The real sting here isn't simple complaints about generational gaps—it's Saint-Exupéry's claim that adults have *lost* something essential, not merely failed to possess it. Children don't have more knowledge; they have a different perceptual apparatus, one that notices what matters. When a parent dismisses their teenager's concern about a friendship as "not important," or a manager ignores an entry-level employee's observation about a flawed process, we're watching adults mistake their exhaustion for wisdom. What makes this observation cut so deeply is that Saint-Exupéry sympathizes with both sides: the exasperation of explaining endlessly, yes, but also the tragedy of the adults who've grown deaf.