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Cleverness, after all, has its limitations. Its mechanical judgments and clever remarks tend to prove inaccurate with passing time, because it doesn't look very deeply into things to begin with.
Benjamin Hoff
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Cleverness has limits and can lead to errors over time when not rooted in deeper understanding.

In this quote, Benjamin Hoff suggests that cleverness, while valuable, is inherently superficial and its insights may be flawed as time reveals deeper truths. He emphasizes the importance of looking beyond clever remarks and mechanical judgments to attain a more profound understanding of any situation.

Themes

ClevernessLimitationsWisdomUnderstandingDepth

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about the differences between intelligence and wisdom.

More from Benjamin Hoff

Lots of people talk to animals... Not very many listen, though... That's the problem.
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The masters of life know the way, for they listen to the voice within them, the voice of wisdom and simplicity, the voice that reasons beyond cleverness and knows beyond knowledge.
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How can you get very far, If you don't know who you are? How can you do what you ought, If you don't know what you've got? And if you don't know which to do Of all the things in front of you, Then what you'll have when you are through Is just a mess without a clue Of all the best that can come true If you know What and Which and Who.
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The honey doesn't taste so good once it is being eaten; the goal doesn't mean so much once it is reached; the reward is no so rewarding once it has been given. If we add up all the rewards in our lives, we won't have very much. But if we add up the spaces *between* the rewards, we'll come up with quite a bit. And if we add up the rewards *and* the spaces, then we'll have everything - every minute of the time that we spent.
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We don't need to shift our responsibilities onto the shoulders of some deified Spiritual Superman, or sit around and wait for Fate to come knocking at the door. We simply need to believe in the power that's within us, and use it. When we do that, and stop imitating others and competing against them, things begin to work for us.
Benjamin HoffRead
And when you try too hard, it doesn't work. Try grabbing something quickly and precisely with a tensed-up arm; then relax and try it again. Try doing something with a tense mind. The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, and Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard-one that thinks too much.
Benjamin HoffRead

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A little wisdom, now and then

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