--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's next? Shall we appoint elephants…" description: "\"What's next? Shall we appoint elephants to teach zoology?\" — Roman Jakobson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/roman-jakobson-22644_animal_what-s-next-shall-we-appoint-elephants-t_608825.png" --- # What's next? Shall we appoint elephants to teach zoology? ![“What's next? Shall we appoint elephants to teach zoology?” quote by Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/roman-jakobson-22644_animal_what-s-next-shall-we-appoint-elephants-t_608825.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/roman-jakobson-22644_animal_what-s-next-shall-we-appoint-elephants-t_608825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/roman-jakobson-22644_animal_what-s-next-shall-we-appoint-elephants-t_608825.png) > “What's next? Shall we appoint elephants to teach zoology?” [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satirically questions assigning unqualified experts to teach complex subjects, highlighting absurdity. **In simple terms:** It mocks giving elephants the role of teaching zoology. Key Takeaway Avoid placing unqualified people in expert roles. Themes satire expertise absurdity Mood irry critical Type commentary humorous When to use this quote - education policy - academic hiring - curriculum design Key Concepts authority knowledge transfer qualification Questions to Reflect On - What qualifications truly matter for teaching? - How does satire reveal hidden biases? A Different Perspective The humor may overlook real systemic issues in expertise selection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Zoology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zoology/) ## Related quotes > [The first steps in Agriculture, Astronomy, Zoology, (those first steps which the farmer, the hunter, and the sailor take,) teach that nature's dice are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-first-steps-in-agriculture-astronomy-zoology-those-first-steps/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [After the first exams, I switched to the Faculty of Philosophy and studied Zoology in Munich and Vienna.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-von-frisch/after-the-first-exams-i-switched-to-the-faculty-of-philosophy-and/) [Karl von Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-von-frisch/) > [I was lucky to get into computers when it was a very young and idealistic industry. There weren't many degrees offered in computer science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-was-lucky-to-get-into-computers-when-it-was-a-very-young-and/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The selfsame procedure which zoology, a branch of the natural sciences, applies to the study of animals, anthropology must apply to the study of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-selfsame-procedure-which-zoology-a-branch-of-the-natural-sciences/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The older I get the more I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-older-i-get-the-more-i-admire-and-crave-competence-just-simple/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Have pity on them all, for it is we who are the real monsters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-heuvelmans/have-pity-on-them-all-for-it-is-we-who-are-the-real-monsters/) Bernard Heuvelmans > [ During my second year at Edinburgh \[1826-27\] I attended Jameson's lectures on Geology and Zoology, but they were incredible dull. The sole effect they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/during-my-second-year-at-edinburgh-1826-27-i-attended-jameson-s/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [According to man's environment, society has made as many different types of men as there are varieties in zoology. The differences between a soldier,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/according-to-man-s-environment-society-has-made-as-many-different/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My zoology thesis was a functional analysis of the thyroid gland of the three-toed sloth. I chose the sloth because its demeanour - calm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/my-zoology-thesis-was-a-functional-analysis-of-the-thyroid-gland-of/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Hippogriff, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hippogriff-n-an-animal-now-extinct-which-was-half-horse-and-half/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [It is, I find, in zoology as it is in botany: all nature is so full, that that district produces the greatest variety which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-white/it-is-i-find-in-zoology-as-it-is-in-botany-all-nature-is-so-full-that/) [Gilbert White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-white/) > [Dragons, you know, we have a good deal of biology and zoology about the dragon; we know their habits. The dragon tends to guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/dragons-you-know-we-have-a-good-deal-of-biology-and-zoology-about-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I was 16 when I got admission in Hans Raj College. I completed school when I was 16, so everyone in my class -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-kashyap/i-was-16-when-i-got-admission-in-hans-raj-college-i-completed-school/) [Anurag Kashyap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-kashyap/) > [Zoology has always been interesting to me. Nature is fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/zoology-has-always-been-interesting-to-me-nature-is-fascinating/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [In every bio-region, one of the most urgent tasks is to rebuild the community of naturalists - so radically depleted in recent years, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/in-every-bio-region-one-of-the-most-urgent-tasks-is-to-rebuild-the/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) ## More by Roman Jakobson > [Remember that the pharynx is at a crossroads from which leads off, at the top, the passage to the mouth cavity and the passage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/remember-that-the-pharynx-is-at-a-crossroads-from-which-leads-off-at/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [It is once again the vexing problem of identity within variety; without a solution to this disturbing problem there can be no system, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/it-is-once-again-the-vexing-problem-of-identity-within-variety/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [A new era in the physiological investigation of linguistic sounds was opened up by X-ray photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/a-new-era-in-the-physiological-investigation-of-linguistic-sounds-was/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [When I speak it is in order to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/when-i-speak-it-is-in-order-to-be-heard/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [A linguist deaf to the poetic functions of language and a literary scholar indifferent to linguistics are equally flagrant anachronisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/a-linguist-deaf-to-the-poetic-functions-of-language-and-a-literary/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [The poetic function is the set towards the message itself, focus on the message for its own sake which by promoting the palpability of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/the-poetic-function-is-the-set-towards-the-message-itself-focus-on/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [At first acoustics attributed to the different sounds only a limited number of characteristic features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/at-first-acoustics-attributed-to-the-different-sounds-only-a-limited/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [Speech sounds cannot be understood, delimited, classified and explained except in the light of the tasks which they perform in language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/speech-sounds-cannot-be-understood-delimited-classified-and-explained/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [From a strictly articulatory point of view there is no succession of sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/from-a-strictly-articulatory-point-of-view-there-is-no-succession-of/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [Bilingualism is for me the fundamental problem of linguistics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/bilingualism-is-for-me-the-fundamental-problem-of-linguistics/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [Instead of following one another the sounds overlap; a sound which is acoustically perceived as coming after another one can be articulated simultaneously with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/instead-of-following-one-another-the-sounds-overlap-a-sound-which-is/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [In poetic language, in which the sign as such takes on an autonomous value, this sound symbolism becomes an actual factor and creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/in-poetic-language-in-which-the-sign-as-such-takes-on-an-autonomous/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [Semantics, or the study of meaning, remained undeveloped, while phonetics made rapid progress and even came to occupy the central place in the scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/semantics-or-the-study-of-meaning-remained-undeveloped-while/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [Of course, we have known for a long time that a word, like any verbal sign, is a unity of two components.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/of-course-we-have-known-for-a-long-time-that-a-word-like-any-verbal/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [The function of poetry is to point out that the sign is not identical to the referent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/the-function-of-poetry-is-to-point-out-that-the-sign-is-not-identical/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) [Explore all 26 Roman Jakobson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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