Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Orwell notes the tendency of every generation to believe they are intellectually superior to their predecessors and successors.
- In plain terms
- Every generation thinks it is smarter than the ones before and after it.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize the humility in assuming intellectual superiority.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Are we wiser than the past?
- What defines intelligence?
Another view
Some generations genuinely do achieve breakthroughs that change paradigms.
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