--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is characteristic of the unlearned…" description: "\"It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/calvin-coolidge-764_attention_it-is-characteristic-of-the-unlearned-th_1753617.jpg" --- # It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are… ![“It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, supposing it to be new.” quote by Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/calvin-coolidge-764_attention_it-is-characteristic-of-the-unlearned-th_1753617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/calvin-coolidge-764_attention_it-is-characteristic-of-the-unlearned-th_1753617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/calvin-coolidge-764_attention_it-is-characteristic-of-the-unlearned-th_1753617.jpg) > “It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, supposing it to be new.” [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often mistake rediscovered ideas for novelty, thinking they are new because they just noticed them. **In simple terms:** Old ideas seem new when newly noticed. Key Takeaway Recognize true originality. Themes knowledge novelty learning Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic research - product development - marketing - education Key Concepts cognitive bias historical perspective Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify if an idea is truly new? - What biases affect our perception of novelty? A Different Perspective New ideas still require validation beyond novelty perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Characteristic Unlearned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristic-unlearned-1628016/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Forever Proposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever-proposing-1628020/) [Old Recently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-recently-1628018/) [Proposing Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proposing-old-1628017/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Supposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposing/) [Supposing that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposing-that/) [Unlearned Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlearned-forever-1628019/) ## Related quotes > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [the usual attitude of Christians towards Jews is - I hardly know whether to say more impious or more stupid, when viewed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-usual-attitude-of-christians-towards-jews-is-i-hardly-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Happiness, the goal to which we all are striving is reached by endeavoring to make the lives of others happy, and if by renouncing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/happiness-the-goal-to-which-we-all-are-striving-is-reached-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The Beauty of the Mountain is hidden for all those who try to discover it from the top, supposing that, one way or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-beauty-of-the-mountain-is-hidden-for-all-those-who-try-to/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [If you are walking backward, away from something you think is a mistake, you may be right in supposing it is a mistake, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/if-you-are-walking-backward-away-from-something-you-think-is-a/) [J. 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Honor has been the reward for what he gave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/no-person-was-ever-honored-for-what-he-received-honor-has-been-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Nations are beginning to look to some vague organization, some nebulous course of humanity, to pay their bills and tell them what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/nations-are-beginning-to-look-to-some-vague-organization-some/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [The government can supply no substitute for enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/the-government-can-supply-no-substitute-for-enterprise/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/while-we-should-not-refuse-to-spend-and-be-spent-in-the-service-of/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [One of the greatest dangers to peace lies in the economic pressure to which people find themselves subjected. 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The mind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/we-cannot-permit-any-inquisition-either-within-or-without-the-law-or/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) [Explore all 376 Calvin Coolidge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. 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They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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