--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody has to learn for the first time." description: "\"Everybody has to learn for the first time.\" — Joshua Lederberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png" --- # Everybody has to learn for the first time. ![“Everybody has to learn for the first time.” quote by Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png) > “Everybody has to learn for the first time.” [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) ## 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 a universal first‑time experience, emphasizing humility and growth **In simple terms:** Everyone learns anew initially Key Takeaway Embrace beginner mindset Themes learning humility growth Mood inquisitive reflective Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - Education - skill acquisition - career change Key Concepts Cognitive development neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - What did you struggle with when first learning? - How can you support beginners? A Different Perspective May underestimate expertise needed after first attempts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Everybody Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-learn-1780310/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn/) [Learn Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-time-864127/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [What you learn is that you can't please everyone all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/what-you-learn-is-that-you-can-t-please-everyone-all-the-time/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [Everybody has to learn that the world works in very specific ways, and you're not in charge of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-l-jackson/everybody-has-to-learn-that-the-world-works-in-very-specific-ways-and/) [Samuel L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-l-jackson/) > [You learn from everybody. You learn from the players. You learn from great coaches. You learn from great teams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-thibodeau/you-learn-from-everybody-you-learn-from-the-players-you-learn-from/) [Tom Thibodeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-thibodeau/) > [Everybody can learn something new, so I'm all for being trained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-cargill/everybody-can-learn-something-new-so-i-m-all-for-being-trained/) [Jade Cargill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-cargill/) > [I definitely feel like I grew up a little bit more, just as far as knowing the game more, learning more. I was able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-herro/i-definitely-feel-like-i-grew-up-a-little-bit-more-just-as-far-as/) [Tyler Herro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-herro/) > [Everybody should learn sign language or, at least, 'Hello, do you need help? How are you?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-shenton/everybody-should-learn-sign-language-or-at-least-hello-do-you-need/) [Rachel Shenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-shenton/) > [A smile is a language that everybody should learn how to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-smile-is-a-language-that-everybody-should-learn-how-to-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think the biggest misconception is that everybody has to learn mathematics. That seems to be a complete mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/i-think-the-biggest-misconception-is-that-everybody-has-to-learn/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [What I said was: We want everybody to learn English because we don't want - I didn't use the word 'Spanish.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/what-i-said-was-we-want-everybody-to-learn-english-because-we-don-t/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [ “No, but still, the fact is, at least this is how it seems to me, everybody has to learn about it \[love\] from scratch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/no-but-still-the-fact-is-at-least-this-is-how-it-seems-to-me/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [Screw up often; but screw up ahead of everybody else, and than learn as much, and than use it to make subsequent investments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/screw-up-often-but-screw-up-ahead-of-everybody-else-and-than-learn-as/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [Its not wrong to be nice to everybody but learn to be true to only a few so you won't end up being betrayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-not-wrong-to-be-nice-to-everybody-but-learn-to-be-true-to-only-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The opportunity to forgive somebody when it's really difficult and when it's the hardest is something that everybody can learn from. It's something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-russell/the-opportunity-to-forgive-somebody-when-it-s-really-difficult-and/) [Taylor Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-russell/) > [Everybody can learn to dance. If they can walk, they can dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/everybody-can-learn-to-dance-if-they-can-walk-they-can-dance/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [“You only did it once,” Grandma said, “because somebody took the time to teach you that throwing a hissy fit wouldn’t get you what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-payne/you-only-did-it-once-grandma-said-because-somebody-took-the-time-to/) [C.C. Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-payne/) ## More by Joshua Lederberg > [The single biggest threat to man's continued dominance on the planet is the virus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/the-single-biggest-threat-to-man-s-continued-dominance-on-the-planet/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I'm chairing a UNESCO committee on how to improve global Internet communications for science; help third-world people get onto the Net so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-m-chairing-a-unesco-committee-on-how-to-improve-global-internet/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I'd like to put in a vote for the intrinsic fascination of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-d-like-to-put-in-a-vote-for-the-intrinsic-fascination-of-science/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [As soon as you go into any biological process in any real detail, you discover it's open-ended in terms of what needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/as-soon-as-you-go-into-any-biological-process-in-any-real-detail-you/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [When I was in high school, I became interested in cytochemistry: chemical analysis under the microscope, and trying to understand the composition of cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-became-interested-in-cytochemistry/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I got my Nobel Prize for my lab work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-got-my-nobel-prize-for-my-lab-work/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [If you want to solve very complex problems, you will have to end up letting machines work out a lot of the details for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/if-you-want-to-solve-very-complex-problems-you-will-have-to-end-up/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I was a bad practicing physician because I was never sure of the diagnosis or of the treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-was-a-bad-practicing-physician-because-i-was-never-sure-of-the/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [If you wanted to dissect the structure of living cells, genetic analysis was an extremely powerful method, so my interest turned to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/if-you-wanted-to-dissect-the-structure-of-living-cells-genetic/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I have many shortcomings. I feel very lucky to have been able to have what I've had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-have-many-shortcomings-i-feel-very-lucky-to-have-been-able-to-have/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I get curious about new things. My real strength is going into a field that has not been investigated before, and finding new approaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-get-curious-about-new-things-my-real-strength-is-going-into-a-field/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [I wish I had a talent for dropping things as well as taking on new ones. It gets to be quite a clutter after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-wish-i-had-a-talent-for-dropping-things-as-well-as-taking-on-new/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [To have the recognition of your colleagues is great. The public attention is a mixed blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/to-have-the-recognition-of-your-colleagues-is-great-the-public/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [My ambitions were already very clearly fixed by the time I was 6 or 7.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/my-ambitions-were-already-very-clearly-fixed-by-the-time-i-was-6-or-7/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [All of civility depends on being able to contain the rage of individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/all-of-civility-depends-on-being-able-to-contain-the-rage-of/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) [Explore all 38 Joshua Lederberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) ## More Education quotes > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [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/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) [Ioannes Amos Commenius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioannes-amos-commenius/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) [H.D. (Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-hilda-doolittle/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everybody has to learn for the first time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Lederberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-time/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-time/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/joshua-lederberg-17119_education_everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-tim_1897420.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everybody has to learn for the first time.” — Joshua Lederberg", "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": "Joshua Lederberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everybody has to learn for the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-time/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/everybody-has-to-learn-for-the-first-time/#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 } } ] } ```