Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
Douglas Adams in Last Chance to See
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
The society is stagnant.
I, as a human, am endowed with
An abnormal ability to learn
From the experience of others,
And also with certain disinclination
To follow what I have learnt from theirs.
That is why the society is stagnant.
08.07.2006
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Human beings are accustomed to think of intellect as the power of having and controlling ideas and of ability to learn as synonymous with ability to have ideas. But learning by having ideas is really one of the rare and isolated events in nature.
quote by Edward Thorndike
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
quote by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Poetry is innocent, not wise. It does not learn from experience, because each poetic experience is unique.
quote by Karl Shapiro
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Poetic Experience
writing for me is like hammering
a nail... you keep pounding till
it's driven. what i have tried
to do, in collusion with others,
is to amass a body of work that
celebrates the human in human
beings... with all its pain,
suffering, turmoil, and all the
trials, the human experience is
still the eternal experience...
the only hope for humanity to
survive lies in turning inward.
until we know ourselves, we can
never have the god experience,
and can never truly interact with
others, can never even see others,
much less know them! we are mere
reflections of each other, mere
reflections of god... the sameness
that lies below our differences
is both deep, and wide!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.
quote by Tony Robbins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Human Beings
Human being beings are strange in being human,
Strange in love and art and vice,
Strange in being nice
Human beings are strangers in the night
Lights shining on a starry night
No sooner blinked out they are gone
A stranger in the human race
Keeping up keeping face,
Moving on
In crowds and queues and buses
Walking alone at ten
Human beings in being human
Make the strangest men
Not easy to be read,
Or clothed or fed
Or put to bed
Each thought entwined
Lives over signed overlapped
Smaller beings kept but not as 'pets'
Sometimes feel 'trapped'
For human beings are best when left at sea
Frantic firey disordered unchained set free
Their limpet souls make rocks their strange security
For love for life for space,
Human beings are strangest in 'The Human Race'
poem by Yvette Smith
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sonnet -On Experience
One cannot learn from experience always,
For Knowledge is a sea; experience, Lake;
Some learn the same in hours or weeks or days;
Some never do all life, forever fake.
Experience implies one had done mistakes;
It is much wiser to learn from others;
To forget knowledge too, experience makes;
A continued process, it is, brothers.
Experience can't vouchsafe a man is wise;
And wisdom comes to one who God well loves;
Too much of experience could turn a vice.
All need not see the burst of bombs or stoves.
By experience, no man should turn haughty,
Nor should he try to be with peers, naughty.
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
We pass the word around we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry we meditate over the literature we play the music we change our minds we reach an understanding. Society evolves this way, not by shouting each other down, but by the unique capacity of unique, individual human beings to comprehend each other.
quote by Lewis Thomas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature; we play the music; we change our minds; we reach an understanding. Society evolves this way, not by shouting each other down, but by the unique capacity of unique, individual human beings to comprehend each other.
Lewis Thomas in The Medusa and the Snail (1979)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Stanzas In Meditation: Stanza II
I think very well of Susan but I do not know her name
I think very well of Ellen but which is not the same
I think very well of Paul I tell him not to do so
I think very well of Francis Charles but do I do so
I think very well of Thomas but I do not not do so
I think very well of not very well of William
I think very well of any very well of him
I think very well of him.
It is remarkable how quickly they learn
But if they learn and it is very remarkable how quickly they learn
It makes not only but by and by
And they may not only be not here
But not there
Which after all makes no difference
After all this does not make any does not make any difference
I add added it to it.
I could rather be rather be here.
poem by Gertrude Stein
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What Makes Us Human
I believe ability makes us intelligent, it distinguishes us from animals
I believe all have the ability to learn, to create art, to love
I believe we can let our ability go to waste, or we can let it flourish
I believe our ability that makes us human is our intelligence and good judgement
I believe many choose to ignore this ability and rely on animalistic instinct
I believe some humans treat animals better than humans
I believe to make this world peaceful we need to let our abilities flourish
It is curious that many people advocate humane treatment for animals, but treat actual humans inhumanely
poem by Lenore Lee
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Late Night Thoughts...
one more thought tonite... if we cannot grow the balls
to stand up for human dignity, to treat each other with
respect, to protect our environment, to stop these damn
wars, and to learn to see people and accept them as they
are.... we dont deserve to be here!
we are not the holy grail... we are human beings... we,
whether we admit it or not, are connected to and responsible
for all living beings....
our concepts are not who we are... but our hearts in action
define us...
and most of all, we owe it to our children!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Lake Of Fire
Drugs will not be thrown into the Lake of Fire!
But human beings will;
Strong drinks will not be thrown into the Lake of Fire!
But human beings will;
So learn from it and come out of this Babylonian system around you.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
We Are Unique
We are unique
We are human being
No caste color creed
Nothing can divide us
We are human being
This world is ours
And we are unique
Our only aim is to
Spread love love
Only love can make us
Alive and alive
We are unique unique.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Tibetan Prayer
'om mani padme hung,
om mani padme hung...'
may all beings be freed from suffering.
may all beings breathe as one.
may all beings live in peace.
may all beings learn to give.
may all beings walk in unity.
may all beings walk in forgiveness.
may all beings lay down their weapons.
may all beings be fed and have shelter.
may all beings know they are loved.
may all beings join hands.
may all beings live in awareness.
may all beings be freed from suffering.
'om mani padme hung,
om mani padme hung...'
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Human beings, viewed as behaving systems, are quite simple. The apparent complexity of our behavior over time is largely a reflection of the complexity of the environment in which we find ourselves.
quote by Herbert Simon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The ability to make love frivolously is the chief characteristic which distinguishes human beings from beasts.
quote by Heywood Broun
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Human beings, for all their pretensions, have a remarkable propensity for lending themselves to classification somewhere within neatly labelled categories. Even the outrageous exceptions may be classified as outrageous exceptions.
quote by W.J. Reichmann
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian
But I certainly made mistakes, for which I regret, I think most human beings in their lifetime make mistakes, mine ended up in two years prison - two very remarkable years from which I learnt a lot.
quote by Jeffrey Archer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!