--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A new idea must not be judged by its…" description: "\"A new idea must not be judged by its immediate results.\" — Nikola Tesla" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg" --- # A new idea must not be judged by its immediate results. ![“A new idea must not be judged by its immediate results.” quote by Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg) > “A new idea must not be judged by its immediate results.” [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas should be evaluated over time, not dismissed by short‑term outcomes. **In simple terms:** Judge ideas by long‑term impact. Key Takeaway Consider future potential. Themes innovation patience evaluation Mood thoughtful optimistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product development - research funding - policy making Key Concepts long‑term thinking risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What long‑term benefits might an idea have? - How do you balance patience with urgency? A Different Perspective Immediate results can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [New idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-idea/) [New ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-ideas/) ## Related quotes > [If there's a new idea, a new invention, or a new gas, or a new whatever you know, It should be brought at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/if-there-s-a-new-idea-a-new-invention-or-a-new-gas-or-a-new-whatever/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [Don't see yourself as a product of your parents DNA, but rather as a brand new idea from heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/don-t-see-yourself-as-a-product-of-your-parents-dna-but-rather-as-a/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [In the 18th century, people began to adopt the radical new idea that love should be the most fundamental reason for marriage and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jardine-libaire/in-the-18th-century-people-began-to-adopt-the-radical-new-idea-that/) [Jardine Libaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jardine-libaire/) > [Everyone agrees in theory that we can't judge a new idea or point of view unless we enter into it and try it out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/everyone-agrees-in-theory-that-we-can-t-judge-a-new-idea-or-point-of/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [It takes courage to be creative. Just as soon as you have a new idea, you are in a minority of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-paul-torrance/it-takes-courage-to-be-creative-just-as-soon-as-you-have-a-new-idea/) [Ellis Paul Torrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-paul-torrance/) > [If you ever have a new idea, and it's really new, you have to expect that it won't be widely accepted immediately. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalyn-sussman-yalow/if-you-ever-have-a-new-idea-and-it-s-really-new-you-have-to-expect/) [Rosalyn Sussman Yalow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalyn-sussman-yalow/) > [There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-new-idea-we-simply-take-a-lot-of-old/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A new idea is obsolete in seconds, right? I just said it and now it's obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/a-new-idea-is-obsolete-in-seconds-right-i-just-said-it-and-now-it-s/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Every time a man puts a new idea across, he faces a dozen men who thought of it before he did. But they only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-arnold/every-time-a-man-puts-a-new-idea-across-he-faces-a-dozen-men-who/) [Oren Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-arnold/) > [Creativity is a by-product of hard work. If I never have another really new idea, it won't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/creativity-is-a-by-product-of-hard-work-if-i-never-have-another/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [The World requires at least ten years to understand a new idea, however important or simple it may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-ross/the-world-requires-at-least-ten-years-to-understand-a-new-idea/) [Ronald Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-ross/) > [The fact is that one new idea leads to another, that to a third and so on through a course of time, until someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-fact-is-that-one-new-idea-leads-to-another-that-to-a-third-and-so/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Sometimes an old idea gets relegated to the back of the line in the mad delight of a new idea, one you've never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/sometimes-an-old-idea-gets-relegated-to-the-back-of-the-line-in-the/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there. A new idea is a light that illuminates presences which simply had no form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [The greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-greatest-pain-is-the-pain-of-a-new-idea/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Nikola Tesla > [From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/from-childhood-i-was-compelled-to-concentrate-attention-upon-myself/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [In a time not distant, it will be possible to flash any image formed in thought on a screen and render it visible at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/in-a-time-not-distant-it-will-be-possible-to-flash-any-image-formed/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Women will ignore precedent and startle civilization with their progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/women-will-ignore-precedent-and-startle-civilization-with-their/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Great moments are born great opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/great-moments-are-born-great-opportunity/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Man, like the universe, is a machine. Nothing enters our minds or determines our actions which is not directly or indirectly a response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/man-like-the-universe-is-a-machine-nothing-enters-our-minds-or/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/the-day-science-begins-to-study-non-physical-phenomena-it-will-make/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [All knowledge or form conception is evoked through the medium of the eye, either in response to disturbances directly received on the retina or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/all-knowledge-or-form-conception-is-evoked-through-the-medium-of-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-living-being-is-an-engine-geared-to-the-wheelwork-of-the-2/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Perhaps I failed, but I did my best, These masters of mine may do the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/perhaps-i-failed-but-i-did-my-best-these-masters-of-mine-may-do-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Religion is simply an ideal. It is an ideal force that tends to free the human being from material bonds. I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/religion-is-simply-an-ideal-it-is-an-ideal-force-that-tends-to-free/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/what-we-now-want-is-closer-contact-and-better-understanding-between/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [When a coil is operated with currents of very high frequency, beautiful brush effects may be produced, even if the coil be of comparatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/when-a-coil-is-operated-with-currents-of-very-high-frequency/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Of all the frictional resistances, the one that most retards human movement is ignorance, what Buddha called 'the greatest evil in the world.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/of-all-the-frictional-resistances-the-one-that-most-retards-human/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [I am even grateful to Einstein and others because through their erroneous theories they lead mankind away from that dangerous path I followed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/i-am-even-grateful-to-einstein-and-others-because-through-their/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) [Explore all 248 Nikola Tesla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## More Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) Craig Briggs > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A new idea must not be judged by its immediate results.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nikola Tesla" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-immediate-results/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autobiography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-immediate-results/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/nikola-tesla-1383_autobiography_a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-imm_1309425.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A new idea must not be judged by its immediate results.” — Nikola Tesla", "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": "Nikola Tesla", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A new idea must not be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-immediate-results/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/a-new-idea-must-not-be-judged-by-its-immediate-results/#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 } } ] } ```