--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chomsky is like the teenager who first…" description: "\"“Chomsky is like the teenager who first discovers that those in authority—his parent, his teacher—are not as all-knowing as they claim to be and as the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/jeffrey-c-isaac-247052_chomsky_chomsky-is-like-the-teenager-who-first-d_625722.jpg" --- # Chomsky is like the teenager who first discovers that… ![“Chomsky is like the teenager who first discovers that those in authority—his parent, his teacher—are not as all-knowing as they claim to be and as their underlings once imagined them to be, and who persists in endlessly showing them up” quote by Jeffrey C. Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/jeffrey-c-isaac-247052_chomsky_chomsky-is-like-the-teenager-who-first-d_625722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/jeffrey-c-isaac-247052_chomsky_chomsky-is-like-the-teenager-who-first-d_625722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/jeffrey-c-isaac-247052_chomsky_chomsky-is-like-the-teenager-who-first-d_625722.jpg) > ““Chomsky is like the teenager who first discovers that those in authority—his parent, his teacher—are not as all-knowing as they claim to be and as their underlings once imagined them to be, and who persists in endlessly showing them up”” Jeffrey C. Isaac ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chomsky exemplifies youthful skepticism toward authority, encouraging persistent questioning and exposing hidden assumptions. **In simple terms:** Question authority and keep probing. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical thinking and challenge assumptions. Themes critical thinking authority skepticism education intellectual freedom Mood analytical inquisitive provocative Type Chomsky:1 Parenting:0 Chomsky Like:0 Discovers Authority:0 Teenager Discovers:0 Underlings Imagined:0 When to use this quote - academic research - public discourse - education reform - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy of language political theory Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you accept without question? - How can you balance respect and critique? A Different Perspective May overlook collaborative aspects of knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [I remember thinking when I was in college that a lot of these known Chomsky-like, verbose, high-lefty thinkers made absolutely no sense, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-breitbart/i-remember-thinking-when-i-was-in-college-that-a-lot-of-these-known/) [Andrew Breitbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-breitbart/) > [I read Noam Chomsky. I like some of Gore Vidal's stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/i-read-noam-chomsky-i-like-some-of-gore-vidal-s-stuff/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [“I know how easy it is to sound like a corny version of Noam Chomsky when talking about something like this, but in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dito-montiel/i-know-how-easy-it-is-to-sound-like-a-corny-version-of-noam-chomsky/) [Dito Montiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dito-montiel/) > [ “I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors \[...\] I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-personally-never-expected-anything-of-obama-and-wrote-about-it/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Noam Chomsky skittles and skithers all over the political landscape to distract the reader’s attention from the plain truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-hook/noam-chomsky-skittles-and-skithers-all-over-the-political-landscape/) [Sidney Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-hook/) > [ “\[A TV commercial\] crossed my desk in 1986. It came with a press release boasting about an enormous production budget employed in service of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-garfield/a-tv-commercial-crossed-my-desk-in-1986-it-came-with-a-press-release/) [Bob Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-garfield/) > [The role of the intellectual, so it is said, is to speak truth to power. Noam Chomsky has dismissed this pious tag on two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-role-of-the-intellectual-so-it-is-said-is-to-speak-truth-to-power/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“A fundamental element of human nature is the need for creative work, for creative enquiry, for free creation.’1 Noam Chomsky”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-ind/a-fundamental-element-of-human-nature-is-the-need-for-creative-work/) [Nicholas Ind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-ind/) > [“Chomsky's writings are "classics" in Mark Twain's sense: something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-pinker/chomsky-s-writings-are-classics-in-mark-twain-s-sense-something-that/) [Stephen Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-pinker/) > [“My quarrel with Chomsky goes back to the Balkan wars of the 1990s, where he more or less openly represented the "Serbian Socialist Party"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/my-quarrel-with-chomsky-goes-back-to-the-balkan-wars-of-the-1990s/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [As Chomsky says here, clearly and in depth, the American empire is doing all it can to consolidate its system of domination. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/as-chomsky-says-here-clearly-and-in-depth-the-american-empire-is/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [Please stop putting quotes from Nietzsche at the end of your emails. Five years ago you were laughing your guts out over American Pie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/please-stop-putting-quotes-from-nietzsche-at-the-end-of-your-emails/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“even if Noam Chomsky were right about everything, the Islamic doctrines related to martyrdom, jihad, blasphemy, apostasy, the rights of women and homosexuals, etc.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/even-if-noam-chomsky-were-right-about-everything-the-islamic/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [I think Noam Chomsky is a national treasure - make that an international treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/i-think-noam-chomsky-is-a-national-treasure-make-that-an/) [Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Chomsky quotes > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I read Noam Chomsky. I like some of Gore Vidal's stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/i-read-noam-chomsky-i-like-some-of-gore-vidal-s-stuff/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [I think Noam Chomsky is a national treasure - make that an international treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/i-think-noam-chomsky-is-a-national-treasure-make-that-an/) [Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/) > [“even if Noam Chomsky were right about everything, the Islamic doctrines related to martyrdom, jihad, blasphemy, apostasy, the rights of women and homosexuals, etc.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/even-if-noam-chomsky-were-right-about-everything-the-islamic/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Please stop putting quotes from Nietzsche at the end of your emails. Five years ago you were laughing your guts out over American Pie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/please-stop-putting-quotes-from-nietzsche-at-the-end-of-your-emails/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [As Chomsky says here, clearly and in depth, the American empire is doing all it can to consolidate its system of domination. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/as-chomsky-says-here-clearly-and-in-depth-the-american-empire-is/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [“My quarrel with Chomsky goes back to the Balkan wars of the 1990s, where he more or less openly represented the "Serbian Socialist Party"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/my-quarrel-with-chomsky-goes-back-to-the-balkan-wars-of-the-1990s/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Chomsky's writings are "classics" in Mark Twain's sense: something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-pinker/chomsky-s-writings-are-classics-in-mark-twain-s-sense-something-that/) [Stephen Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-pinker/) > [“A fundamental element of human nature is the need for creative work, for creative enquiry, for free creation.’1 Noam Chomsky”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-ind/a-fundamental-element-of-human-nature-is-the-need-for-creative-work/) [Nicholas Ind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-ind/) > [The role of the intellectual, so it is said, is to speak truth to power. Noam Chomsky has dismissed this pious tag on two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-role-of-the-intellectual-so-it-is-said-is-to-speak-truth-to-power/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [ “\[A TV commercial\] crossed my desk in 1986. It came with a press release boasting about an enormous production budget employed in service of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-garfield/a-tv-commercial-crossed-my-desk-in-1986-it-came-with-a-press-release/) [Bob Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-garfield/) > [Noam Chomsky skittles and skithers all over the political landscape to distract the reader’s attention from the plain truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-hook/noam-chomsky-skittles-and-skithers-all-over-the-political-landscape/) [Sidney Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-hook/) > [ “I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors \[...\] I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-personally-never-expected-anything-of-obama-and-wrote-about-it/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“I know how easy it is to sound like a corny version of Noam Chomsky when talking about something like this, but in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dito-montiel/i-know-how-easy-it-is-to-sound-like-a-corny-version-of-noam-chomsky/) [Dito Montiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dito-montiel/) > [“In the succeeding thirty-two years of U.S. guidance, not only has Guatemala gradually become a terrorist state rarely matched in the scale of systematic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-the-succeeding-thirty-two-years-of-u-s-guidance-not-only-has/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) Browse all 44 Chomsky quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Chomsky is like the teenager who first discovers that those in authority—his parent, his teacher—are not as all-knowing as they claim to be and as their underlings once imagined them to be, and who persists in endlessly showing them up”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey C. 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