---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tradition is a set of solutions for which…"
description: "\"“Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solution and you get the problem back. Sometimes the problem ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg"
---

#  Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have…

![“Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solution and you get the problem back. Sometimes the problem has mutated or disappeared. Often it is still there as strong as it ever was.” quote by Donald Kingsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg)

> ““Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solution and you get the problem back. Sometimes the problem has mutated or disappeared. Often it is still there as strong as it ever was.””

Donald Kingsbury

## About This Quote

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

Traditions are outdated solutions to forgotten problems; discarding them revives the original issues, which may have evolved

**In simple terms:** Traditions may mask new problems

Key Takeaway

Reevaluate old solutions before discarding

Themes

culture innovation history

Mood

critical inquisitive

Type

quote analysis

When to use this quote

- product design
- policy reform
- organizational change

Key Concepts

systems theory philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What hidden problems do current traditions ignore?
- How can we adapt solutions to evolving challenges?

A Different Perspective

Discarding tradition without analysis risks repeating mistakes

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/)

## Related quotes

> [“Sometimes it felt as if the world had forgotten about us and our problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saroo-brierley/sometimes-it-felt-as-if-the-world-had-forgotten-about-us-and-our/)

[Saroo Brierley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saroo-brierley/)

> [Those just crazy people have no problems because they are the people who forgotten the problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/those-just-crazy-people-have-no-problems-because-they-are-the-people/)

[Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/)

> [I'm the proof - you can't throw away tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-m-the-proof-you-can-t-throw-away-tradition/)

[Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/)

> [What seems natural to us is probably just something familiar in a long tradition that has forgotten the unfamiliar source from which it arose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/what-seems-natural-to-us-is-probably-just-something-familiar-in-a/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

> [“If you can’t fuck it and it doesn’t dance, eat it or throw it away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-cadigan/if-you-can-t-fuck-it-and-it-doesn-t-dance-eat-it-or-throw-it-away/)

[Pat Cadigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-cadigan/)

> [Acting is like painting pictures on bathroom tissues. Ten minutes later you throw them away and they are gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-winters/acting-is-like-painting-pictures-on-bathroom-tissues-ten-minutes/)

[Shelley Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-winters/)

> [Children should be like waffles--you should be able to throw the first one away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/children-should-be-like-waffles-you-should-be-able-to-throw-the-first/)

[Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/)

> [When you close that door to nowhere throw away the key, we have a tendency to look back and regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-you-close-that-door-to-nowhere-throw-away-the-key-we-have-a/)

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

> [Sometimes people throw away something good for something better, only to find out later that good was actually good enough and better never ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/sometimes-people-throw-away-something-good-for-something-better-only/)

[Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/)

> [I've got to overcome that tendency to hide what I write or throw it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-darwish/i-ve-got-to-overcome-that-tendency-to-hide-what-i-write-or-throw-it/)

[Tiffany Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-darwish/)

> [You want to eliminate your evil desires in order to reveal your Buddha nature, but where will you throw them away?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-want-to-eliminate-your-evil-desires-in-order-to-reveal-your/)

[Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/)

> [“I'm going to grab hold of this night and crack it open, eat the fruit right out of the middle, and throw away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tharp/i-m-going-to-grab-hold-of-this-night-and-crack-it-open-eat-the-fruit/)

[Tim Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tharp/)

> [To be innocent is to bear the weight of the entire universe. It is to throw away the counterweight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/to-be-innocent-is-to-bear-the-weight-of-the-entire-universe-it-is-to/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [I threw away my phone I thought that you should know I'd throw away my home If I had somewhere to go Anything to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-simpson/i-threw-away-my-phone-i-thought-that-you-should-know-i-d-throw-away/)

[Ashlee Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-simpson/)

> [Simon had been all lined up and he’d managed to throw away the best girl he’d ever meet. “What a dumbass,” Beck muttered. “No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jana-oliver/simon-had-been-all-lined-up-and-he-d-managed-to-throw-away-the-best/)

[Jana Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jana-oliver/)

## More Culture quotes

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/)

[Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/)

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/)

[Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/)

> [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/)

[Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/)

[Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/)

[Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/)

> [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/)

[Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

[Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solution and you get the problem back. Sometimes the problem has mutated or disappeared. Often it is still there as strong as it ever was.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Donald Kingsbury"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-kingsbury/tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-which-we-have-forgotten-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Culture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-kingsbury/tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-which-we-have-forgotten-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba8/donald-kingsbury-233360_culture_tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-whic_1396858.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solution and you…” — Donald Kingsbury",
                "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": "Donald Kingsbury",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-kingsbury/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Tradition is a set of solutions...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-kingsbury/tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-which-we-have-forgotten-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-kingsbury/tradition-is-a-set-of-solutions-for-which-we-have-forgotten-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
