--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The promise of learning is a delusion……" description: "\"The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended in this w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png" --- # The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would… ![“The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended in this way, so that from this standpoint none of us ever graduates from college, for time is an emulsion, and probably thinking not to grow up is the…” quote by John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png) > “The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended in this way, so that from this standpoint none of us ever graduates from college, for time is an emulsion, and probably thinking not to grow up is the brightest kind of maturity for us, right now at any rate.” [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning is never final; knowledge constantly reshapes, making true graduation impossible and perpetual growth a form of maturity. **In simple terms:** Learning never ends, growth is maturity. Key Takeaway Embrace continuous learning. Themes education growth philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - college - career development - personal reflection Key Concepts epistemology identity time perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure personal growth? - What does maturity mean to you? A Different Perspective Learning can be overwhelming without direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-process/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) ## Related quotes > [The second book, which was probably more from a professional standpoint - when I read Junot Díaz's Drown, I was like, Oh my god,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-de-la-pena/the-second-book-which-was-probably-more-from-a-professional/) [Matt de la Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-de-la-pena/) > [“Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, That the learning process is extended in this way, so that from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense-of-what-had-already-been-learned-that/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“I believe the higher power in the universe is compassionate, understanding, and all-knowing, and that there is nothing you can do that will change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-giles/i-believe-the-higher-power-in-the-universe-is-compassionate/) [Kimberly Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-giles/) > [“How could we have achieved the set-goal, without endurance to the end?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/how-could-we-have-achieved-the-set-goal-without-endurance-to-the-end/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Life lessons are well-learned through trails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/life-lessons-are-well-learned-through-trails/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [It's hard to get at first. I think the first time you listen to 'Chaos A.D.,' you're not sure exactly what you just heard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-cavalera/it-s-hard-to-get-at-first-i-think-the-first-time-you-listen-to-chaos/) [Max Cavalera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-cavalera/) > [“My priority is not about grades. I seek yearn for knowledge, skills and wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/my-priority-is-not-about-grades-i-seek-yearn-for-knowledge-skills-and/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I don't categorize things merely to simplify my understanding. I'd rather delve into the process of unlearning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-sharda/i-don-t-categorize-things-merely-to-simplify-my-understanding-i-d/) [Nikhil Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-sharda/) > [I know at least for me, man, I wanted to be the best dad I could be. I was trying to be perfect. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tomlin/i-know-at-least-for-me-man-i-wanted-to-be-the-best-dad-i-could-be-i/) [Mike Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tomlin/) > [“I travel to know the life of great souls in the pages of a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/i-travel-to-know-the-life-of-great-souls-in-the-pages-of-a-book/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/) [Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/) > [“When children are very young, they have natural curiosities about the world and explore them, trying diligently to figure out what is real. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/when-children-are-very-young-they-have-natural-curiosities-about-the/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [. . when the initial excitement of playing starts to evaporate, good habits are needed to sustain the learning process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-snell/when-the-initial-excitement-of-playing-starts-to-evaporate-good/) [Howard Snell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-snell/) > [Life is a continuous learning process where mistakes are the terror teathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-continuous-learning-process-where-mistakes-are-the-terror/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez ## More by John Ashbery > [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. I feel I must sing and dance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/yes-they-are-alive-and-can-have-those-colors-but-i-in-my-soul-am/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [How many people came and stayed a certain time, Uttered light or dark speech that became part of you Like light behind windblown fog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/how-many-people-came-and-stayed-a-certain-time-uttered-light-or-dark/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Some certified nut Will try to tell you it's poetry, (It's extraordinary, it makes a great deal of sense) But watch out or he'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/some-certified-nut-will-try-to-tell-you-it-s-poetry-it-s/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The ellipse is as aimless as that, Stretching invisibly into the future so as to reappear In our present. Its flexing is its account,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-ellipse-is-as-aimless-as-that-stretching-invisibly-into-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The facts of history have been too well rehearsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-facts-of-history-have-been-too-well-rehearsed/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The genius of Cornell is that he sees and enables us to see with the eyes of childhood, before our vision got clouded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-genius-of-cornell-is-that-he-sees-and-enables-us-to-see-with-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The mind Is so hospitable, taking in everything Like boarders, and you don't see until It's all over how little there was to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-mind-is-so-hospitable-taking-in-everything-like-boarders-and-you/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [In the increasingly convincing darkness The words become palpable, like a fruit That is too beautiful to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/in-the-increasingly-convincing-darkness-the-words-become-palpable/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [What I like about music is its ability to be convincing, to carry an argument through successfully to the finish, though the terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/what-i-like-about-music-is-its-ability-to-be-convincing-to-carry-an/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [I don't look on poetry as closed works. I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/i-don-t-look-on-poetry-as-closed-works-i-feel-they-re-going-on-all/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night, Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible-2/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The gray glaze of the past attacks all know-how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-gray-glaze-of-the-past-attacks-all-know-how/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) [Explore all 126 John Ashbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## More College quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/my-first-ever-job-after-college-was-as-a-flight-attendant-i-wanted-to/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Some people, you know, should just go to college and do what they do and have a great job and not worry about trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/some-people-you-know-should-just-go-to-college-and-do-what-they-do/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [Children should finish school and even go to college if they can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fuller/children-should-finish-school-and-even-go-to-college-if-they-can/) [Robert Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fuller/) > [I was totally sober in college and really, really focused. I just took the time when other people might be partying and just made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-flay/i-was-totally-sober-in-college-and-really-really-focused-i-just-took/) [K. Flay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-flay/) > [In college we didn't pass block the way they do in the pros - they played the I-formation at Wisconsin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-webster/in-college-we-didn-t-pass-block-the-way-they-do-in-the-pros-they/) [Mike Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-webster/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [Doing away with separate black colleges meets resistance from alumni and other blacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/doing-away-with-separate-black-colleges-meets-resistance-from-alumni/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [My son going to college is a big milestone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gore/my-son-going-to-college-is-a-big-milestone/) [Frank Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gore/) > [The reason I got into acting was not to explore myself. I was a reader, I didn't care about acting. I got into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/the-reason-i-got-into-acting-was-not-to-explore-myself-i-was-a-reader/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) [Browse all 7,391 College quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended in this way, so that from this standpoint none of us ever graduates from college, for time is an emulsion, and probably thinking not to grow up is the brightest kind of maturity for us, right now at any rate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Ashbery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "College" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/john-ashbery-3600_college_the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-to_471828.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that…” — John Ashbery", "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": "John Ashbery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The promise of learning is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/#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 } } ] } ```