--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reasonable man adapts himself to the…" description: "\"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/george-bernard-shaw-68_ability-to-adapt_the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the_1601572.png" --- # The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the… ![“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/george-bernard-shaw-68_ability-to-adapt_the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the_1601572.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/george-bernard-shaw-68_ability-to-adapt_the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the_1601572.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/george-bernard-shaw-68_ability-to-adapt_the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the_1601572.png) > “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unreasonable people challenge norms, driving societal progress, while reasonable people adapt to existing conditions. **In simple terms:** Progress comes from those who defy the status quo. Key Takeaway Embrace constructive dissent. Themes progress individualism innovation Mood provocative thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - activism - scientific research Key Concepts social change critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What norms might you question? - When is conformity beneficial? 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It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-not-about-money-it-s-about-the-people-you-have-how-you-re-led/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/being-the-richest-man-in-the-cemetery-doesn-t-matter-to-me/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [One of the saddest things about conformity is the ghastly sort of non-conformity it breeds; the noisy protesting, the aggressive rebelliousness, the rigid counter-fetishism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/one-of-the-saddest-things-about-conformity-is-the-ghastly-sort-of-non/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [Mental slavery is mental death, and every man who has given up his intellectual freedom is the living coffin of his dead soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/mental-slavery-is-mental-death-and-every-man-who-has-given-up-his/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once put it: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/as-the-playwright-george-bernard-shaw-once-put-it-the-reasonable-man/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [When I was four years old they tried to test my IQ, they showed me this picture of three oranges and a pear. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/when-i-was-four-years-old-they-tried-to-test-my-iq-they-showed-me/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [The eager and often inconsiderate appeals of reformers and revolutionists are indispensable to counterbalance the inertia and fossilism marking so large a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-eager-and-often-inconsiderate-appeals-of-reformers-and/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Our expenses are all for conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-expenses-are-all-for-conformity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“George Bernard Shaw once put it: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/george-bernard-shaw-once-put-it-the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“– The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. 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Therefore all progress depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-bing/the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable-one/) [Stanley Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-bing/) > [The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable-one-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Ability to adapt quotes > [Just watching people's ability to adapt, especially young people's, inspires me to accept more in life instead of wishing things were different all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhea-seehorn/just-watching-people-s-ability-to-adapt-especially-young-people-s/) [Rhea Seehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhea-seehorn/) > [I think that human beings have gotten as far as we've gotten because of our adaptability, our ability to adapt, and our ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/i-think-that-human-beings-have-gotten-as-far-as-we-ve-gotten-because/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [For each human being there is an optimum ratio between change and stasis. Too little change, he grows bored. Too little stability, he panics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/for-each-human-being-there-is-an-optimum-ratio-between-change-and/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [Change is the only constant in life. Ones ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/change-is-the-only-constant-in-life-ones-ability-to-adapt-to-those/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [To be creative, a person has to internalize the entire system that makes creativity possible. Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/to-be-creative-a-person-has-to-internalize-the-entire-system-that/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The ability to adapt is everything!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-ability-to-adapt-is-everything/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/adaptability-is-not-imitation-it-means-power-of-resistance-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-truth-is-outside-of-all-fixed-patterns/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Our ability to adapt and therefore to accept everything is one of our greatest dangers. Creatures that are completely flexible, changeable, can have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/our-ability-to-adapt-and-therefore-to-accept-everything-is-one-of-our/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [Agility is the ability to adapt and respond to change … agile organizations view change as an opportunity, not a threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/agility-is-the-ability-to-adapt-and-respond-to-change-agile/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [Players know that they can trust me which is really important. They know that I had the ability to adapt to change, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/players-know-that-they-can-trust-me-which-is-really-important-they/) [Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/) > [Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-ryan/enjoying-success-requires-the-ability-to-adapt/) [Nolan Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-ryan/) > [Our ability to adapt came from our East African birthplace, a meteorologically unstable place. If you couldn't adapt, you'd be dead. But once you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/our-ability-to-adapt-came-from-our-east-african-birthplace-a/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [It's more important than ever to define yourself in terms of what you stand for rather than what you make, because what you make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/it-s-more-important-than-ever-to-define-yourself-in-terms-of-what-you/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [I believe modeling is a combination of natural talent, the ability to adapt to different situations, hard work, and, most importantly, luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anja-rubik/i-believe-modeling-is-a-combination-of-natural-talent-the-ability-to/) [Anja Rubik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anja-rubik/) [Browse all 23 Ability to adapt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-adapt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. 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