The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.
Thomas MannRead
Stupid β well, there are so many kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the complexities of intelligence and self-awareness, suggesting that sometimes being clever can lead to misguided actions.
Thomas Mann suggests that intelligence alone is not inherently valuable and can even be detrimental if it leads to arrogance or a lack of understanding. The quote implies that various forms of stupidity exist, and cleverness, if not paired with wisdom and empathy, can become one of the most damaging traits, as it may foster a false sense of superiority.
Themes
StupidityClevernessWisdomIntelligenceArrogance
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the pitfalls of overconfidence in intelligence during a leadership seminar.
More from Thomas Mann
All quotes βIt is a strange fact that freedom and equality, the two basic ideas of democracy, are to some extent contradictory. Logically considered, freedom and equality are mutually exclusive, just as society and the individual are mutually exclusive.
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I tell them that if they will occupy themselves with the study of mathematics they will find in it the best remedy against the lusts of the flesh.
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Literature... is the union of suffering with the instinct for form.
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The Freudian theory is one of the most important foundation stones for an edifice to be built by future generations, the dwelling of a freer and wiser humanity.
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One always has the idea of a stupid man as perfectly healthy and ordinary, and of illness as making one refined and clever and unusual.
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