--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Originality, not Intelligence, is the…" description: "\"“Originality, not Intelligence, is the sign of a brilliant Author. All the Education in the world won't help someone who can't think for themselves.”\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/a-m-sawyer-35030_books_originality-not-intelligence-is-the-sign_665710.jpg" --- # Originality, not Intelligence, is the sign of a brilliant… ![“Originality, not Intelligence, is the sign of a brilliant Author. All the Education in the world won't help someone who can't think for themselves.” quote by A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/a-m-sawyer-35030_books_originality-not-intelligence-is-the-sign_665710.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/a-m-sawyer-35030_books_originality-not-intelligence-is-the-sign_665710.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/a-m-sawyer-35030_books_originality-not-intelligence-is-the-sign_665710.jpg) > ““Originality, not Intelligence, is the sign of a brilliant Author. All the Education in the world won't help someone who can't think for themselves.”” [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that originality, not formal education, defines a great author; independent thinking outweighs schooling. **In simple terms:** Originality beats formal education for authors. Key Takeaway Cultivate independent thought, value creativity. Themes creativity education authorship originality Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - academic curricula - self‑study Key Concepts critical thinking self‑directed learning literary merit Questions to Reflect On - Can formal study enhance originality? - How do you balance learning and independent thought? A Different Perspective Counterpoint: Education can foster originality when applied creatively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Author Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-education-5295827/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Originality Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality-intelligence-5295826/) [Sign Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sign-brilliant-2535978/) ## Related quotes > ['The Sign of Four' is a brilliant story. It's already been made into a film in the U.K., which I haven't seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanshu-chatterjee/the-sign-of-four-is-a-brilliant-story-it-s-already-been-made-into-a/) [Priyanshu Chatterjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanshu-chatterjee/) > [Books only spoil the originality of genius. Very well for those who can't think for themselves - But when one has made up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/books-only-spoil-the-originality-of-genius-very-well-for-those-who/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [By exposing the multiplicity, the facticity, the repetition and stereotype at the heart of every aesthetic gesture, photography deconstructs the possibility of differentiating between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-e-krauss/by-exposing-the-multiplicity-the-facticity-the-repetition-and/) [Rosalind E. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-e-krauss/) > [“I want to debunk the myth that originality requires extreme risk taking and persuade you that originals are actually far more ordinary than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/i-want-to-debunk-the-myth-that-originality-requires-extreme-risk/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) > [Nothing is original.. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/nothing-is-original-steal-from-anywhere-that-resonates-with/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [We loved the Beach Boys, bands like that, but our originality came out of our lack of ability as copiers. They did mostly complicated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-mael/we-loved-the-beach-boys-bands-like-that-but-our-originality-came-out/) [Russell Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-mael/) > [“Disappointment leads to clarity, which leads to conviction and true originality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/disappointment-leads-to-clarity-which-leads-to-conviction-and-true/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. 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No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/wherein-lies-a-poet-s-claim-to-originality-that-he-invents-his/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [I pretend no originality in observing that mass education was motivated in part by the perceived need to "educate them to keep them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-pretend-no-originality-in-observing-that-mass-education-was/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Original minds are not distinguished by being the first to see a new thing, but instead by seeing the old, familiar thing that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/original-minds-are-not-distinguished-by-being-the-first-to-see-a-new/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Create with the heart; build with the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/create-with-the-heart-build-with-the-mind/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Writing that flirts with incoherence can just as readily flounder as writing characterized by simplicity and composure. There is no reliable formula for originality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/writing-that-flirts-with-incoherence-can-just-as-readily-flounder-as/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More by A.M. Sawyer > [“When your dreams are reaching for the stars, there's no point in keeping your feet on the ground. Take a chance and leap!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/when-your-dreams-are-reaching-for-the-stars-there-s-no-point-in/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“Words are Powerful Tools. Just one can destroy an entire Nation, so use them wisely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/words-are-powerful-tools-just-one-can-destroy-an-entire-nation-so-use/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“Its never what others think of you that determines whether or not you succeed. Its all about what you think of yourself. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/its-never-what-others-think-of-you-that-determines-whether-or-not-you/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“You are your own worst enemy. So to enjoy life, tell yourself to sit down, shut up, and hang on, because it's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/you-are-your-own-worst-enemy-so-to-enjoy-life-tell-yourself-to-sit/) [A.M. 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Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“Every time you suffer a negative blow in life, simply turn it into a character for a story, make it pay, and kill it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/every-time-you-suffer-a-negative-blow-in-life-simply-turn-it-into-a/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“When you never give up, failure becomes nothing more than a stepping stone to success”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/when-you-never-give-up-failure-becomes-nothing-more-than-a-stepping/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“You can think up a million excuses to quit, and still not have an actual reason! Why waste all that brain power?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/you-can-think-up-a-million-excuses-to-quit-and-still-not-have-an/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“Never worry about the negative in others, for you cannot change what you don't control, conquer your own demons and be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/never-worry-about-the-negative-in-others-for-you-cannot-change-what/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“You know you're closest to Heaven in your life, when Hell throws everything it has to try and stop you from reaching your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/you-know-you-re-closest-to-heaven-in-your-life-when-hell-throws/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) [Explore all 13 A.M. Sawyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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