September 17, 2006

Today's Quote

The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.

--Paul Johnson

Just substitute education for history.

2 comments:

allen said...

I agree completely with Mr. Johnson. However, there are people who are viscerally opposed to having their glib assumptions proven wholly false. Matter of fact, I'd say that resistance to having your glib assumptions proven false is a pretty common human failing. It'd be nice if there were some advice as pithy and concise to describe a solution to that problem.

Anonymous said...

Key phrase--"...at great human cost..."

Susan