--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Experience is merely the name men gave to…" description: "\"Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg" --- # Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes. ![“Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg) > “Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mistakes are the raw material from which experience is forged. **In simple terms:** Mistakes become experience. Key Takeaway Learn from errors. Themes growth wisdom learning Mood reflective optimistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - skill acquisition - relationship building Key Concepts error analysis personal development Questions to Reflect On - How can you reframe mistakes? - What lessons have you extracted? A Different Perspective Some may view mistakes as failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Experience Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-merely-3800919/) [Gave Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-mistakes-4030825/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Merely Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-men-3447545/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/experience-was-of-no-ethical-value-it-was-merely-the-name-men-gave-to-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Power, from the standpoint of experience, is merely the relation that exists between the expression of someone's will and the execution of that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/power-from-the-standpoint-of-experience-is-merely-the-relation-that/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/how-can-it-be-that-mathematics-being-after-all-a-product-of-human/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [There is nothing so wrong as accepting a thing merely because men who have done things say it should be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/there-is-nothing-so-wrong-as-accepting-a-thing-merely-because-men-who/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [We are not naïve enough to ask for pure men; we ask merely for men whose impurity does not conflict with the obligations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/we-are-not-na-ve-enough-to-ask-for-pure-men-we-ask-merely-for-men/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [Most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/most-people-die-of-a-sort-of-creeping-common-sense-and-discover-when/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“That is one of the great secrets of life Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/that-is-one-of-the-great-secrets-of-life-nowadays-most-people-die-of/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nowadays-most-people-die-of-a-sort-of-creeping-common-sense-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [So what?Everyone makes mistakes.And so what?You at least learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-what-everyone-makes-mistakes-and-so-what-you-at-least-learn-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we make mistakes, as we all do - don't run from God, run to Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-b-joshua/if-we-make-mistakes-as-we-all-do-don-t-run-from-god-run-to-him/) [T. B. Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) > [The biggest mistake girls make is thinking the guy who hurt them once wont do it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-mistake-girls-make-is-thinking-the-guy-who-hurt-them-once/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never underestimate a man's ability to make you feel guilty for his mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/never-underestimate-a-man-s-ability-to-make-you-feel-guilty-for-his/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [When you make mistakes during routines, it's not easy getting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-sacramone/when-you-make-mistakes-during-routines-it-s-not-easy-getting-through/) [Alicia Sacramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-sacramone/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-to-their-mistakes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-to-their-mistakes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/oscar-wilde-16_creativity_experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-t_2943192.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Experience is merely the name men...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-to-their-mistakes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/experience-is-merely-the-name-men-gave-to-their-mistakes/#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 } } ] } ```