--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything invented before you were…" description: "\"“Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all along. Anything invented before you’re thirty is exciting and will change the world forever. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/cory-doctorow-1928_change-the-world_anything-invented-before-you-were-eighte_77069.png" --- # Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all… ![“Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all along. Anything invented before you’re thirty is exciting and will change the world forever. Anything invented after that is an abomination and should be banned.” quote by Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/cory-doctorow-1928_change-the-world_anything-invented-before-you-were-eighte_77069.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/cory-doctorow-1928_change-the-world_anything-invented-before-you-were-eighte_77069.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/cory-doctorow-1928_change-the-world_anything-invented-before-you-were-eighte_77069.png) > ““Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all along. Anything invented before you’re thirty is exciting and will change the world forever. Anything invented after that is an abomination and should be banned.”” [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) ## 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 how society values innovations based on the age of their creator, praising early breakthroughs while dismissing later ones as inferior. **In simple terms:** Age bias in valuing inventions Key Takeaway Innovation is judged by creator's age Themes Age bias Innovation Cultural perception Generational value Creativity Mood Reflective Critical Skeptical Type Aphorism Social commentary When to use this quote - Tech startup founders - Academic research - Corporate R&D - Artistic creation - Policy making Key Concepts Innovation lifecycle Societal norms Ageism Historical impact Practical Applications - Assessing invention merit - Designing age-inclusive innovation policies Questions to Reflect On - How does age influence perceived value of ideas? - Can later inventions be equally transformative? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) ## Related quotes > [“Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-patrick-eha/anything-that-is-in-the-world-when-you-re-born-is-normal-and-ordinary/) Brian Patrick Eha > [Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/anything-invented-after-you-re-thirty-five-is-against-the-natural/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“here. I invented”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-campisi/here-i-invented/) [Mary Campisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-campisi/) > [“When people’s parallel truth collides with their real truth, they may have a hard time in subduing all the fanciful items and characters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-people-s-parallel-truth-collides-with-their-real-truth-they-may/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Invention is not enough. Tesla invented the electric power we use, but he struggled to get it out to people. You have to combine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/invention-is-not-enough-tesla-invented-the-electric-power-we-use-but/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. On the other hand, we may have reached a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/alphabetical-order-had-to-be-invented-to-help-people-organize-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [The truth is nobody can own anything. That was an unheard-of concept among indigenous people. We invented that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/the-truth-is-nobody-can-own-anything-that-was-an-unheard-of-concept/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [Football wasn't invented until the Premier League, we all know that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dunster/football-wasn-t-invented-until-the-premier-league-we-all-know-that/) [Phil Dunster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dunster/) > [Accursed be he that first invented war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/accursed-be-he-that-first-invented-war/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [I don't think I really invented anybody. I have drawn on real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hailey/i-don-t-think-i-really-invented-anybody-i-have-drawn-on-real-life/) [Arthur Hailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hailey/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Congress as a whole is less popular than it's been since polling was invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/congress-as-a-whole-is-less-popular-than-it-s-been-since-polling-was/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Redemption is invented by the sinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hill/redemption-is-invented-by-the-sinner/) [Lawrence Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hill/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I don't think I'm the one that invented glamour at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-lang/i-don-t-think-i-m-the-one-that-invented-glamour-at-all/) [Helmut Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-lang/) ## More by Cory Doctorow > [“For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/for-me-for-pretty-much-every-writer-the-big-problem-isn-t-piracy-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“Kurt smiled a shy smile. "You're just trying to cheer me up," he said. "Course I am," Andy said. "You deserve to be full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/kurt-smiled-a-shy-smile-you-re-just-trying-to-cheer-me-up-he-said/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The other one I did was 'I, Robot.' I take apart Isaac Asimov's Robots world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-other-one-i-did-was-i-robot-i-take-apart-isaac-asimov-s-robots/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“When in problem, or in doubt, run in cirles, scream and shout”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/when-in-problem-or-in-doubt-run-in-cirles-scream-and-shout/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“the problem with reading off a screen isn’t resolution, eyestrain, or compatibility with reading in the bathtub: it’s that computers are seductive, they tempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-problem-with-reading-off-a-screen-isn-t-resolution-eyestrain-or/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [I'm 17 years old. I'm not a straight-A student or anything. Even so, I figured out how to make an Internet that they can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-m-17-years-old-i-m-not-a-straight-a-student-or-anything-even-so-i/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Novels for me are how I find out what's going on in my own head. And so that's a really useful and indeed critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/novels-for-me-are-how-i-find-out-what-s-going-on-in-my-own-head-and/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“It’s our version of Christian guilt—it’s impious to feel good about your piety. You have to want to be good, but not feel good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-our-version-of-christian-guilt-it-s-impious-to-feel-good-about/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [The important thing about security systems isn’t how they work, it’s how they fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-important-thing-about-security-systems-isn-t-how-they-work-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [This is why I loved technology: if you used it right, it could give you power and privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/this-is-why-i-loved-technology-if-you-used-it-right-it-could-give-you/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Funny, for all surveillance, Osama bin Laden is still free—and we're not. Guess who's winning the "war on terror?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/funny-for-all-surveillance-osama-bin-laden-is-still-free-and-we-re/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [I had this really great amazing thing happen where I almost finished the book and I really needed to come up with an ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-had-this-really-great-amazing-thing-happen-where-i-almost-finished/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [It's the stupid questions that have some of the most surprising and interesting answers. Most people never think to ask the stupid questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-the-stupid-questions-that-have-some-of-the-most-surprising-and/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“I used to want to understand how the world worked. Little things, like heavy stuff goes at the bottom of the laundry bag, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-used-to-want-to-understand-how-the-world-worked-little-things-like/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) [Explore all 195 Cory Doctorow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) ## More Change the world quotes > [If you learn something that changes you, you've made progress. If you learn something that changes others, you've helped change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanie-lane/if-you-learn-something-that-changes-you-you-ve-made-progress-if-you/) Lanie Lane > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Paul Gray - he believed in my art, and I believed in his music. Together, we decided to change the world, and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-crahan/paul-gray-he-believed-in-my-art-and-i-believed-in-his-music-together/) [Shawn Crahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-crahan/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Curiously, the righteous Pharisees had little historical impact, save for a brief time in a remote corner of the Roman Empire. But Jesus' disciples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/curiously-the-righteous-pharisees-had-little-historical-impact-save/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“if i am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-am-not-in-the-world-simply-to-adapt-to-it-but-rather-transform/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [I don't like lyrics to be overbearing. I like them to say something. But I'm not trying to change the world overnight. Something simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rodgers/i-don-t-like-lyrics-to-be-overbearing-i-like-them-to-say-something/) [Paul Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rodgers/) > [Larry Kramer wisely realized so early on that to change the world, people have to know you. If they know you and see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/larry-kramer-wisely-realized-so-early-on-that-to-change-the-world/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Don't underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/don-t-underestimate-the-power-of-your-vision-to-change-the-world/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-ve-been-waiting-for-you-a-long-time-alina-he-said-you-and-i-are/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people don’t talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk and listen. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-most-important-thing-in-all-human-relationships-is-conversation/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Browse all 2,043 Change the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all along. Anything invented before you’re thirty is exciting and will change the world forever. 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