--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." description: "\"You can't teach an old dogma new tricks.\" — Dorothy Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/dorothy-parker-700_dogma_you-can-t-teach-an-old-dogma-new-tricks_2158138.jpg" --- # You can't teach an old dogma new tricks. ![“You can't teach an old dogma new tricks.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/dorothy-parker-700_dogma_you-can-t-teach-an-old-dogma-new-tricks_2158138.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/dorothy-parker-700_dogma_you-can-t-teach-an-old-dogma-new-tricks_2158138.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/dorothy-parker-700_dogma_you-can-t-teach-an-old-dogma-new-tricks_2158138.jpg) > “You can't teach an old dogma new tricks.” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Old beliefs resist change; trying to teach them new tricks is futile. **In simple terms:** Old ideas don’t easily change. Key Takeaway Accept limits of old habits. Themes tradition change stubbornness Mood wry critical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - education reform - organizational change - personal development Key Concepts cognitive bias habit formation innovation resistance Questions to Reflect On - What old habit would you like to change? - How can you make new ideas stick? A Different Perspective Some old ideas can adapt with effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogma/) [Dogma New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogma-new-4567944/) [New Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-tricks-775819/) [Old Dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-dogma-3091398/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teach Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-old-471070/) [Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [You can't teach an old dog new dog new tricks. Now,you can give an old dog new toys. And we've got one here!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/you-can-t-teach-an-old-dog-new-dog-new-tricks-now-you-can-give-an-old/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) > [Blasphemy is what an old dogma screams at a new truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/blasphemy-is-what-an-old-dogma-screams-at-a-new-truth/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [And there was a real shedding of the old dogma, like boundaries of morality were being broken down and everybody was into the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mcguire/and-there-was-a-real-shedding-of-the-old-dogma-like-boundaries-of/) [Barry McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mcguire/) > [You cannot teach an old dog new tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-teach-an-old-dog-new-tricks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No matter how much you screw up your own life by the wrong decisions that you make, it's never too late to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/no-matter-how-much-you-screw-up-your-own-life-by-the-wrong-decisions/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [You can teach an old dog new tricks. You just don't want to see the dog doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/you-can-teach-an-old-dog-new-tricks-you-just-don-t-want-to-see-the/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [“You have probably heard the saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Actually, there is another saying that is probably more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-l-higbee/you-have-probably-heard-the-saying-that-you-can-t-teach-an-old-dog/) [Kenneth L. Higbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-l-higbee/) > [You cannot teach old dogs new tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chamberlain/you-cannot-teach-old-dogs-new-tricks/) [Joseph Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chamberlain/) > [My show is constantly evolving... new tricks are added, old ones are dropped... so it stays fresh. But it's the randomly selected participants from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-copperfield/my-show-is-constantly-evolving-new-tricks-are-added-old-ones-are/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-copperfield/) > [I'll learn how to rest, though. I can still learn new tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ll-learn-how-to-rest-though-i-can-still-learn-new-tricks/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [I had a fabulous time working on 'New Tricks,' but I try not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/i-had-a-fabulous-time-working-on-new-tricks-but-i-try-not-to-look-back/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) > [I'm always trying to add new tricks, work on my fundamentals, and get better and improve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benson-henderson/i-m-always-trying-to-add-new-tricks-work-on-my-fundamentals-and-get/) [Benson Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benson-henderson/) > [It is all very good being in 'New Tricks' and for as long as that goes on, that is fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/it-is-all-very-good-being-in-new-tricks-and-for-as-long-as-that-goes/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) > [The way the show was conceived originally and developed, has always had good writing at the heart of it, it's very difficult to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-lawson/the-way-the-show-was-conceived-originally-and-developed-has-always/) [Denis Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-lawson/) > [The day after Emily and I appeared on television together in 'New Tricks' for the first time, someone approached us when we were out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/the-day-after-emily-and-i-appeared-on-television-together-in-new/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Dogma quotes > [“The characteristics of this kind of reading are perhaps summed up in the word “orthodox,” which is almost always applicable. The word comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-j-adler/the-characteristics-of-this-kind-of-reading-are-perhaps-summed-up-in/) [Mortimer J. Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Dogma is a powerful way of closing human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marley/dogma-is-a-powerful-way-of-closing-human-mind/) [Peter Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marley/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [fear has always been a diminisher of life. Whether bred in the bogs of superstition or clothed in the brocades of dogma and ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/fear-has-always-been-a-diminisher-of-life-whether-bred-in-the-bogs-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [My rap comes from a sociological standpoint rather than picking a particular side or dogma or ideology. I just want people to be free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/my-rap-comes-from-a-sociological-standpoint-rather-than-picking-a/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [I reject the idea there are just two sides. I think that with the amount of ideas and thoughts there are, it's not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-reject-the-idea-there-are-just-two-sides-i-think-that-with-the/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [ “\[H\]e was damned if he was going to water down his arguments simply to satisfy the preference of the mob for dogma and ignorance.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/h-e-was-damned-if-he-was-going-to-water-down-his-arguments-simply-to/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [A building is akin to dogma; it is insolent, like dogma. Whether or no it is permanent, it claims permanence, like a dogma. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-building-is-akin-to-dogma-it-is-insolent-like-dogma-whether-or-no/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Every well-thought-out rebuttal to dogma, every scrap of intelligent logic, every absurdist reduction of some bullying stance is the antidote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sanders/every-well-thought-out-rebuttal-to-dogma-every-scrap-of-intelligent/) [George Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sanders/) > [“Humans are capable of having transcendent, transformative experiences in the absence of any given dogma. We are capable of sustaining elaborate systems of false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-loftus/humans-are-capable-of-having-transcendent-transformative-experiences/) [John W. Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-loftus/) > [Increasingly constructive doubt is the sign of advancing civilization. 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