--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The depressing thing is that so many of…" description: "\"“The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human intelligence, memory, and learning are all..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png" --- # The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which… ![“The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human intelligence, memory, and learning are all wishful thinking.” quote by Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png) > ““The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human intelligence, memory, and learning are all wishful thinking.”” [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many psychological theories on intelligence, memory, and learning are based on optimistic but untested assumptions. **In simple terms:** Psychology often relies on hopeful but unproven ideas. Key Takeaway Question assumptions in cognitive science. Themes psychology intelligence memory learning skepticism Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - education policy - clinical practice - self‑improvement Key Concepts cognitive bias scientific rigor epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports current models? - How can we test these assumptions? A Different Perspective These ideas may overlook empirical evidence and hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Human intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-intelligence/) [Ideas Psychologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-psychologists-4305207/) [Learning Wishful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-wishful-4305208/) [Psychologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychologists/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Psychologists have found that we are more likely, in looking back at our lives, to remember high points and dramatic shifts in far greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissela-bok/psychologists-have-found-that-we-are-more-likely-in-looking-back-at/) [Sissela Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissela-bok/) > [A single human brain has about a hundred million nerve cells... and a computer program that throws light on the mind/brain problem will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/a-single-human-brain-has-about-a-hundred-million-nerve-cells-and-a/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“We live in a world where some psychologists are the most dangerous mental abusers. Take care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/we-live-in-a-world-where-some-psychologists-are-the-most-dangerous/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [If you want to understand human beings, there are plenty of people to go to besides psychologists… Most of these people are incapable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/if-you-want-to-understand-human-beings-there-are-plenty-of-people-to/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [“Most good writers are good psychologists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-ballon/most-good-writers-are-good-psychologists/) [Rachel Ballon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-ballon/) > [I'm one of the best-loved psychologists in the United States, but I'm also probably the most hated one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-m-one-of-the-best-loved-psychologists-in-the-united-states-but-i-m/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [But I have tried to go over it very carefully, not merely what the evidence is, but with psychoanalysts and psychologists, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-herbert-donald/but-i-have-tried-to-go-over-it-very-carefully-not-merely-what-the/) [David Herbert Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-herbert-donald/) > [Psychology is much bigger than just medicine, or fixing unhealthy things. It's about education, work, marriage - it's even about sports. What I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/psychology-is-much-bigger-than-just-medicine-or-fixing-unhealthy/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [“Most psychologists believe that nature—genetics—accounts for about half of the reason why we tend to act the way we do. His point is simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/most-psychologists-believe-that-nature-genetics-accounts-for-about/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [You psychologists focus on what is wrong with people; I want to focus on what is right and what could be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-briggs-myers/you-psychologists-focus-on-what-is-wrong-with-people-i-want-to-focus/) [Isabel Briggs Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-briggs-myers/) > [“Psychologists cannot fix the world so they fix women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/psychologists-cannot-fix-the-world-so-they-fix-women/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [I like to move among painters, mathematicians, psychologists, people who can tell me something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-like-to-move-among-painters-mathematicians-psychologists-people-who/) [George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/) > [It used to be that whenever I introduced myself to people and told them I was a psychologist, they would shrink away from me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-used-to-be-that-whenever-i-introduced-myself-to-people-and-told/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [But what many psychologists have done, probably because they did well on a test themselves and everyone wants high self esteem, is to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/but-what-many-psychologists-have-done-probably-because-they-did-well/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) ## More by Daniel Keyes > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“I see now that when Norma flowered in our garden I became a weed, allowed to exist only where I would not be seen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/i-see-now-that-when-norma-flowered-in-our-garden-i-became-a-weed/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“The most important thing had always been what other people thought-appearances before herself or her family. And righteous about it. Time and again Matt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-most-important-thing-had-always-been-what-other-people-thought/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“April 6—Today, I learned, the comma, this is, a, comma (,) a period, with, a tail, Miss Kinnian, says its, importent, because, it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/april-6-today-i-learned-the-comma-this-is-a-comma-a-period-with-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“Am I a genius? I don't think so. Not yet anyway. As Burt would put it, mocking the euphemisms of educational jargon, I'm exceptional-a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/am-i-a-genius-i-don-t-think-so-not-yet-anyway-as-burt-would-put-it/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“But I've learned that intelligence alone doesn't mean a damned thing. Here in your university, intelligence, education, knowledge, have all become great idols. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/but-i-ve-learned-that-intelligence-alone-doesn-t-mean-a-damned-thing/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Who's to say that my light is better than your darkness? Who's to say death is better than your darkness? Who am I to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/who-s-to-say-that-my-light-is-better-than-your-darkness-who-s-to-say/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“You want these back, don't you? You want me out of here so you can come back and take over where you left off.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/you-want-these-back-don-t-you-you-want-me-out-of-here-so-you-can-come/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“I see now that the path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/i-see-now-that-the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [I put Algernon's body in a cheese box and buried him in the backyard. I cried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/i-put-algernon-s-body-in-a-cheese-box-and-buried-him-in-the-backyard/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [I’m “exceptional”- a democratic term used to avoid the damning labels of “gifted” and “deprived” (which used to mean “bright” and “retarded”) and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/i-m-exceptional-a-democratic-term-used-to-avoid-the-damning-labels-of/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/even-a-feeble-minded-man-wants-to-be-like-other-men/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“Downhill. Thoughts of suicide to stop it all now while I am still in control and aware of the world around me. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/downhill-thoughts-of-suicide-to-stop-it-all-now-while-i-am-still-in/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“I hated her as I had never hated anyone before—with her easy answers and maternal fussing. I wanted to slap her face, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/i-hated-her-as-i-had-never-hated-anyone-before-with-her-easy-answers/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/intelligence-is-one-of-the-greatest-human-gifts-but-all-too-often-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) [Explore all 122 Daniel Keyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) ## More Depressing quotes > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [There is not a country on earth that could get its fiscal house in order by shrinking opportunity and depressing growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/there-is-not-a-country-on-earth-that-could-get-its-fiscal-house-in/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I think it is kind of depressing how few female filmmakers there are. I think it is in general depressing how few women there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/i-think-it-is-kind-of-depressing-how-few-female-filmmakers-there-are/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [We're in a situation where talented, motivated school leavers and graduates can send off a hundred CVs and not get a reply, and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameela-jamil/we-re-in-a-situation-where-talented-motivated-school-leavers-and/) [Jameela Jamil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameela-jamil/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Antidepressants sure kill your sexual life...Now, THAT'S depressing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/antidepressants-sure-kill-your-sexual-life-now-that-s-depressing/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I read the most extravagant things about people who suffer and depress because of things written about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/i-read-the-most-extravagant-things-about-people-who-suffer-and/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Despite my extremely modest prices, dealers and art lovers are turning their backs on me. It is very depressing to see the lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/despite-my-extremely-modest-prices-dealers-and-art-lovers-are-turning/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I've seen few things more depressing than the end-of-season Giants-Padres series in 2001 in which Barry Bonds hit his 68th homer of the year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rodrick/i-ve-seen-few-things-more-depressing-than-the-end-of-season-giants/) [Stephen Rodrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rodrick/) > [Everything we do really is just a little marker on the long road to death. And sometimes that’s overwhelmingly depressing to me, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/everything-we-do-really-is-just-a-little-marker-on-the-long-road-to/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) [Browse all 888 Depressing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human intelligence, memory, and learning are all wishful thinking.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Keyes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of-the-ideas-on-which-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depressing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of-the-ideas-on-which-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/daniel-keyes-3679_depressing_the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of_506806.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human…” — Daniel Keyes", "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": "Daniel Keyes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The depressing thing is that so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of-the-ideas-on-which-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-depressing-thing-is-that-so-many-of-the-ideas-on-which-our/#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 } } ] } ```