--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Progress is slow partly from mere…" description: "\"Progress is slow partly from mere intellectual inertia. In a subject where there is no agreed procedure for knocking out errors, doctrines have a long ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/joan-robinson-11438_critics_progress-is-slow-partly-from-mere-intell_2661184.jpg" --- # Progress is slow partly from mere intellectual inertia. In… ![“Progress is slow partly from mere intellectual inertia. In a subject where there is no agreed procedure for knocking out errors, doctrines have a long life. A professor teaches what he was taught, and his pupils, with a proper respect and reverence for teachers, set up a resistance against his…” quote by Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/joan-robinson-11438_critics_progress-is-slow-partly-from-mere-intell_2661184.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/joan-robinson-11438_critics_progress-is-slow-partly-from-mere-intell_2661184.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/joan-robinson-11438_critics_progress-is-slow-partly-from-mere-intell_2661184.jpg) > “Progress is slow partly from mere intellectual inertia. In a subject where there is no agreed procedure for knocking out errors, doctrines have a long life. A professor teaches what he was taught, and his pupils, with a proper respect and reverence for teachers, set up a resistance against his critics for no other reason than that it was he whose pupils they were.” [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual inertia slows progress; without agreed methods, outdated ideas persist as teachers and students resist critique out of respect. **In simple terms:** Resistance to new ideas slows progress. Key Takeaway Question questioning and open debate. Themes intellectual inertia progress education Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic research - policy development - curriculum design - peer review Key Concepts critical thinking academic tradition methodology Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions foster constructive critique? - What mechanisms reduce reliance on outdated doctrines? A Different Perspective Change can be hindered by reverence for authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Doctrines Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrines-long-2428765/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Errors Doctrines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors-doctrines-2428763/) [Inertia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inertia/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Inertia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-inertia-2207362/) [Knocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knocking/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-life/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Procedures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedures/) [Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor/) [Professor Teaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor-teaches-2428764/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Pupils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pupils/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Reverence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverence/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachers/) ## Related quotes > [The most dangerous enemy to Israel's security is the intellectual inertia of those who are responsible for security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/the-most-dangerous-enemy-to-israel-s-security-is-the-intellectual/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [The core of a scientific lifestyle is to change your mind when faced with information that disagrees with your views, avoiding intellectual inertia, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/the-core-of-a-scientific-lifestyle-is-to-change-your-mind-when-faced/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [We must nevertheless present all possible interpretations for each observation, so that competing theories can be formulated and defended. 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They supported laisser faire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-orthodox-doctrines-of-economics-which-were-dominant-in-the-last/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system. The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-a-worker-exploited-in-the-capitalist/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Not only subjective poverty is never overcome by growth, but absolute poverty is increased by it. ... Absolute misery grows while wealth increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/not-only-subjective-poverty-is-never-overcome-by-growth-but-absolute/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Reality is never a golden age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/reality-is-never-a-golden-age/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“After the war, when the problem of deficient effective demand seemed to have faded into the background, a fresh question came to the fore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/after-the-war-when-the-problem-of-deficient-effective-demand-seemed/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [In all the talk in the Principles (as opposed to the formal analysis) it is not the saving of rentiers but the energy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/in-all-the-talk-in-the-principles-as-opposed-to-the-formal-analysis/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. 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