The mistake that is made always runs the other way. Because the plain people are able to speak and understand, and even, in many cases, to read and write, it is assumed that they have ideas in their heads, and an appetite for more. This assumption is a folly.
Interpretation
This quote critiques the misconception that all people have complex ideas simply because they can communicate.
H. L. Mencken highlights a common error in assuming that the ability to communicate equates to deep understanding or intelligence. He suggests that just because many people can speak, read, and write, it doesn't mean they possess significant ideas or a desire for knowledge. This quote calls into question societal assumptions about intellect based solely on communication abilities.
In practice
In a discussion about education reform, one might say this quote to emphasize the need for deeper understanding rather than just literacy.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
When you have to prove the value of your ideas by persuading other people to pay for them, it clears out an awful lot of woolly thinking.
The true greatness of a person, in my view, is evident in the way he or she treats those with whom courtesy and kindness are not required.
When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message.
I found the emotion that as an athlete you block out, and it really helped me to understand myself as a person. I'm a really emotional person and it helped make me a better person.
Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves.
Silence is a source of great strength.
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