--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First... a new theory is attacked as…" description: "\"First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg" --- # First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is… ![“First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered it.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg) > “First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered it.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New ideas face ridicule, then dismissal, then claim of ownership by opponents. **In simple terms:** Ideas evolve from mockery to claimed discovery. Key Takeaway Persist; ideas may gain later recognition. Themes innovation recognition intellectual property Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - research - entrepreneurship - art - politics Key Concepts paradigm shift scientific progress ego Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle early criticism? - What drives people to claim others' ideas? A Different Perspective Recognition may be delayed or denied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Adversaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) ## Related quotes > [A great idea goes through three stages on its way to acceptance: 1) it is dismissed as nonsense, 2) it is acknowledged as true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/a-great-idea-goes-through-three-stages-on-its-way-to-acceptance-1-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Relativity was a highly technical new theory that gave new meanings to familiar concepts and even to the nature of the theory itself. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-cassidy/relativity-was-a-highly-technical-new-theory-that-gave-new-meanings/) David C. Cassidy > [I have a new theory in life...what other people think of me is truly none of my business!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-new-theory-in-life-what-other-people-think-of-me-is-truly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All I know is that mine was a completely new theory about art, a new approach that made the pictures appear just like life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domenico-gnoli/all-i-know-is-that-mine-was-a-completely-new-theory-about-art-a-new/) [Domenico Gnoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domenico-gnoli/) > [The final outcome cannot be known, either to the originator of a new theory, or to his colleagues and critics, who are bent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-d-mitchell/the-final-outcome-cannot-be-known-either-to-the-originator-of-a-new/) [Peter D. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-d-mitchell/) > [I have a new theory of history, which is certain things happen because they seem like a good idea at the time. And suburbia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-have-a-new-theory-of-history-which-is-certain-things-happen-because/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [In order to displace a prevailing theory or paradigm in science, it is not enough to merely point out what it cannot explain; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/in-order-to-displace-a-prevailing-theory-or-paradigm-in-science-it-is/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“A New Theory of Biology,” was the title of the paper which Mustapha Mond had just finished reading. He sat for some time, meditatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-new-theory-of-biology-was-the-title-of-the-paper-which-mustapha/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Being a physicist, not a philosopher, I have devised an entirely new theory of consciousness, allowing one to numerically calculate the level of consciounsess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/being-a-physicist-not-a-philosopher-i-have-devised-an-entirely-new/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/creating-a-new-theory-is-not-like-destroying-an-old-barn-and-erecting/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I just live one day at a time. That's my new theory in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/i-just-live-one-day-at-a-time-that-s-my-new-theory-in-life/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [What would it mean if there were a theory that explained everything? And just what does "everything" actually mean, anyway? Would this new theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-would-it-mean-if-there-were-a-theory-that-explained-everything/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The history of acceptance of new theories frequently shows the following steps: At first the new idea is treated as pure nonsense, not worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-lewin/the-history-of-acceptance-of-new-theories-frequently-shows-the/) [Kurt Lewin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-lewin/) > [“Indoctrination,” Michael Simpson replied. “We still base our science on the Theory of Relativity. Not because it is one hundred percent correct, but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-hamre/indoctrination-michael-simpson-replied-we-still-base-our-science-on/) [Erik Hamre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-hamre/) > [“Someone who thinks up a new theory is the last person who should be trusted with the job of testing it. A new theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-rich-harris/someone-who-thinks-up-a-new-theory-is-the-last-person-who-should-be/) [Judith Rich Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-rich-harris/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. 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But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd-then-it-is-admitted-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd-then-it-is-admitted-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant…” — William James", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "First... a new theory is attacked...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd-then-it-is-admitted-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd-then-it-is-admitted-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```