-a-greater-impact/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [Today, corruption has won and justice has lost. I brought corruption cases in good faith involving powerful people, and the political and legal establishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/today-corruption-has-won-and-justice-has-lost-i-brought-corruption/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“In fact, if you have a very large volume of mass at constant density, then it is guaranteed to become a black hole if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/in-fact-if-you-have-a-very-large-volume-of-mass-at-constant-density/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“However, Galileo got into trouble when he turned his telescope toward a wider horizon. The discovery of the four moons orbiting Jupiter — Io,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/however-galileo-got-into-trouble-when-he-turned-his-telescope-toward/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [A consultant to be worth his salt must give honest judgments not necessarily those which he thinks the clients would like to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/a-consultant-to-be-worth-his-salt-must-give-honest-judgments-not/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“A time dimension is required so that energy is possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/a-time-dimension-is-required-so-that-energy-is-possible/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [“So in the MWI, the problematic quantum jump is just transferred from the object under observation to the measurement apparatus. The MWI shuffles the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/so-in-the-mwi-the-problematic-quantum-jump-is-just-transferred-from/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) > [I have decided not to appeal the ruling that took my law license. My accusers, the Board of Supervisors, once again have fired my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/i-have-decided-not-to-appeal-the-ruling-that-took-my-law-license-my/) [Andrew Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) [Explore all 27 Andrew Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/) ## More Antiquity quotes > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [What subsists to-day by violence continues to-morrow by acquiescence and is perpetuated by tradition; till at last the hoary abuse shakes the gray hairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/what-subsists-to-day-by-violence-continues-to-morrow-by-acquiescence/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“Since antiquity, men have defined themselves by those who are excluded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robinson/since-antiquity-men-have-defined-themselves-by-those-who-are-excluded/) Jim Robinson > [While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruins of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum , or in disputes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/while-the-business-of-education-in-europe-consists-in-lectures-upon/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [In antiquity there was only silence. In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born. Today, Noise triumphs and reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-russolo/in-antiquity-there-was-only-silence-in-the-nineteenth-century-with/) [Luigi Russolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-russolo/) > [Arles is certainly one of the most interesting towns I have ever seen, whether viewed as a place remarkable for the objects of antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arles-is-certainly-one-of-the-most-interesting-towns-i-have-ever-seen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An established government has an infinite advantage, by that very circumstance of its being established--the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/an-established-government-has-an-infinite-advantage-by-that-very/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I was brought up in Florence, a beautiful medieval town whose rhythm is completely in antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/i-was-brought-up-in-florence-a-beautiful-medieval-town-whose-rhythm/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Although Damascus is considered the oldest city in the world, the date of its foundation going beyond tradition, there are very few relics of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/although-damascus-is-considered-the-oldest-city-in-the-world-the-date/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [“Educated and ambitious, with their own forthright opinions, the women of the Garvey set did more to determine political direction than many councillors. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius/educated-and-ambitious-with-their-own-forthright-opinions-the-women/) [A. H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius/) > [Book burning is a charming old custom, hallowed by antiquity. It has been practiced for centuries by fascists, communists, atheists, school children, rival authors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/book-burning-is-a-charming-old-custom-hallowed-by-antiquity-it-has/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) [Browse all 244 Antiquity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ideas that are at odds with the inherited collective wisdom of antiquity are always, on their face suspect.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherited-collective-wisdom-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antiquity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherited-collective-wisdom-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/andrew-thomas-21902_antiquity_ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherite_1852907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ideas that are at odds with the inherited collective wisdom of antiquity are always, on their face suspect.” — Andrew Thomas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ideas that are at odds with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherited-collective-wisdom-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-thomas/ideas-that-are-at-odds-with-the-inherited-collective-wisdom-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```