--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Genius is that which forces the inertia…" description: "\"Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to learn.\" — Henri Bergson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg" --- # Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to… ![“Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to learn.” quote by Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg) > “Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to learn.” [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genius propels humanity forward, overcoming inertia to learn and evolve. **In simple terms:** Genius drives human progress. Key Takeaway Embrace innovative thinking. Themes innovation progress humanity Mood inspirational hopeful Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - research - artistic creation - social reform Key Concepts philosophy science Questions to Reflect On - How can ordinary people foster genius? - What inertia holds you back? A Different Perspective Genius is rare and not always recognized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Inertia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inertia/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) ## Related quotes > [The great mass of humanity should never learn to read or write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-mass-of-humanity-should-never-learn-to-read-or-write/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mankind is interdependent, and the happiness of each depends upon the happiness of all, and it is this lesson that humanity has to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-inayat-khan/mankind-is-interdependent-and-the-happiness-of-each-depends-upon-the/) [Hazrat Inayat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-inayat-khan/) > [Immortality may be impossible, but imagine what humanity could learn if we all lived 700 years. We could travel deep into utopia and beyond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gray-scott/immortality-may-be-impossible-but-imagine-what-humanity-could-learn/) [Gray Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gray-scott/) > [I tend to think that the best face of humanity is that we learn. We explore, we study, we think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/i-tend-to-think-that-the-best-face-of-humanity-is-that-we-learn-we/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [The problem isn't to learn to love humanity, but to learn to love those members of it who happen to be at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/the-problem-isn-t-to-learn-to-love-humanity-but-to-learn-to-love/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [I've really enjoyed doing these crowd work moments and meeting people because you learn a lot about humanity. You learn about their past and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rife/i-ve-really-enjoyed-doing-these-crowd-work-moments-and-meeting-people/) [Matt Rife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rife/) > [Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/thou-art-a-man-god-is-no-more-thy-own-humanity-learn-to-adore/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“In this world is not the creative act of the genius always a protest against the inertia of the mass?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/in-this-world-is-not-the-creative-act-of-the-genius-always-a-protest/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [He that would travel for the entertainment of others, should remember that the great object of remark is human life. Every nation has something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-that-would-travel-for-the-entertainment-of-others-should-remember/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-brande/all-that-is-necessary-to-break-the-spell-of-inertia-and-frustration/) [Dorothea Brande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-brande/) > [“When describing me, Tracy often refers to a well-known concept of physics: 'inertia.' As Newton avers in his first law: 'An object that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox-2/when-describing-me-tracy-often-refers-to-a-well-known-concept-of/) [Michael J Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox-2/) > [It takes forever if you go by inertia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/it-takes-forever-if-you-go-by-inertia/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [“We know how ninety-nine percent of the universe works," he told Carter shortly after they met, "and that's the clockworks, that's what we build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-david-gold/we-know-how-ninety-nine-percent-of-the-universe-works-he-told-carter/) [Glen David Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-david-gold/) > [Sometimes you make up your mind about something without knowing why, and your decision persists by the power of inertia. Every year it gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/sometimes-you-make-up-your-mind-about-something-without-knowing-why/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Change is not overcoming inertia as much as it is redirecting, guiding, tweaking what already is and what has already happened. We must believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-mckeown/change-is-not-overcoming-inertia-as-much-as-it-is-redirecting-guiding/) [Max McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-mckeown/) ## More by Henri Bergson > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Action on the move creates its own route, creates to a very great extent the conditions under which it is to be fulfilled and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/action-on-the-move-creates-its-own-route-creates-to-a-very-great/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Intuition is a method of feeling one's way intellectually into the inner heart of a thing, in order to locate what is unique and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/intuition-is-a-method-of-feeling-one-s-way-intellectually-into-the/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [“But, then, I cannot escape the objection that there is no state of mind, however simple, which does not change every moment, since there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/but-then-i-cannot-escape-the-objection-that-there-is-no-state-of-mind/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [In laughter we always find an unavowed intention to humiliate and consequently to correct our neighbour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/in-laughter-we-always-find-an-unavowed-intention-to-humiliate-and/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [In short, intelligence, considered in what seems to be its original feature, is the faculty of manufacturing artificial objects, especially tools to make tools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/in-short-intelligence-considered-in-what-seems-to-be-its-original/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [There is no greater joy than that of feeling oneself a creator. The triumph of life is expressed by creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/there-is-no-greater-joy-than-that-of-feeling-oneself-a-creator-the/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [When we make the cerebral state the beginning of an action, and in no sense the condition of a perception, we place the perceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/when-we-make-the-cerebral-state-the-beginning-of-an-action-and-in-no/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [It is of man's essence to create materially and morally, to fabricate things and to fabricate himself. Homo faber is the definition I propose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/it-is-of-man-s-essence-to-create-materially-and-morally-to-fabricate/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [The only cure for vanity is laughter. And the only fault that's laughable is vanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-only-cure-for-vanity-is-laughter-and-the-only-fault-that-s/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Instinct perfected is a faculty of using and even constructing organized instruments; intelligence perfected is the faculty of making and using unorganized instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/instinct-perfected-is-a-faculty-of-using-and-even-constructing/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Intelligence is the faculty of making artificial objects, especially tools to make tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/intelligence-is-the-faculty-of-making-artificial-objects-especially/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [I believe I experience creativity at every moment of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/i-believe-i-experience-creativity-at-every-moment-of-my-life/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [“Might not certain vices have the same relation to character that the rigidity of a fixed idea as to intellect? Whether as a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/might-not-certain-vices-have-the-same-relation-to-character-that-the/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [The movement of the stream is distinct from the river bed, although it must adopt its winding course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-movement-of-the-stream-is-distinct-from-the-river-bed-although-it/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) [Explore all 86 Henri Bergson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to learn.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henri Bergson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia-of-humanity-to-learn/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genius" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia-of-humanity-to-learn/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c17/henri-bergson-7179_genius_genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia_2659503.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Genius is that which forces the inertia of humanity to learn.” — Henri Bergson", "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": "Henri Bergson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Genius is that which forces the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia-of-humanity-to-learn/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/genius-is-that-which-forces-the-inertia-of-humanity-to-learn/#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 } } ] } ```