That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- What one generation finds absurd is often viewed as wise by the next.
- In plain terms
- Society's judgment of ideas changes over time.
- What can you take from it?
- Be wary of dismissing new ideas as absurd simply because they are new.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What ideas today will seem wise later?
- How do we spot lasting wisdom?
Another view
Some absurdities remain absurd regardless of the passage of time.
More from John Stuart Mill
I well knew that to propose something which would be called extreme, was the true way not to impede but to facilitate a more moderate experiment.
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