---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love to be surprised or challenged or…"
description: "\"I love to be surprised or challenged or told that I know less than I thought that I knew. I know it's an old saw, but the older I get the less I know I..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png"
---

#  I love to be surprised or challenged or told that I know…

![“I love to be surprised or challenged or told that I know less than I thought that I knew. I know it's an old saw, but the older I get the less I know I know.” quote by Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png)

> “I love to be surprised or challenged or told that I know less than I thought that I knew. I know it's an old saw, but the older I get the less I know I know.”

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Expresses love for being challenged and realizing the limits of one's knowledge, especially with age.

**In simple terms:** Embrace being surprised and admit ignorance.

Key Takeaway

Seek challenges to grow.

Themes

learning humility growth

Mood

curious humble

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- education
- personal development
- creative workshops

Key Concepts

Epistemology lifelong learning

Questions to Reflect On

- What assumptions have you recently questioned?
- How does age affect your learning?

A Different Perspective

May cause discomfort confronting unknowns.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Know Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-old/) [Older Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-know-483421/) [Saw Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saw-older-4201062/) [Surprised Challenged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-challenged-4201061/) [Thought Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-knew/)

## Related quotes

> [“For once he looked at her as if he saw her – an older woman unafraid of blustering men, too assured to play at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rowland/for-once-he-looked-at-her-as-if-he-saw-her-an-older-woman-unafraid-of/)

[Susan Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rowland/)

> [As you get older, you know what you're good at and you know what you're not so good at. Your ego comes out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adebayo-akinfenwa/as-you-get-older-you-know-what-you-re-good-at-and-you-know-what-you/)

[Adebayo Akinfenwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adebayo-akinfenwa/)

> [“Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day . . . put it from your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/alas-the-first-thing-you-ask-me-i-cannot-tell-you-not-today-not-now/)

[J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/)

> [Of course I know very little about architecture, and the older I get the less I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rogers/of-course-i-know-very-little-about-architecture-and-the-older-i-get/)

[Richard Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rogers/)

> [Our children must follow in our footsteps; after all, we are older and know about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/our-children-must-follow-in-our-footsteps-after-all-we-are-older-and/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [To tell you the truth, the older I get, the less I know. I keep meeting people, both older and younger, who seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/to-tell-you-the-truth-the-older-i-get-the-less-i-know-i-keep-meeting/)

[Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/)

> [I think, one thing that I've really come to appreciate about my parents as I've got older is you know, how wise they really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-think-one-thing-that-i-ve-really-come-to-appreciate-about-my/)

[Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/)

> [With young people everything is much more on the surface - all the emotions; when you get older you know how to hide things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rineke-dijkstra/with-young-people-everything-is-much-more-on-the-surface-all-the/)

[Rineke Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rineke-dijkstra/)

> [I don't want to follow the map of what the music industry does because I've already lived the industry and I still live the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-premier/i-don-t-want-to-follow-the-map-of-what-the-music-industry-does/)

[DJ Premier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-premier/)

> [As you get older, the more you know, so the more nervous you become. The risks are much bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scofield/as-you-get-older-the-more-you-know-so-the-more-nervous-you-become-the/)

[Paul Scofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-scofield/)

> [As the children get older and know what they want ... We all grew up at one point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fetty-wap/as-the-children-get-older-and-know-what-they-want-we-all-grew-up-at/)

[Fetty Wap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fetty-wap/)

> [You just realize that you don't know everything there is to know. The older I get, the less I know, and that's a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lanegan/you-just-realize-that-you-don-t-know-everything-there-is-to-know-the/)

[Mark Lanegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lanegan/)

> [I've always liked women who are older. They seem to know who they are, and they've lived. They've got soul, and that's very attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-andrews/i-ve-always-liked-women-who-are-older-they-seem-to-know-who-they-are/)

[Naveen Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-andrews/)

> [“Time ticks by; we grow older. Before we know it, too much time has passed and we've missed the chance to have other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/time-ticks-by-we-grow-older-before-we-know-it-too-much-time-has/)

[Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/)

> [Young people, nowadays, imagine that money is everything, and when they grow older, they know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/young-people-nowadays-imagine-that-money-is-everything-and-when-they/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

## More by Dave Eggers

> [“4. THE CRUMBLING WALL (Hamburger, prepared medium well, with bacon and barbecue sauce. Courtesy of that place on Solano, where, it should be mentioned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/4-the-crumbling-wall-hamburger-prepared-medium-well-with-bacon-and/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I haven't long to live. TREETOPS, ROUNDED AND ROUGH: That's probably true. LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I won't even make it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/low-flying-quick-moving-clouds-i-haven-t-long-to-live-treetops/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [But the grind has begun. The windows don’t open, and even the availability of near-constant jokes about Jews and Mormons fails to stem the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/but-the-grind-has-begun-the-windows-don-t-open-and-even-the/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“One button for the rest of your life online.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/one-button-for-the-rest-of-your-life-online/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-private-things-we-have-given/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [I think I'm far too hopeful and trusting. That's something I got from my mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-think-i-m-far-too-hopeful-and-trusting-that-s-something-i-got-from/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“Overnight, all comment boards became civil, all posters held accountable. The trolls, who had more or less overtaken the internet, were driven back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/overnight-all-comment-boards-became-civil-all-posters-held/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“Have we wasted precious space dust on you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/have-we-wasted-precious-space-dust-on-you/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“What can one do with one's hands when the camera is interested in other things?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/what-can-one-do-with-one-s-hands-when-the-camera-is-interested-in/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“The money that could have saved the Shuttle, and the money we send to random countries, that we use to remake unchangeable countries ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-money-that-could-have-saved-the-shuttle-and-the-money-we-send-to/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [Write your goddamned book now. The world awaits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/write-your-goddamned-book-now-the-world-awaits/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-only-infallible-truth-of-our-lives-is-that-everything-we-love-in/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [“First of all: I am tired. I am true of heart! And Also: You are tired. You are true of heart!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/first-of-all-i-am-tired-i-am-true-of-heart-and-also-you-are-tired-you/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [And what we were trying to offer every day was one-on-one attention. The goal was to have a one-to-one ratio with every one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/and-what-we-were-trying-to-offer-every-day-was-one-on-one-attention/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [Suffering is only suffering if it’s done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/suffering-is-only-suffering-if-it-s-done-in-silence-in-solitude-pain/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

[Explore all 428 Dave Eggers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

## More Thought Knew quotes

> [I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/i-thought-i-knew-a-lot-about-music-then-you-start-digging-and-the/)

[John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/)

> [I think that probably the most important thing about our education was that it taught us to question even those things we thought we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/i-think-that-probably-the-most-important-thing-about-our-education/)

[Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/)

> [I’m really alive! he thought. I never knew it before, or if I did I don’t remember!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-m-really-alive-he-thought-i-never-knew-it-before-or-if-i-did-i-don/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [The truth is, I don't have a real clue what love is - how to find it, how to give it. Once upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/the-truth-is-i-don-t-have-a-real-clue-what-love-is-how-to-find-it-how/)

[Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/)

> [To this very day, I do not know what he (Hitler) thought or knew or really wanted. I only knew my own thoughts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jodl/to-this-very-day-i-do-not-know-what-he-hitler-thought-or-knew-or/)

[Alfred Jodl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jodl/)

> [“But what might be written in the book which had rounded its edges off in his pocket, she did not know. What he thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-what-might-be-written-in-the-book-which-had-rounded-its-edges-off/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“But I thought about all the things that had to have spun into place in order for us to be alive and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/but-i-thought-about-all-the-things-that-had-to-have-spun-into-place/)

[Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/)

> [“I thought I knew madness, but I didn’t know it before you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-thomas/i-thought-i-knew-madness-but-i-didn-t-know-it-before-you/)

[Kitty Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-thomas/)

> [“She thought I knew a lot because I knew different things from her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-thought-i-knew-a-lot-because-i-knew-different-things-from-her/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“I thought you knew that." "I didn´t." And I was starting to think that ignorance was at least somewhere in the neighborhood of bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/i-thought-you-knew-that-i-didn-t-and-i-was-starting-to-think-that/)

[Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/)

> [I started super young, but when I think about myself at that age - what I thought I knew, and how priggish I was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milla-jovovich/i-started-super-young-but-when-i-think-about-myself-at-that-age-what/)

[Milla Jovovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milla-jovovich/)

> [“I thought everything I knew about you might have been a lie, but since meeting him and your parents, I've realized that the parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-brown/i-thought-everything-i-knew-about-you-might-have-been-a-lie-but-since/)

[Jennifer Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-brown/)

> [“I thought I knew what love was….I had this vision of it. Flowers and walks holding hands, and making love, and smiling, and being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-meredith/i-thought-i-knew-what-love-was-i-had-this-vision-of-it-flowers-and/)

[Peter Meredith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-meredith/)

> [When I think about myself at 15, I can't relate to myself at all. I thought I knew everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milla-jovovich/when-i-think-about-myself-at-15-i-can-t-relate-to-myself-at-all-i/)

[Milla Jovovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milla-jovovich/)

> [All things I thought I knew; but now confess The more I know, I know, I know the less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/all-things-i-thought-i-knew-but-now-confess-the-more-i-know-i-know-i/)

[John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/)

[Browse all 91 Thought Knew quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-knew/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I love to be surprised or challenged or told that I know less than I thought that I knew. I know it's an old saw, but the older I get the less I know I know.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dave Eggers"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or-told-that-i-know-less-than-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Thought Knew"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or-told-that-i-know-less-than-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/dave-eggers-638_thought-knew_i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or_2912441.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I love to be surprised or challenged or told that I know less than I thought that I knew. I know it's an old…” — Dave Eggers",
                "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": "Dave Eggers",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I love to be surprised or...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or-told-that-i-know-less-than-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-love-to-be-surprised-or-challenged-or-told-that-i-know-less-than-i/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
