“I have a great affection for people who are intellectually engaged with the world, and who don't treat everything superficially. And I think, when people talk about nerdiness, what they're really talking about is smart people who who are trying to think hard about the world. And I don't think that's an insult, I think that's a great thing.” PeopleThinkingWorldTryingHardTalkingSmartTreatsAffectionGreat ThingsEngagedInsultSmart PeopleNerdiness Author:John Green
“...People need to ask, "How do I play the hand that has been dealt me?" The world is not going to give you extra return just because you want it. You have to be very shrewd and hard working to get a little extra. It's so much easier to reduce your wants. There are a lot of smart people and a lot of them cheat, so it's not easy to win.” PeopleWorldWantNeedsGivingLittlesHas BeensHardPlayHandsAsksWinningEasyHard WorkReturnEasierSmartExtrasCheatSmart People Author:Charlie Munger
“The hedge fund known as "Long Term Capital Management" collapsed last fall through overconfidence in its highly leveraged methods, despite I.Q.'s of its principals that must have averaged 160. Smart people aren't exempt from professional disasters from overconfidence. Often, they just run aground in the more difficult voyages they choose, relying on their self-appraisals that they have superior talents and methods.” PeopleLongSelfRunningLastsFallDifficultTermKnownTalentSmartManagementMethodDisasterSuperiorsDespiteLong TermFundPrincipalVoyagesSmart PeopleAppraisalHedge FundOverconfidence Author:Charlie Munger
“When we were young, there weren't very many smart people in the investment world. You should have seen the people in the bank trust departments. Now, there are armies of smart people at private investment funds, etc . If there were a crisis now, there would be a lot more people with a lot of money ready to take advantage.” PeopleIfsWorldShouldWould BeYoungReadySmartAdvantageShould HaveArmyCrisisInvestmentDepartmentEtcFundLots Of MoneySmart People Author:Charlie Munger
“Smart people underestimate the ordinarity of ordinary people.” PeopleSmartOrdinaryUnderestimateOrdinary PeopleSmart People Author:Yukihiro Matsumoto
“I was an advocate of the deregulation movement and I made - along with a lot of other smart people - a fundamental mistake. The financial industry undergirded the entire economy and if it is made riskier by deregulation and collapses in widespread bankruptcies as what happened in 2008, the entire economy freezes because it runs on credit.” PeopleIfsMadeRunningMistakeEconomyHappenedMovementIndustrySmartFundamentalsFinancialCreditCollapseFreezeBankruptcySmart PeopleDeregulation Author:Bill O'Reilly
“I was an advocate of the deregulation movement and I made - along with a lot of other smart people - a fundamental mistake, which is that deregulation works fine in industries which do not pervade the economy. The financial industry undergirded the entire economy and if it is made riskier by deregulation and collapses in widespread bankruptcies as what happened in 2008, the entire economy freezes because it runs on credit.” PeopleIfsMadeSaidRunningMistakeEconomyHappenedMovementFineIndustrySmartFundamentalsFinancialAppearanceCreditCollapseFreezeViewpointsBankruptcySmart PeopleDeregulation Author:Richard Posner
“It is wonderful to work in an environment with a lot of smart people. It challenges you to think and work on a different level. If you play with better players, you learn a lot: perspectives, intellectual arguments, new ways of thinking about things.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayDifferentPlayChallengesLevelsEnvironmentPlayerWonderfulPerspectiveIntellectualSmartArgumentNew WaysWay Of ThinkingSmart PeopleDifferent LevelsNew Ways Of Thinking Author:Marissa Mayer
“I read books and talked to people. I mean that's kind of how one learns anything. There's lots of great books out there & lots of smart people.” PeopleKindMeanBookSmartSmart PeopleGreat Book Author:Elon Musk
“Smart people are a dime a dozen. What matters is the ability to think different... to think out of the box.” PeopleThinkingDifferentMatterAbilitySmartBoxesDozenWhat MattersDimesSmart PeopleThink Different Author:Walter Isaacson
“I'm the CEO. My job is to get out of the way. I work with smart people and trust they can accomplish their goals. So I make sure to focus on removing roadblocks for them and then resume getting out of their way.” PeopleWayJobsGoalFocusSmartAccomplishCeoResumesSmart PeopleRoadblock Author:John Fairclough
“Over the years, a number of very smart people have learned the hard way that a long string of impressive numbers multiplied by a single zero always equals zero.” PeopleWayYearsLongHardNumbersSmartStringsZeroImpressiveSmart PeopleVery SmartHard Way Author:Warren Buffett
“I never wanted to be a businessman; I was a craftsman and good at working with my hands. At some point, I decided that this company is my best resource. Patagonia now exists to put into practice all the things that smart people are saying we have to do not only to save the planet but to save the economy.” PeopleHandsWantedCompanyPracticeEconomyPlanetsSmartResourcesDecidedBusinessmanSmart PeopleCraftsmanSave The PlanetPatagonia Author:Yvon Chouinard
“We all have brains and we're all really smart people, but the underlying reality is that we're really just animals and sometimes animal instinct takes over your capability to really think things through.” PeopleThinkingSometimesRealityAnimalBrainSmartInstinctOver YouCapabilitySmart PeopleReally SmartAnimal Instinct Author:Cristian Machado
“I think there ought to be some serious discussion by smart people, really smart people, about whether or not proliferation of things like The Smoking Gun and TMZ and YouTube and the whole celebrity culture is healthy. We've switched from a culture that was interested in manufacturing, economics, politics - trying to play a serious part in the world - to a culture that's really entertainment-based. I mean, I know people who can tell you who won the last four seasons on American Idol and they don't know who their [bleeping] Representatives are.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWorldTryingMeanPlayWholeLastsCultureFourSeriousOughtHealthySmartGunEconomicsSeasonsEntertainmentDiscussionSmokingIdolsRepresentativesYoutubeManufacturingSmart PeopleProliferationReally SmartAmerican IdolFour SeasonsCelebrity Culture Author:Stephen King
“Some PhD physicists write software or work for hedge funds, but physics still has a problem with having very smart people but not enough opportunities.” PeopleWritingStillsEnoughProblemOpportunitySmartPhysicsFundSoftwarePhysicistSmart PeopleVery SmartPhdsHedge Fund Author:Stuart J. Russell
“Too, some of my teachers helped me to navigate those books, showed me the maps and paths and secret decoder rings - people like Linda Kintz and Forest Pyle and Mary Wood and Diana Abu Jaber. They didn't treat me like a messy writer girl in combat boots who had infiltrated the smart people room. They treated me like I deserved to be there, potty mouth and all, they helped make a space for me to rage and ride my own intellect. That's why I'm saying their names out loud.” PeopleBookGirlNamesMy OwnSpaceRoomsSecretPathTeacherSmartMouthsTreatsWoodsIntellectRageRingsForestsTreatedLoudMapsCombatBootsMaryMessyNavigateSmart PeopleDianaPottyCombat BootsPotty Mouth Author:Lidia Yuknavitch
“I kind of like social media, and I like hearing from people. I don't like the ugly stuff, but there are some people - smart people - who have a very different perspective, and I'll get a backlash from them. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing.” PeopleKindDifferentSocialStuffMediaPerspectiveSmartUglySocial MediaHearingBad ThingsSmart PeopleDifferent PerspectiveBacklash Author:Paul Bloom
“If there's a theme in my work, it's that I like to focus on smart people who are facing oppression and who are fighting back against it.” PeopleIfsFightingFocusSmartOppressionThemeWorking ItSmart PeopleFighting Back Author:Molly Crabapple
“When I was trying to figure out why lives have improved so much in the last 300 years, where we've gone from a third of kids dying before 5 to - by 1990 it was down to 10% - now it's down to 5%. And saying why, over all history, there were smart people, but that number didn't change. Average life span didn't change. What's magical about what's been deemed the Industrial Revolution? It's really energy intensity.” PeopleTryingYearsKidsLastsEnergyNumbersGoneDyingFiguresRevolutionSmartThirdsAverageIntensitySmart PeopleIndustrial RevolutionLife SpanAverage Life Author:Bill Gates
“The investigation of consciousness has come to be regarded suspiciously by most smart people and by most scientists. That's a legacy that began with the Inquisition, which considered non-Christian spiritual inquiry as blasphemous.” PeopleChristianSpiritualConsciousnessSmartScientistLegacyInvestigationInquirySmart PeopleInquisition Author:David O. Russell
“I have no idea how it got so big. I was just trying to find something to do while I was living in Boulder, Colorado, which isn't really a funny town. There are a lot of smart people there, but comedy isn't at the forefront of their minds.” PeopleTryingMindIdeasBigsComedySmartTownsNo IdeaSmart PeopleColoradoBoulders Author:George Meyer
“I don't see what the alternative to risk management is. If it's just getting rid of the models and instead using the smart people who can figure it out? How do you train them? What do you teach them? Do you just put them in a cockpit and let them stumble for 10 years of their life and then after that they're good at it?” PeopleIfsYearsTeachRiskFiguresModelsSmartManagementTrainAlternativesRisk ManagementSmart PeopleCockpit Author:Robert F. Engle
“I've seen that phenomenally successful people believe they can learn something from everybody. I call them 'mavericks with mentors.' Richard Branson, for instance, is a total maverick but he surrounds himself with incredibly successful, smart people and he listens to them.” PeopleBelieveSuccessfulSmartInstanceSurroundMentorSuccessful PeopleSmart PeopleMaverick Author:Brendon Burchard
“You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.” MenLoveGuyWomenSmartIntelligenceWittyDumbSmart PeopleFunny RelationshipWomen EqualityFunny WomenSmartnessSmart WomenType Of GuyDumb PeopleMen BashingFunny Men And WomenDumbnessSmart GuyDumb WomenBehind Every Successful ManDumb Guy Author:Erica Jong
“It was a time of turmoil at colleges and universities. And I saw some very smart people and very privileged people behaving irresponsibly. And I couldn't help making a contrast between some of the worst of what I saw on the campus and the good sense and the decency of the people back in my own community.” PeopleHelpingCommunityMy OwnSawsWorstCollegeSmartUniversityContrastPrivilegedDecencyGood SenseTurmoilCampusSmart PeopleVery SmartColleges And Universities Author:Samuel Alito
“I studied Sanskrit for many years, and I've got all the coursework for my Ph.D. And a lot of what's going on in American Yoga is just made-up stuff. Smart people, even good people, Western therapists, Yoga therapists and other things, Western healthcare practitioners who love Asana and say, "Let's make up yoga therapy."” PeopleYearsMadeStuffSmartYogaWesternTherapyGood PeopleHealthcareTherapistsSmart PeopleAsanaSanskrit Author:Gary Kraftsow
“I know is that the response [for Difficult People ] has been really great. I think it's for smart people. I think it's for people who obviously care about pop culture or know about it, even if it's to a fault. I think it's for outsiders.” PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsHas BeensCareCultureDifficultSmartFaultsResponsePopsOutsidersReally GreatPop CultureSmart People Author:Billy Eichner
“Being in writers' rooms turns you feral. You are swearing, you are going to very dark, mean places. You start out in the room with all these smart people, and you're all well-read and well-educated and the humor is really erudite. And then over the course of the year, after the production schedule grinds you down, it is just so mean and stupid.” PeopleYearsWellsMeanTurnsCoursesDarkRoomsStupidSmartProductionsEducatedSchedulesGrindSmart PeopleSwearingWell EducatedErudite Author:Maria Semple
“My mom started understanding how many people take advantage of a child, so she hired smart people to protect me in that way. I'm happy that when I was younger, people protected me and put me in a position where I can now control my music.” PeopleWayChildrenI CanUnderstandingPositionMomProtectSmartAdvantageMy MomProtectedSmart People Author:Miley Cyrus
“Your work gets destroyed by dumb people and it gets enhanced by smart people and it really doesn't have anything to do with marketing.” PeopleSmartMarketingDestroyedDumbSmart PeopleDumb People Author:Paula Scher
“I don't think Mitt Romney is a smart person. I never have thought he was a smart person. But the Mormons are very smart people.” PeopleThinkingPersonsSmartRomneySmart PeopleVery SmartSmart Person Author:Donald Trump
“I think we knew that this would be just like raising the kids together, this would be a fun thing to do in partnership. And you know, we're so lucky because we get to hire in very smart people. We get to partner with governments like the Canadian Development Organization - CIDA, USAID - tonnes of scientists doing this work. This is fascinating.” PeopleThinkingKnowsGovernmentWould BeKidsTogetherFunDevelopmentLuckySmartOrganizationScientistPartnersThings To DoFascinatingPartnershipSmart PeopleSo LuckyVery SmartFun ThingsUsaid Author:Bill Gates
“I have great people working for me now. I surround myself with smart people.” PeopleSmartSurroundGreat PeopleSmart People Author:Kevin O'Leary
“The Chinese are not stupid people. They're very smart people. They told me very, very distinctly that they cannot believe how stupid our representatives are in the United States. They cannot believe that they can continue to take all our jobs - you know, through the manipulation of the currency, of their currency, they make it almost impossible for our great companies to compete.” PeopleKnowsBelieveStatesJobsUnitedCompanyUnited StatesImpossibleStupidSmartChineseManipulationRepresentativesCurrencyStupid PeopleSmart PeopleVery SmartNot StupidGreat Company Author:Donald Trump
“Desperation precludes reflection. That is one of the reasons why smart people can get involved in very obviously unworkable relationships. Like addiction, that deep, Imago attachment is more powerful than logic, and in fact disables logic. So, any explanation or analysis or reflection on such a feeling is already many steps removed from the experience.” PeopleReasonFactsFeelingsPowerfulStepsInvolvedSmartReflectionLogicAddictionReason WhyAnalysisExplanationAttachmentDesperationGet InvolvedSmart People Author:Melissa Febos
“When I first got money, I went through it like everybody else, because I didn't know. But, right now, I've educated myself and placed smart people around me. I surrounded myself with people who not only are intelligent and effective about finances, taxes, and money management, but they (also) love me.” PeopleKnowsFirstsRight NowTaxesSmartIntelligentManagementFinanceEducatedSmart PeopleMoney Management Author:Steve Harvey
“I would argue that among musicians who work in technology today, the level of technological sophistication probably exceeds that of military programs, to be blunt. They are just really smart people attracted to making strange new sounds.” PeopleTodaySoundLevelsTechnologyMilitaryStrangeMusicianSmartProgramArguingTechnologicalExceedBluntSmart PeopleSophisticationReally Smart Author:Jaron Lanier
“The only negative thing is that I got into acting thinking, "One day I'll be a cowboy, the next day I'll be an astronaut. Maybe I'll be a fireman." It seems that I'm destined to play smart people in suits. I'd rather have that than no niche.” PeopleThinkingActingOne DaySmartNegativeCowboyAstronautNicheSmart PeopleFireman Author:Joshua Malina
“There are a lot of smart people being really thoughtful and writing really interesting things, but that isn't what I want to do. It's never felt like what I've been called to do. And I have to risk sounding really arrogant when I say that because I've gone to Ivy League schools and been privileged in all these ways in the world of ideas, but I'm not as smart as you think. I'm not really depending on what I learned in college to write my books. Those were just parts of my life experience.” PeopleThinkingWorldWritingBookSchoolInterestingRiskCollegeSmartLeagueThoughtfulBeing RealLife ExperienceArrogantReally InterestingSmart People Author:Ottessa Moshfegh
“Kevin Feige and I have very smart people who work for us, who make sure that we see everything. And that we actually see everything. They see everything, tell us about it, we see it. You have to have people who work with you, who say 'you have to look at this film'. And then you look at it. You really have to look at it. You have to look at movies all the time.” PeopleSmartSmart PeopleVery Smart Author:Amy Pascal
“My colleagues across the aisle in Brooklyn and team Clinton are very smart people. I respect them very much. But they misread America. They, they did not have her in red states. They, they were pretending that they were going to turn red blue.” PeopleTeamSmartClintonPretendingSmart PeopleVery Smart Author:Kellyanne Conway
“I think there ought to be some serious discussion by smart people, really smart people, about whether or not proliferation of things like The Smoking Gun and TMZ and YouTube and the whole celebrity culture is healthy.” PeopleThinkingWholeCultureSeriousOughtHealthySmartGunIntelligenceDiscussionSmokingYoutubeSmart PeopleProliferationReally SmartCelebrity Culture Author:Stephen King
“I think the smart people will get even smarter, and the dumb people will get even dumber. But I think they all will enjoy A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila, no matter how you slice it. You know, we keep eating it up. Some of the most intelligent people I know cannot get enough of it. That's a dangerous thing.” PeopleThinkingEnoughEnjoyDangerousEatingSmartIntelligentDumbSmart PeopleTequilaDumb People Author:Joel McHale
“I've been fortunate to have had the life I had prior to Hollywood. I wasn't starving, I was going to eat the next day. I came to Hollywood wanting a career that had longevity, and I wasn't afraid to take risks because I had a dollar in the bank. I wasn't driven by money as much as I was driven by making a successful transition. And I was smart enough to know that I certainly didn't have all the answers and I needed to surround myself with smart people and be willing to take risks and be willing to fail.” PeopleEnoughSuccessfulFailingRiskSmartDrivenSurroundLongevitySmart People Author:Dwayne Johnson
“I'm interested in philosophy, I studied it, and I also admit I try to read things that are way above me. I have a limit: I take what I need from it, and I do find that some of my favourite philosophical writings tend to be poppier. I admire smart people who are able to describe things simply or in a human, readable way.” PeopleWritingTryingPhilosophySmartPhilosophicalAdmireFavouriteSmart People Author:Daniel Lopatin
“I think musicals are a lowbrow, populist art form. And I don't mean lowbrow in a condescending way at all - they are designed to create delight, wonder, joy, surprise. And what becomes really interesting is when innovative or challenging or smart people take it and use the easy runway that the form allows to take people to another planet, or another place. Or subvert it in some way.” PeopleThinkingMeanArtJoyEasyChallengesInterestingWonderSmartSurpriseInnovativeReally InterestingSmart PeoplePopulistCondescending Author:George C. Wolfe
“There are smart people on our side of the aisle who have known as early as I did who Obama was and should have been saying 'I hope this guy fails' right along with me. There should have been opposition to this guy all along.” PeopleShouldHas BeensGuySidesKnownFailingSmartShould HaveOppositionThis GuyShould Have BeenSmart PeopleAisle Author:Rush Limbaugh
“It's really wonderful to work in an environment with a lot of smart people.” PeopleEnvironmentWonderfulSmartSmart People Author:Marissa Mayer