--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A fool is a man who never tried an…" description: "\"A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.\" — Erasmus Darwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg" --- # A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life. ![“A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.” quote by Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg) > “A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.” [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fool never experiments, missing learning and growth that come from trying new things. **In simple terms:** Not trying is foolish. Key Takeaway Try new experiments. Themes learning growth experiment foolishness curiosity Mood motivational inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - education - innovation - personal challenges Key Concepts scientific method risk taking personal development Questions to Reflect On - What experiment have you avoided? - How can failure be reframed as learning? A Different Perspective Fear of failure can halt progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiment Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment-life-585437/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-man-330159/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-tried-585436/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Tried Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried-experiment-585438/) ## Related quotes > [We used to fight to the death but we tried the experiment, rolled the dice and like we got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/we-used-to-fight-to-the-death-but-we-tried-the-experiment-rolled-the/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [I have always tried to experiment with roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvind-swami/i-have-always-tried-to-experiment-with-roles/) [Arvind Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvind-swami/) > [I went to the computer and tried to experiment. I introduced a very high level of experiment in very pure mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-went-to-the-computer-and-tried-to-experiment-i-introduced-a-very/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [“When new students tried an experiment that was particularly successful in terms of explosive force, the result was often a cross between a major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/when-new-students-tried-an-experiment-that-was-particularly/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I think what my father appreciated was the science experiment of life. He had these kids, and they had their own experiences. He wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmet-zappa/i-think-what-my-father-appreciated-was-the-science-experiment-of-life/) [Ahmet Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmet-zappa/) > [“Experiment with life by exploring and trying new things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/experiment-with-life-by-exploring-and-trying-new-things/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [“Question: I am interested in so many things, and I have a terrible fear because my mother keeps telling me that I'm just going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/question-i-am-interested-in-so-many-things-and-i-have-a-terrible-fear/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [This is the deepest experiment of life. And whatever has been discovered in regard to life, this is the most significant finding of all:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-is-the-deepest-experiment-of-life-and-whatever-has-been/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“The only unforgivable crime is to cut short the experiment of one’s own life before its natural end. To do so is a weakness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-only-unforgivable-crime-is-to-cut-short-the-experiment-of-one-s/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ \[The Constitution\] is an experiment as all life is an experiment. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/the-constitution-is-an-experiment-as-all-life-is-an-experiment/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [any experiment of interest in life will be carried out at your own expense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilmot/any-experiment-of-interest-in-life-will-be-carried-out-at-your-own/) [John Wilmot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilmot/) > [You have a right to experiment with your life. You will make mistakes. And they are right too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/you-have-a-right-to-experiment-with-your-life-you-will-make-mistakes-2/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“The truth of it was, I'd been running the wrong experiment my whole life, and while Cassidy was the first person to realize, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/the-truth-of-it-was-i-d-been-running-the-wrong-experiment-my-whole/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [I like to experiment, and my life has been eventful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-air/i-like-to-experiment-and-my-life-has-been-eventful/) [Donna Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-air/) > [What has always made a Hell on earth has been that man has tried to make it his Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-h-lderlin/what-has-always-made-a-hell-on-earth-has-been-that-man-has-tried-to/) [Friedrich Holderlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-h-lderlin/) ## More by Erasmus Darwin > [Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm, Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form: Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of flame, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/till-o-er-the-wreck-emerging-from-the-storm-immortal-nature-lifts-her/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Such is the condition of organic nature! whose first law might be expressed in the words 'Eat or be eaten!' and which would seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/such-is-the-condition-of-organic-nature-whose-first-law-might-be/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [ \[Retirement\] is a dangerous experiment, and generally ends in either drunkenness or hypochrondriacism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/retirement-is-a-dangerous-experiment-and-generally-ends-in-either/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [“The mass starts into a million suns; Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst, And second planets issue from the first. \[The first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-mass-starts-into-a-million-suns-earths-round-each-sun-with-quick/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [The Reproductions of the living Ens From sires to sons, unknown to sex, commence... Unknown to sex the pregnant oyster swells, And coral-insects build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-reproductions-of-the-living-ens-from-sires-to-sons-unknown-to-sex/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [The mass starts into a million suns; Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst, And second planets issue from the first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-mass-starts-into-a-million-suns-earths-round-each-sun-with-quick-2/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [By firm immutable immortal laws Impress'd on Nature by the GREAT FIRST CAUSE, Say, MUSE! how rose from elemental strife Organic forms, and kindled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/by-firm-immutable-immortal-laws-impress-d-on-nature-by-the-great/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [ Opium is the only drug to' be rely'd on-all the boasted nostrums only take up time, and as the disease \[is\] often of short… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/opium-is-the-only-drug-to-be-rely-d-on-all-the-boasted-nostrums-only/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [The great CREATOR of all things has infinitely diversified the works of his hands, but has at the same time stamped a certain similitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-great-creator-of-all-things-has-infinitely-diversified-the-works/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Some philosophers have been of opinion that our immortal part acquires during this life certain habits of action or of sentiment, which become forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/some-philosophers-have-been-of-opinion-that-our-immortal-part/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [In fact the a priori reasoning is so entirely satisfactory to me that if the facts won't fit in, why so much the worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/in-fact-the-a-priori-reasoning-is-so-entirely-satisfactory-to-me-that/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [“It is often hazardous to marry an heiress, as she is not unfrequently the last of a diseased family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/it-is-often-hazardous-to-marry-an-heiress-as-she-is-not-unfrequently/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [So the horns of the stag are sharp to offend his adversary, but are branched for the purpose of parrying or receiving the thrusts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/so-the-horns-of-the-stag-are-sharp-to-offend-his-adversary-but-are/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [No radiant pearl which crested Fortune wears, No gem that twinkling hangs from Beauty's ears, Not the bright stars which Night's blue arch adorn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/no-radiant-pearl-which-crested-fortune-wears-no-gem-that-twinkling/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [A fool, Mr, Edgeworth, is one who has never made an experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/a-fool-mr-edgeworth-is-one-who-has-never-made-an-experiment/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) [Explore all 38 Erasmus Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) ## More Experiments quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [On July 26, 1916, I announced to all my friends in America that from now on I resolved to write no more poems in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/on-july-26-1916-i-announced-to-all-my-friends-in-america-that-from/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [An observer situated in a nebula and moving with the nebula will observe the same properties of the universe as any other similarly situated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bondi/an-observer-situated-in-a-nebula-and-moving-with-the-nebula-will/) [Hermann Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bondi/) > [This isn't a picture filled with wonder and a sense of fun; it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/this-isn-t-a-picture-filled-with-wonder-and-a-sense-of-fun-it-s-so/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [Your responsibility as an artist is to experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squarepusher/your-responsibility-as-an-artist-is-to-experiment/) [Squarepusher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squarepusher/) > [Now, you might say – “But why should we pay people for doing what they’re supposed to do?” It’s a fair question – but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/now-you-might-say-but-why-should-we-pay-people-for-doing-what-they-re/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) [Browse all 1,721 Experiments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erasmus Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-experiment-in-his-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Experiments" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-experiment-in-his-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/erasmus-darwin-17186_experiments_a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-exper_2453066.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A fool is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.” — Erasmus Darwin", "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": "Erasmus Darwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A fool is a man who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-experiment-in-his-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/a-fool-is-a-man-who-never-tried-an-experiment-in-his-life/#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 } } ] } ```