“To generalize is to be an idiot.”

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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William Blake photo
William Blake 249
English Romantic poet and artist 1757–1827

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William Blake photo

“To Generalize is to be an Idiot. To Particularize is the Alone Distinction of Merit — General Knowledges are those Knowledges that Idiots possess.”

William Blake (1757–1827) English Romantic poet and artist

Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynolds's Discourses, pp. xvii–xcviii (c. 1798–1809)
1790s

Louis C.K. photo

“Now we live in an amazing, amazing world and it’s wasted on the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots.”

Louis C.K. (1967) American comedian and actor

Conan http://www.thatvideosite.com/v/94 (2006)

Albert Einstein photo

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Variants:
I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.
I fear the day when technology overlaps our humanity. It will be then that the world will have permanent ensuing generations of idiots.
1995 film Powder includes a similar quotation attributed to Einstein:
It’s become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity.
Although it is a popular quote on the internet, there is no substantial evidence that Einstein actually said that. It does not appear in "The Ultimate Quotable Einstein" from Princeton University Press nor in any reliable source. " Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/03/19/tech-surpass/" concluded that it probably emerged as a meme on the internet as late as 2012.
Misattributed

Isaac Asimov photo

“Generals are, as a matter of course, allowed to be far more idiotic than ordinary human beings are permitted to be.”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

Our Federal Union (1975), p. 248
General sources

Jack McDevitt photo

“Freedom and idiots make a volatile mix. And the sad truth is that the idiocy quotient in the general population is alarmingly high.”

Jack McDevitt (1935) American novelist, Short story writer

Source: Academy Series - Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins, Odyssey (2006), Chapter 7 (p. 59)

Franz Kafka photo

“One idiot is one idiot. Two idiots are two idiots. Ten thousand idiots are a political party.”

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) author

Was written in a slightly different way by Leo Longanesi in Italian, above form has been attributed to Kafka without evidence.
Misattributed
Source: One Idiot Is One Idiot. Two Idiots Are Two Idiots. Ten Thousand Idiots Are a Political Party, Quote Investigator, 2021-10-08 https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/10/08/idiots/,

Rick Riordan photo
José Maria Eça de Queiroz photo

“In general, we Portuguese only begin to be idiotic when we reach the age of reason. While we are young we all have a spark of genius.”

Em geral, nós outros, os Portugueses, só começamos a ser idiotas – quando chegamos à idade da razão. Em pequenos temos todos uma pontinha de génio.
"A Literatura de Natal"; "Christmas Literature" p. 42.
Cartas de Inglaterra (1879–82)

Groucho Marx photo

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