--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like being old, even if the names I…" description: "\"I like being old, even if the names I hear are more and more unfamiliar. Maybe, to paraphrase Goethe who said that, \"Youth is wasted on the young,\" we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/wolf-kahn-39017_add_i-like-being-old-even-if-the-names-i-hea_1791472.png" --- # I like being old, even if the names I hear are more and… ![“I like being old, even if the names I hear are more and more unfamiliar. Maybe, to paraphrase Goethe who said that, "Youth is wasted on the young," we should add that "Age can be wasted on the aged," unless one's capacity to wonder increases.” quote by Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/wolf-kahn-39017_add_i-like-being-old-even-if-the-names-i-hea_1791472.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/wolf-kahn-39017_add_i-like-being-old-even-if-the-names-i-hea_1791472.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/wolf-kahn-39017_add_i-like-being-old-even-if-the-names-i-hea_1791472.png) > “I like being old, even if the names I hear are more and more unfamiliar. Maybe, to paraphrase Goethe who said that, "Youth is wasted on the young," we should add that "Age can be wasted on the aged," unless one's capacity to wonder increases.” [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging can be a time of renewed curiosity, countering the idea that youth holds all wonder. **In simple terms:** Age can bring fresh amazement. Key Takeaway Cultivate wonder at any age. Themes aging curiosity wisdom Mood optimistic reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - retirement workshops - creative writing classes - intergenerational mentorship - travel clubs Key Concepts gerontology philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - What new interests can you pursue now? - How does age influence your sense of wonder? A Different Perspective Societal bias may devalue older perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Add](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-wasted-1950119/) [Aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged/) [Being old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-old/) [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Paraphrase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paraphrase/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Unfamiliar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfamiliar/) [Wasted Aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasted-aged-1950120/) [Wasted Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasted-young-1287328/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) [Youth Wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth-wasted-1287327/) ## Related quotes > [“Just as youth is wasted on the young, money is wasted on the rich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-klein/just-as-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-money-is-wasted-on-the-rich/) [Ezra Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-klein/) > [Too bad that youth is wasted on the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/too-bad-that-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [They say that youth is wasted on the young but you have the ability to prove that wrong. On your 18th birthday, make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-that-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-but-you-have-the-ability/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Youth is wasted on the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/youth-is-wasted-on-the-young/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I hate saying that youth is wasted on the young since it's so f\*\*king stupid, but I think you realize if you're fortunate enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dirnt/i-hate-saying-that-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-since-it-s-so-f-king/) [Mike Dirnt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dirnt/) > [I sighed; as comforting as it may be to some of us, sarcasm, like youth, is wasted on the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/i-sighed-as-comforting-as-it-may-be-to-some-of-us-sarcasm-like-youth/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [It's a pity youth is wasted on the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-s-a-pity-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Youth is not wasted on the young, it is perpetrated on the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/youth-is-not-wasted-on-the-young-it-is-perpetrated-on-the-young/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [They always say 'youth is wasted on the young' - there's something to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/they-always-say-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-there-s-something-to-that/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [It's true that youth is wasted on the young and, if I had my life to live over again, I suppose I would pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-hussey/it-s-true-that-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-and-if-i-had-my-life-to/) [Olivia Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-hussey/) > [“Youth is wasted on the young. 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And it doesn't even matter if you sit a young person down and tell them, 'You're so healthy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-and-it-doesn-t-even-matter-if-you-sit-a/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [Old age is wasted on the elderly: the young know what to do with it-insist on something different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/old-age-is-wasted-on-the-elderly-the-young-know-what-to-do-with-it/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [Let us see as steadily and completely as possible the realities of our age: the wasted lives, the scattered and misused resources (human and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-john-laughlin/let-us-see-as-steadily-and-completely-as-possible-the-realities-of/) [Clarence John Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-john-laughlin/) ## More by Wolf Kahn > [To be a landscape painter is to be a perverse individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/to-be-a-landscape-painter-is-to-be-a-perverse-individual/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [The artist's alertness to the coloristic demands of each picture, the ability to respond to the picture's needs, to feed the color until its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/the-artist-s-alertness-to-the-coloristic-demands-of-each-picture-the/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [People mistakenly think that art is about nature, or about an artists feelings about nature. It is instead a path of enlightenment and pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/people-mistakenly-think-that-art-is-about-nature-or-about-an-artists/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [There are many prejudices about art, and first among them is that it is a skill and that there are definite rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/there-are-many-prejudices-about-art-and-first-among-them-is-that-it/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [It is through color changes that we go forward... all decisions come about as the picture is made and in response to painterly demands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/it-is-through-color-changes-that-we-go-forward-all-decisions-come/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [I'm always trying to get to a danger point in color, where color either becomes too sweet or it becomes too harsh, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/i-m-always-trying-to-get-to-a-danger-point-in-color-where-color/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [Keep the childlike vision and remain true to your ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/keep-the-childlike-vision-and-remain-true-to-your-ideas/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [I want the people looking at my work to feel a sense of all the possibilities of painting, and, through that, in life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/i-want-the-people-looking-at-my-work-to-feel-a-sense-of-all-the/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [Chaos in nature is immediately challenging and forces a good artist to impose some type of order on his or her perception of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/chaos-in-nature-is-immediately-challenging-and-forces-a-good-artist/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [Painting is a visceral experience, one loaded with subtle information. Only Cezanne could get away with a system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/painting-is-a-visceral-experience-one-loaded-with-subtle-information/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) [Explore all 11 Wolf Kahn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. 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The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Global is a unifying bond for people. 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