--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is the possibility that humankind…" description: "\"There is the possibility that humankind can outgrow its infantile tendencies, as I suggested in 'Childhood's End.' But it is amazing how childishly gul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/arthur-c-clarke-640_childhood_there-is-the-possibility-that-humankind_1278985.jpg" --- # There is the possibility that humankind can outgrow its… ![“There is the possibility that humankind can outgrow its infantile tendencies, as I suggested in 'Childhood's End.' But it is amazing how childishly gullible humans are.” quote by Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/arthur-c-clarke-640_childhood_there-is-the-possibility-that-humankind_1278985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/arthur-c-clarke-640_childhood_there-is-the-possibility-that-humankind_1278985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/arthur-c-clarke-640_childhood_there-is-the-possibility-that-humankind_1278985.jpg) > “There is the possibility that humankind can outgrow its infantile tendencies, as I suggested in 'Childhood's End.' But it is amazing how childishly gullible humans are.” [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity could mature beyond childish ways, yet remains naively gullible. **In simple terms:** We can grow but stay naive. Key Takeaway Seek wisdom beyond innocence. Themes growth naivety evolution Mood thoughtful cautious Type science‑fiction philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - media literacy Key Concepts human development psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reduce gullibility? - What signs show maturity? A Different Perspective Progress is slow and setbacks occur. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Humankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humankind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) ## Related quotes > [I do find life difficult at times … and I behave childishly too, do foolish things, unworthy … I don't think one can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-uttley/i-do-find-life-difficult-at-times-and-i-behave-childishly-too-do/) Alison Uttley > [I actually think I'm still quite childishly optimistic in a certain way, which is maybe why I find life quite shocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-davis/i-actually-think-i-m-still-quite-childishly-optimistic-in-a-certain/) [Julia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-davis/) > [The human population is 90% gullible, violence-prone dipshits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-human-population-is-90-gullible-violence-prone-dipshits/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [So-called 'higher education' is a veritable magnet for second-raters and actively destructive parasites bent on promoting unsound ideas to the inexperienced and gullible. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-casey/so-called-higher-education-is-a-veritable-magnet-for-second-raters/) [Doug Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-casey/) > [I don't want to say 'gullible,' but when I saw someone, I always thought that person is the way they present themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/i-don-t-want-to-say-gullible-but-when-i-saw-someone-i-always-thought/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [I was once so Innocent once so young once so stupid once so gullible once so care free It Truly Only Take's Once !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destinysmith/i-was-once-so-innocent-once-so-young-once-so-stupid-once-so-gullible/) Destinysmith > [That was the year the British decided to get out and sell everything. So I immediately held an election. I knew the people will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/that-was-the-year-the-british-decided-to-get-out-and-sell-everything/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [“If you are inherently a good guy, which I think I am, you instinctively want to help people even before you know what their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-skinner/if-you-are-inherently-a-good-guy-which-i-think-i-am-you-instinctively/) [Dan Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-skinner/) > [Usually sociopaths will look down upon us for that very reason - that we're gullible. We're weak. One person told me that he thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/usually-sociopaths-will-look-down-upon-us-for-that-very-reason-that/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Gossip is a plague that consumes weak, gullible people and blinds them from the truth of reality; it can devour entire city's. I prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-spade/gossip-is-a-plague-that-consumes-weak-gullible-people-and-blinds-them/) [David Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-spade/) > [The only thing that can be expected from the next US president is more war, more murder, and more oppression of the gullible American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-only-thing-that-can-be-expected-from-the-next-us-president-is/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [I'm so gullible. I'm so damn gullible. And I am so sick of me being gullible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-turner/i-m-so-gullible-i-m-so-damn-gullible-and-i-am-so-sick-of-me-being/) [Lana Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-turner/) > [I was so gullible as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/i-was-so-gullible-as-a-kid/) [Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/) > [“Jichan looked surprised. "Nothing wrong with gullible. How you be happy if not gullible?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-kadohata/jichan-looked-surprised-nothing-wrong-with-gullible-how-you-be-happy/) [Cynthia Kadohata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-kadohata/) > [Violence is fomented by the imposition of singular and belligerent identities on gullible people, championed by proficient artisans of terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/violence-is-fomented-by-the-imposition-of-singular-and-belligerent/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) ## More by Arthur C. Clarke > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-don-t-believe-in-astrology-i-m-a-sagittarius-and-we-re-skeptical/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/astronomy-as-nothing-else-can-do-teaches-men-humility/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/nowhere-in-space-will-we-rest-our-eyes-upon-the-familiar-shapes-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The universe is full of energy, but much of it is at equilibrium. At equilibrium no energy can flow, and therefore it cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-universe-is-full-of-energy-but-much-of-it-is-at-equilibrium-at/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Here the trees surrounded them with an invisible, anechoic blanket, so that every word seemed sucked into silence the moment it was uttered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/here-the-trees-surrounded-them-with-an-invisible-anechoic-blanket-so/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-a-scientific-expert-that-means-i-know-nothing-about-absolutely/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge no Gods imagined by our minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-will-have-time-enough-in-those-endless-aeons-to-attempt-all/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Now I understand,” said the last man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/now-i-understand-said-the-last-man/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) [Explore all 415 Arthur C. Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is the possibility that humankind can outgrow its infantile tendencies, as I suggested in 'Childhood's End.' But it is amazing how childishly gullible humans are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur C. 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