--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the absolute rules I learned in…" description: "\"One of the absolute rules I learned in the war was, don't know anything you don't need to know, because if you ever get caught they will get it out of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png" --- # One of the absolute rules I learned in the war was, don't… ![“One of the absolute rules I learned in the war was, don't know anything you don't need to know, because if you ever get caught they will get it out of you.” quote by Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png) > “One of the absolute rules I learned in the war was, don't know anything you don't need to know, because if you ever get caught they will get it out of you.” [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In war, withholding unnecessary knowledge protects against interrogation, emphasizing strategic secrecy. **In simple terms:** Keep only essential info to avoid giving away secrets under pressure. Key Takeaway Practice disciplined information sharing. Themes war security information control interrogation strategy Mood cautious strategic Type military ethical When to use this quote - military training - espionage - high‑risk negotiations Key Concepts operational security psychological tactics Questions to Reflect On - What information is vital to share? - When should you with secrets? A Different Perspective Over‑secrecy can hinder teamwork. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Not all of us know what we are. Some of us die without ever knowing. Some of us know, and never get caught. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/not-all-of-us-know-what-we-are-some-of-us-die-without-ever-knowing/) [Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/) > [I don't know about you, but where I went to school, Money Management 101 wasn't offered. Instead we learned about the War of 1812,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-harv-eker/i-don-t-know-about-you-but-where-i-went-to-school-money-management/) [T. Harv Eker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-harv-eker/) > [But here's what I've learned in this war, in this country, in this city: to love the miracle of having been born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/but-here-s-what-i-ve-learned-in-this-war-in-this-country-in-this-city/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“I continue to live by many of the rules I learned running a business for nearly forty years, advice dispensed by my mother, Jewell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lewis/i-continue-to-live-by-many-of-the-rules-i-learned-running-a-business/) [Edward Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lewis/) > [“Absolute rules are for unthinking people. Sheep require fences—humans do not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/absolute-rules-are-for-unthinking-people-sheep-require-fences-humans/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Forget all the rules you ever learned about graphic design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-gill/forget-all-the-rules-you-ever-learned-about-graphic-design/) [Bob Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-gill/) > [“There are no absolute rules when it comes to success. It is not a case of you either are one or you are not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-w-lord/there-are-no-absolute-rules-when-it-comes-to-success-it-is-not-a-case/) [J. W. Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-w-lord/) > [There are no absolute rules of conduct, either in peace or war. Everything depends on circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/there-are-no-absolute-rules-of-conduct-either-in-peace-or-war/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [“Bend the rules only if you have learned them; break the rules only if you have mastered them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/bend-the-rules-only-if-you-have-learned-them-break-the-rules-only-if/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/) [Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/) > [Hollywood is very much an industry town. Your life becomes caught up in all of the parties and this list and that list. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-johnson/hollywood-is-very-much-an-industry-town-your-life-becomes-caught-up/) [Don Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Abraham Pais > [There is not a soul on Earth who can read the deluge of physics publications in its entirety. As a result, it is sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/there-is-not-a-soul-on-earth-who-can-read-the-deluge-of-physics/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [Of course, relative citation frequencies are no measure of relative importance. Who has not aspired to write a paper so fundamental that very soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/of-course-relative-citation-frequencies-are-no-measure-of-relative/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [One of the things I learned, one of the strangest things, is how to think. There was nothing else to do. I couldn't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/one-of-the-things-i-learned-one-of-the-strangest-things-is-how-to/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [“Special relativity killed the classical dream of using the energy-momentum-velocity relations of a particle as a means of probing the dynamic origins of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/special-relativity-killed-the-classical-dream-of-using-the-energy/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [Some years ago John Kenneth Galbraith wrote in an essay on his efforts at writing a history of economics: 'As one approaches the present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/some-years-ago-john-kenneth-galbraith-wrote-in-an-essay-on-his/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [“All modern work on unification may be said to represent a program of geometrization that resembles Einstein's earlier attempts, although the manifold subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/all-modern-work-on-unification-may-be-said-to-represent-a-program-of/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [“Promising steps have been made toward grand unification, the union of weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions in one compact, non-Abelian gauge group. In most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/promising-steps-have-been-made-toward-grand-unification-the-union-of/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [I knew all the time I was going to get through the war. It was completely irrational, a silly idea, but I was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/i-knew-all-the-time-i-was-going-to-get-through-the-war-it-was/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [ \[George\] Uhlenbeck was a highly gifted physicist. One of his remarkable traits was he would read every issue of T%he Physical Review from cover… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/george-uhlenbeck-was-a-highly-gifted-physicist-one-of-his-remarkable/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [Deliberately or not, every author is of course present in every book he or she writes - even in a scientific text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/deliberately-or-not-every-author-is-of-course-present-in-every-book/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [To make a discovery is not necessarily the same as to understand a discovery. Not only Planck but also other physicists were intially at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/to-make-a-discovery-is-not-necessarily-the-same-as-to-understand-a/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [The rule of the game was never assume that anybody, however honorable, would be able to stand up under torture. If Mr. X, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/the-rule-of-the-game-was-never-assume-that-anybody-however-honorable/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [“The preceding collection of stories about Einstein the young boy demonstrates the remarkable extent to which his most characteristic personal traits were native rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/the-preceding-collection-of-stories-about-einstein-the-young-boy/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [“The ultimate unification of weak and electromagnetic interactions has probably not yet been achieved, but a solid beach-head appears to have been established in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/the-ultimate-unification-of-weak-and-electromagnetic-interactions-has/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [Once I even took the train to Utrecht, forty miles from Amsterdam, with my yellow star, this star which I still have. Why did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/once-i-even-took-the-train-to-utrecht-forty-miles-from-amsterdam-with/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) [Explore all 24 Abraham Pais quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) ## More Caught quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Hollywood is very much an industry town. Your life becomes caught up in all of the parties and this list and that list. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-johnson/hollywood-is-very-much-an-industry-town-your-life-becomes-caught-up/) [Don Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-johnson/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/) [Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I never caught on to being a bully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-never-caught-on-to-being-a-bully/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [“I caught you!" he beamed. "See, girls really do throw themselves at me. Hey, guys!" His voice echoed off the carved stone and marble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-kirk/i-caught-you-he-beamed-see-girls-really-do-throw-themselves-at-me-hey/) A&E Kirk > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [America today is a confused society, caught up in a terror war, a culture war, and a media war, where honesty and professional standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/america-today-is-a-confused-society-caught-up-in-a-terror-war-a/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [Do not be caught up in materialism, one of the real plagues of our generation-that is, acquiring things, fast-paced living, and securing career success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/do-not-be-caught-up-in-materialism-one-of-the-real-plagues-of-our/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) Browse all 2,627 Caught quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the absolute rules I learned in the war was, don't know anything you don't need to know, because if you ever get caught they will get it out of you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Pais" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-the-war-was-don-t-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Caught" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-the-war-was-don-t-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/abraham-pais-24808_caught_one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-t_2621707.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the absolute rules I learned in the war was, don't know anything you don't need to know, because if…” — Abraham Pais", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Abraham Pais", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the absolute rules I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-the-war-was-don-t-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/one-of-the-absolute-rules-i-learned-in-the-war-was-don-t-know/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```