Original artwork, not a still
Man and Superman • 1903
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
This flips the usual praise of being reasonable. Sensible people fit themselves to the world as it is, while stubborn ones keep pushing the world to fit them. Since only the second group tries to change things, the line concludes that progress rests on the unreasonable.
Context reviewed
