--- title: "1 Genius Idiot Quotes By Iain Banks" description: "1 Genius Idiot quotes by Iain Banks. Plus more from Iain Banks and more Genius Idiot sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/iain-banks-3752_advancement_people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-c_2225421.jpg" --- > [People can be teachers and idiots; they can be philosophers and idiots; they can be politicians and idiots... in fact I think they have to be... a genius can be an idiot. The world is largely run for and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-can-be-philosophers-and-idiots/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/iain-banks-3752_advancement_people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-c_2225421.jpg) ## More by Iain Banks > [I'm not a great believer in awards-of course the fact that I've never won one has nothing to do with it at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-not-a-great-believer-in-awards-of-course-the-fact-that-i-ve-never/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Looking at me, you'd never guess I'd killed three people. It isn't fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/looking-at-me-you-d-never-guess-i-d-killed-three-people-it-isn-t-fair/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [One should never mistake pattern for meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/one-should-never-mistake-pattern-for-meaning/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [I'm a devoted husband. That must strike you as totally deviant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-a-devoted-husband-that-must-strike-you-as-totally-deviant/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“The flames had passed over those flattened blades and consumed their heather neighbours on either side while they themselves had remained, made proof against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/the-flames-had-passed-over-those-flattened-blades-and-consumed-their/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [All you ever were was a little bit of the universe, thinking to itself. Very specific; this bit, here, right now. All the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/all-you-ever-were-was-a-little-bit-of-the-universe-thinking-to-itself/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“We're not in prison, we're not junkies and we're not Young Tories...it's no small achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/we-re-not-in-prison-we-re-not-junkies-and-we-re-not-young-tories-it-s/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Torture is such a slippery slope; as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that, almost instantly you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/torture-is-such-a-slippery-slope-as-soon-as-you-allow-a-society-or/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/two-years-after-i-killed-blyth-i-murdered-my-young-brother-paul-for/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [If you have any helpful suggestions I'd be pleased to hear them. If all you can do is make snide insinuations then it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/if-you-have-any-helpful-suggestions-i-d-be-pleased-to-hear-them-if/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“He hit and fatally injured my innocent and unfortunate uncle whose muttered last words in hospital, before his coma became a full stop, were:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/he-hit-and-fatally-injured-my-innocent-and-unfortunate-uncle-whose/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [A guilty system recognizes no innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/a-guilty-system-recognizes-no-innocents/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“All reality is a game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/all-reality-is-a-game/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [There has seldom if ever a shortage of eager young males prepared to kill and die to preserve the security, comfort and prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/there-has-seldom-if-ever-a-shortage-of-eager-young-males-prepared-to/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Escape is a consumer goods like another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/escape-is-a-consumer-goods-like-another/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/#itemlist", "name": "1 Genius Idiot Quotes By Iain Banks", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People can be teachers and idiots; they can be philosophers and idiots; they can be politicians and idiots... in fact I think they have to be... a genius can be an idiot. The world is largely run for and by idiots; it is no great handicap in life and in certain areas is actually a distinct advantage and even a prerequisite for advancement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iain Banks" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-can-be-philosophers-and-idiots/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/iain-banks-3752_advancement_people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-c_2225421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/iain-banks-3752_advancement_people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-c_2225421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/iain-banks-3752_advancement_people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-c_2225421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People can be teachers and idiots; they can be philosophers and idiots; they can be politicians and…” — Iain Banks", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/", "name": "Genius Idiot Quotes by Iain Banks", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/iain-banks-3752_advancement_people-can-be-teachers-and-idiots-they-c_2225421.jpg" }, "description": "1 Genius Idiot quotes by Iain Banks. Plus more from Iain Banks and more Genius Idiot sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Genius Idiot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Iain Banks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-idiot/iain-banks/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```