--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't be so sure that your version of…" description: "\"“Don't be so sure that your version of reality is better because it's newer.”\" — Bill McKibben" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg" --- # Don't be so sure that your version of reality is better… ![“Don't be so sure that your version of reality is better because it's newer.” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg) > ““Don't be so sure that your version of reality is better because it's newer.”” [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning newer perspectives prevents complacency and invites humility. **In simple terms:** Don’t assume newer is better. Key Takeaway Stay humble, evaluate ideas. Themes critical thinking humility change Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - technology adoption - policy debates - personal beliefs Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you test new ideas? - When have you revised a belief? A Different Perspective New ideas can be valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Newer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-newer-3021412/) [Newer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newer-391343/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-better-333877/) [Version Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/version-reality-836810/) ## Related quotes > [If I can get a sanitized version of reality, I'll take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-hammond/if-i-can-get-a-sanitized-version-of-reality-i-ll-take-it/) [Darrell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-hammond/) > [“Memory is just an alternate version of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/memory-is-just-an-alternate-version-of-reality/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [“Mankind made up a version of reality we could all live in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hawke/mankind-made-up-a-version-of-reality-we-could-all-live-in/) [Christopher Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hawke/) > [“Newer and better…healing isn’t about getting back to the old, it’s about going to that next level and experiencing what God has in store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-bixler/newer-and-better-healing-isn-t-about-getting-back-to-the-old-it-s/) [Heather Bixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-bixler/) > [The world may not be getting better and better, but our devices are getting newer and newer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/the-world-may-not-be-getting-better-and-better-but-our-devices-are/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“Come friends, it's not too late to seek a newer world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/come-friends-it-s-not-too-late-to-seek-a-newer-world/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Buy the best & latest mobile, laptop, gadget or vehicle of your own choice! It remains the best & latest for you until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mufti-ismail-menk/buy-the-best-latest-mobile-laptop-gadget-or-vehicle-of-your-own/) [Mufti Ismail Menk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mufti-ismail-menk/) > [Newer are good but old is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/newer-are-good-but-old-is-perfect/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“Kids are only newer people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chicago-button-at-the-children-s-community-1965/kids-are-only-newer-people/) [Chicago button at the Children's Community 1965](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chicago-button-at-the-children-s-community-1965/) > [Nothing has changed, I'm just the newer version of the old me some of you thought you knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-has-changed-i-m-just-the-newer-version-of-the-old-me-some-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We turn not older with years but newer every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/we-turn-not-older-with-years-but-newer-every-day/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Tis not too late to seek a newer world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/tis-not-too-late-to-seek-a-newer-world/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I always tend to favor the newer idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/i-always-tend-to-favor-the-newer-idea/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [The only things that are a little bit newer are the CD burners, but we hid them under the table, so basically we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-white/the-only-things-that-are-a-little-bit-newer-are-the-cd-burners-but-we/) [Meg White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-white/) > [I like Dave Grohl, I guess he's a little newer. It makes you shake, it's uppity and spirited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-like-dave-grohl-i-guess-he-s-a-little-newer-it-makes-you-shake-it-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) ## More by Bill McKibben > [I try not to be either optimistic or pessimistic. I try not to think about outcomes on that scale. My job, it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-try-not-to-be-either-optimistic-or-pessimistic-i-try-not-to-think/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Oil companies are radical because they're willing to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/oil-companies-are-radical-because-they-re-willing-to-alter-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Whenever anyone challenges anything, the powers that be try to paint them as extremists or radicals or whatever. And I think that's actually nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/whenever-anyone-challenges-anything-the-powers-that-be-try-to-paint/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [My guess is that liberating the fossil fuel industry to frack anywhere they want will drive down the rate at which we're converting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/my-guess-is-that-liberating-the-fossil-fuel-industry-to-frack/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [What makes us different? We're the creature that can decide not to do something that we are capable of doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/what-makes-us-different-we-re-the-creature-that-can-decide-not-to-do/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“The snow was coming down so hard. It looked like the flakes were hurrying to get out of the sky so the next ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-snow-was-coming-down-so-hard-it-looked-like-the-flakes-were/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Most of the men and women who vote in Congress each year to continue subsidies have taken campaign donations from big energy companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/most-of-the-men-and-women-who-vote-in-congress-each-year-to-continue/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“I’ve sat behind a microphone and listened for decades as Americans learned to stop talking with each other and start shouting instead. No discussions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-ve-sat-behind-a-microphone-and-listened-for-decades-as-americans/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [People in low-lying countries like Bangladesh with almost 140 million people who are managing to feed themselves, whose carbon emissions can't really be calculated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/people-in-low-lying-countries-like-bangladesh-with-almost-140-million/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We're putting more carbon into the atmosphere than the atmosphere can absorb. And everybody told us when we started, coz we knew nothing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-re-putting-more-carbon-into-the-atmosphere-than-the-atmosphere-can/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Everything that the administration has done has been counterproductive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/everything-that-the-administration-has-done-has-been-counterproductive/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We use the web to help people organize in the flesh, and then we take the images of those events and put them back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-use-the-web-to-help-people-organize-in-the-flesh-and-then-we-take/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [everyone knows, at some level, that the sharp line between "good weather" and "bad weather" is a fiction, that we need rain as surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/everyone-knows-at-some-level-that-the-sharp-line-between-good-weather/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [The thing about global warming is that you can address it on a great number of levels - in fact you have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-thing-about-global-warming-is-that-you-can-address-it-on-a-great/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Where people aren't as deeply reliant on fossil fuel as in the United States, it's far easier for them to imagine change on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/where-people-aren-t-as-deeply-reliant-on-fossil-fuel-as-in-the-united/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) [Explore all 299 Bill McKibben quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## More Reality quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The universe is not punishing you or blessing you. The universe is simply responding to the vibrational attitude that you are emitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-hicks/the-universe-is-not-punishing-you-or-blessing-you-the-universe-is/) [Abraham Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-hicks/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-daniels/being-under-recruited-coming-out-of-highland-i-ve-carried-that-with/) [Mike Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-daniels/) [Browse all 19,710 Reality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don't be so sure that your version of reality is better because it's newer.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-reality-is-better-because-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Reality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-reality-is-better-because-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/bill-mckibben-1057_reality_don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-re_2740207.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't be so sure that your version of reality is better because it's newer.” — Bill McKibben", "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": "Bill McKibben", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Don't be so sure that your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-reality-is-better-because-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/don-t-be-so-sure-that-your-version-of-reality-is-better-because-it-s/#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 } } ] } ```