--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our students wanted to know everything…" description: "\"Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievement..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/claude-levi-strauss-8995_achievement_our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-b_20639.jpg" --- # Our students wanted to know everything: but only the… ![“Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of the past, they kept fresh and intact their enthusiasm for 'the latest thing'. Fashion dominated their interest: they valued ideas not for…” quote by Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/claude-levi-strauss-8995_achievement_our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-b_20639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/claude-levi-strauss-8995_achievement_our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-b_20639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/claude-levi-strauss-8995_achievement_our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-b_20639.jpg) > “Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of the past, they kept fresh and intact their enthusiasm for 'the latest thing'. Fashion dominated their interest: they valued ideas not for themselves but for the prestige that they could wring from them.” [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques a superficial obsession with novelty that neglects historical knowledge, reducing ideas to status symbols rather than valuing their intrinsic worth. **In simple terms:** Obsession with the new eclipses respect for the past. Key Takeaway Innovation without context is empty. Themes Intellectual humility Historical awareness Cultural criticism Value of ideas Prestige vs substance Mood Reflective Critical Skeptical Type Aphorism Social commentary When to use this quote - Academic curricula - Research funding decisions - Trend-driven marketing - Student learning environments - Media coverage of breakthroughs Key Concepts Epistemology Sociology of knowledge Education Cultural trends Practical Applications - Design curricula that integrate classic works - Encourage critical appraisal of trends Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance enthusiasm for innovation with respect for tradition? - What mechanisms ensure that novelty is evaluated on merit? A Different Perspective New ideas can revitalize fields when built on solid foundations, not merely for prestige. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Enthusiasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiasm/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Prestige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prestige/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [The students wanted to speak to the government, and the police answered with bullets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vusi-mahlasela/the-students-wanted-to-speak-to-the-government-and-the-police/) [Vusi Mahlasela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vusi-mahlasela/) > [To me, being an intellectual doesn't mean knowing about intellectual issues; it means taking pleasure in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/to-me-being-an-intellectual-doesn-t-mean-knowing-about-intellectual/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [People disparage knowing and the intellectual life, and urge doing. I am content with knowing, if only I could know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/people-disparage-knowing-and-the-intellectual-life-and-urge-doing-i/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A culture is not the anonymous product of undifferentiate d masses, but the sum of the intellectual achievements of individual men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-culture-is-not-the-anonymous-product-of-undifferentiate-d-masses/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Unassuming in manner, genial and kindly in his intercourse with his fellow-men, never showing impatience or irritation, devoid of personal ambition of the baser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-andrews-bumstead/unassuming-in-manner-genial-and-kindly-in-his-intercourse-with-his/) Henry Andrews Bumstead > [Collaboration operates through a process in which the successful intellectual achievements of one person arouse the intellectual passions and enthusiasms of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/collaboration-operates-through-a-process-in-which-the-successful/) [Alexander von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/) > [Whether or not it is ultimately the best of all conceivable scripts for Korean, Hangeul must unquestionably rank as one of the great intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-sampson/whether-or-not-it-is-ultimately-the-best-of-all-conceivable-scripts/) Geoffrey Sampson > [An alliance is like a chain. 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So it's really difficult to argue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goldstein/in-north-carolina-for-example-it-takes-15-years-to-move-a-teacher-s/) [Dana Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goldstein/) > [We were the outliers: my mother was the only Western woman (khawagayya, in Egyptian Arabic) to have married into the family, and during my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/we-were-the-outliers-my-mother-was-the-only-western-woman-khawagayya/) [Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/) > [...Individualistic material progress and the desire to gain prestige by coming out on top have taken over from the sense of fellowship, compassion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/individualistic-material-progress-and-the-desire-to-gain-prestige-by/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) ## More by Claude Levi-Strauss > [While I complain of being able to glimpse no more than the shadow of the past, I may be insensitive to reality as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/while-i-complain-of-being-able-to-glimpse-no-more-than-the-shadow-of/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/civilization-has-ceased-to-be-that-delicate-flower-which-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [These facts make the creator of music a being like the gods, and make music itself the supreme mystery of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/these-facts-make-the-creator-of-music-a-being-like-the-gods-and-make/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Being human signifies, for each one of us, belonging to a class, a society, a country, a continent and a civilization; and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/being-human-signifies-for-each-one-of-us-belonging-to-a-class-a/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For mile after mile the same melodic phrase rose up in my memory. I simply couldn’t get free of it. Each time it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-mile-after-mile-the-same-melodic-phrase-rose-up-in-my-memory-i/) [Claude Lévi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Anthropology found its Galileo in Rivers, its Newton in Mauss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/anthropology-found-its-galileo-in-rivers-its-newton-in-mauss/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-scientist-is-not-a-person-who-gives-the-right-answers-he-is-one/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Natural man did not precede society, nor is he outside it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/natural-man-did-not-precede-society-nor-is-he-outside-it/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For everything is history: What was said yesterday is history, what was said a minute ago is history. But, above all, one is led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-everything-is-history-what-was-said-yesterday-is-history-what-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [In the old days, people used to risk their lives in India or in the Americas in order to bring back products which now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/in-the-old-days-people-used-to-risk-their-lives-in-india-or-in-the/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The musical emotion springs precisely from the fact that at each moment the composer withholds or adds more or less than the listener anticipates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-musical-emotion-springs-precisely-from-the-fact-that-at-each/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Scientific knowledge advances haltingly and is stimulated by contention and doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/scientific-knowledge-advances-haltingly-and-is-stimulated-by/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Understanding arises from reducing one type of reality into another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/understanding-arises-from-reducing-one-type-of-reality-into-another/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [All the essentials of humanity's artistic treasures can be found in New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/all-the-essentials-of-humanity-s-artistic-treasures-can-be-found-in/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“A peculiar feature – no doubt a weakness – of my mental make-up is that I find it difficult to concentrate twice on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/a-peculiar-feature-no-doubt-a-weakness-of-my-mental-make-up-is-that-i/) [Claude Lévi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) [Explore all 62 Claude Levi-Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of the past, they kept fresh and intact their enthusiasm for 'the latest thing'. 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