about this sitesee Meranda's resumesee clips and work sampleskeep in touch
home

‘The learners inherit the earth’

I already posted my Quote of the Day, but I just came across this one and felt it worth sharing with the other people wandering in the new media landscape:

“In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
— Eric Hoffer

I think that’s worth remembering as we move forward.

Only the people willing to consider that everything they know is wrong or irrelevent or not going to cut it any longer — only those who open their minds to all of the possibilities — will prosper. Such is the world.

I am young, but even if I weren’t, I am more than willing to admit I do not know everything. I don’t, and I never will. Too many people, young and old, walk around thinking they know what’s best. They don’t. They think that because they know how to cover city council and read a building permit, that because they’ve sat through a murder trial or broke the story about a senator’s scandal they are somehow above the turmoil in the industry today. They aren’t.

As this quote says, the people who know everything are the ones who will be left in the dust by those who keep acquiring knowledge. Whether that knowledge is shooting video or editing Flash, or whether it’s simply acquiring a different mindset when approaching a story is irrelevent. The point is, they never settle. And too many editors and reporters in this business have settled. They’re just biding their time until they can retire and reminisce about that “world that no longer exists.”

3 Responses to “‘The learners inherit the earth’”

  1. Why I’m a Journalist » SOJo: Student of Online Journalism Says:

    […] Meranda Watling has a great quote and a more in-depth explanation of this concept. […]

  2. Mindy McAdams Says:

    That’s a great quote! Thanks for posting it. I’m now going to make all my students memorize it …

  3. Meranda Writes » Blog Archive » QOTD: The future does not fit in the containers of the past Says:

    […] I came across this quote recently, and it seemed to make a lot of sense in the context of journalism. So I wanted to pass it on to my readers. I see its meaning similar to one of my other favorite quotes, which I posted awhile back: […]