--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone agrees in theory that we can't…" description: "\"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, but the practice itself is rare.\" — P..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/393/peter-elbow-38489_agree_everyone-agrees-in-theory-that-we-can-t_585997.jpg" --- # Everyone agrees in theory that we can't judge a new idea… ![“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, but the practice itself is rare.” quote by Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/393/peter-elbow-38489_agree_everyone-agrees-in-theory-that-we-can-t_585997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/393/peter-elbow-38489_agree_everyone-agrees-in-theory-that-we-can-t_585997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/393/peter-elbow-38489_agree_everyone-agrees-in-theory-that-we-can-t_585997.jpg) > “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, but the practice itself is rare.” [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding an idea fully requires experiencing it, not just theorizing about it. **In simple terms:** You must try ideas to truly evaluate them. Key Takeaway Test ideas through practice. Themes open‑mindedness experience learning Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom discussion - product development - policy making - personal decisions Key Concepts critical thinking empirical validation Questions to Reflect On - How can you create safe spaces for experimentation? - What barriers prevent you from trying new viewpoints? A Different Perspective People often lack time or willingness to experiment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [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/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) ## Related quotes > [Thought is a strenuous art - few practice it, and then only at rare times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/thought-is-a-strenuous-art-few-practice-it-and-then-only-at-rare-times/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [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/) > [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. 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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 Peter Elbow > [“The real reason that language so often carries magic is because humans have trouble not ascribing special power to it. Language makes so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/the-real-reason-that-language-so-often-carries-magic-is-because/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [“The real reason that language so often carries magic is because humans have trouble not ascribing special power to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/the-real-reason-that-language-so-often-carries-magic-is-because-2/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [Meaning is not what you start with, but what you end up with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/meaning-is-not-what-you-start-with-but-what-you-end-up-with/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [Certainty is rarely if ever possible and we increase the likelihood of getting things wrong if we succumb to the hunger for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/certainty-is-rarely-if-ever-possible-and-we-increase-the-likelihood/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) > [It is the moment when what was chaos is now seen as having a center of gravity. 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It has that fluency, rhythm, and liveliness that exist naturally in the speech of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-elbow/writing-with-voice-is-writing-into-which-someone-has-breathed-it-has/) [Peter Elbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) [Explore all 11 Peter Elbow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-elbow/) ## More Agree quotes > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. 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