--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...I know there are a number of things…" description: "\"“...I know there are a number of things you know, probably too many things you know--too many, I say, not because any kind of knowledge has the capacit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg" --- # ...I know there are a number of things you know, probably… ![“...I know there are a number of things you know, probably too many things you know--too many, I say, not because any kind of knowledge has the capacity to be bad in itself, but rather because certain kinds of knowledge, particularly those kinds we often describe as arcane, can, by way of their…” quote by Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg) > ““...I know there are a number of things you know, probably too many things you know--too many, I say, not because any kind of knowledge has the capacity to be bad in itself, but rather because certain kinds of knowledge, particularly those kinds we often describe as arcane, can, by way of their very arcanity, serve to obscure the knowledge-bearer's understanding of the mundane.”” [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive obscure knowledge can cloud practical understanding and hinder everyday insight. **In simple terms:** Too much arcane knowledge obscures everyday wisdom. Key Takeaway Balance depth with practicality. Themes knowledge understanding mundane arcane clarity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - academic research - creative work - daily decision making - teaching - policy making Key Concepts cognitive overload information hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to pursue deep specialized knowledge? - When does focusing on the mundane limit innovation? A Different Perspective Specialized knowledge may be essential in certain fields despite its complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ## Related quotes > [Solitude, as I understand it, does not signify an unhappy state, but rather secret royalty, profound incommunicability yet a more or less obscure knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/solitude-as-i-understand-it-does-not-signify-an-unhappy-state-but/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [“There are many different kinds of knowledge. The way of the heart and spirit can guide us in a more trustworthy way than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakota-sioux-buck-ghosthorse/there-are-many-different-kinds-of-knowledge-the-way-of-the-heart-and/) Lakota Sioux Buck Ghosthorse > [A sharp difference should exist between general education and specialized knowledge. As particularly today the latter threatens more and more to sink into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/a-sharp-difference-should-exist-between-general-education-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“One age cannot bind itself, and thus conspire, to place a succeeding one in a condition whereby it would be impossible for the later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/one-age-cannot-bind-itself-and-thus-conspire-to-place-a-succeeding/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mean-to-say-that-i-know-of-my-own-knowledge-what-there-is-particularly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the case of various kinds of knowledge, we find that what in former days occupied the energies of men of mature mental ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/in-the-case-of-various-kinds-of-knowledge-we-find-that-what-in-former/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Certain kinds of knowledge rob people of their sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/certain-kinds-of-knowledge-rob-people-of-their-sleep/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Ilm is rather a comprehensive term, for the Prophet has said: “Knowledge consists of three things, a clear verse (of the Qur- ân), a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rosenthal/ilm-is-rather-a-comprehensive-term-for-the-prophet-has-said-knowledge/) [Franz Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rosenthal/) > [There are basically two kinds of knowledge on Earth: EVIL & GOOD. Know the one you're searching for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/there-are-basically-two-kinds-of-knowledge-on-earth-evil-good-know/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [There are many kinds of knowledge, only one of them worth everything, only one of them not subject to opinion or degree or damage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-frazier/there-are-many-kinds-of-knowledge-only-one-of-them-worth-everything/) [Jan Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-frazier/) > [There are two kinds of knowledge, local and universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/there-are-two-kinds-of-knowledge-local-and-universal/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The things I know, every man can know, but, oh, my heart is mine alone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-things-i-know-every-man-can-know-but-oh-my-heart-is-mine-alone/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Take your time to find and understand what you don’t know and in the end, you shall know that it is not all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/take-your-time-to-find-and-understand-what-you-don-t-know-and-in-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [“Nosy people find out things they’d rather not know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-jefferies/nosy-people-find-out-things-they-d-rather-not-know/) [Dinah Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-jefferies/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More by Adam Levin > [“Underdog stories are easy to tell. It is best to be suspicious of underdog stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/underdog-stories-are-easy-to-tell-it-is-best-to-be-suspicious-of/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Books are truer than movies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/books-are-truer-than-movies/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Regarding vengeance and arch-enemies, one must not only be timely but prideful, and pride exacts propriety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/regarding-vengeance-and-arch-enemies-one-must-not-only-be-timely-but/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Go ahead and flunk me for begging the question, then go ahead and fuck yourself for asking it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/go-ahead-and-flunk-me-for-begging-the-question-then-go-ahead-and-fuck/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“The goodness of our intentions was in direct correlation to the heights from which we condescended to each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/the-goodness-of-our-intentions-was-in-direct-correlation-to-the/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Reasonable of you, John. Reasonable of you, Dick. No two Israelites had ever pattered so goyischely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/reasonable-of-you-john-reasonable-of-you-dick-no-two-israelites-had/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“If I'd thought she was uninterested, I never would have worried so much - the prospect of screwing something up is much more daunting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/if-i-d-thought-she-was-uninterested-i-never-would-have-worried-so/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Don't you feel as though you could love everything starting tomorrow, and everything could love you, if only you took an action to set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/don-t-you-feel-as-though-you-could-love-everything-starting-tomorrow/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“You can render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, but if you don't keep from Caesar that which is yours, Caesar will take some,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/you-can-render-unto-caesar-that-which-is-caesar-s-but-if-you-don-t/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“And Desormie dragged the back of his hand back and forth across his mouth twice. And Brodsky coughed fakely to mask his laughter. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/and-desormie-dragged-the-back-of-his-hand-back-and-forth-across-his/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“I liked it when things went together like that. Not just timing things like the chop/ flick/ knock-stopping, but space things, too. Like all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-liked-it-when-things-went-together-like-that-not-just-timing-things/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“The further south the throng went, the more reasons it discovered. Vendettas once sworn for half-forgotten offenses were remembered and invented with each passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/the-further-south-the-throng-went-the-more-reasons-it-discovered/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Gurion would lament: What is the good of trying to do justice if God will kill me and my family whether or not I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/gurion-would-lament-what-is-the-good-of-trying-to-do-justice-if-god/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“Maholtz asked me, “Why do you hate me?” I said, Everyone hates you. “I know,” he said. “I know that,” he said, “but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/maholtz-asked-me-why-do-you-hate-me-i-said-everyone-hates-you-i-know/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“You only taste your own dignity right before you puke it up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/you-only-taste-your-own-dignity-right-before-you-puke-it-up/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) [Explore all 38 Adam Levin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. They should be aware of what's happening in the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/i-am-an-aware-citizen-so-i-want-my-characters-to-be-aware-too-they/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Love is a vision,love carry our vision,and love by-step our vision. we carry our love to our by-step. once love is vision love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-vision-love-carry-our-vision-and-love-by-step-our-vision-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is an ignoramus athirst for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wagner/man-is-an-ignoramus-athirst-for-knowledge/) [Charles Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wagner/) [Browse all 13,227 Knowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...I know there are a number of things you know, probably too many things you know--too many, I say, not because any kind of knowledge has the capacity to be bad in itself, but rather because certain kinds of knowledge, particularly those kinds we often describe as arcane, can, by way of their very arcanity, serve to obscure the knowledge-bearer's understanding of the mundane.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Levin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you-know-probably-too-many-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knowledge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you-know-probably-too-many-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/adam-levin-17113_knowledge_i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you_2459995.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...I know there are a number of things you know, probably too many things you know--too many, I say, not…” — Adam Levin", "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": "Adam Levin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...I know there are a number...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you-know-probably-too-many-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-know-there-are-a-number-of-things-you-know-probably-too-many-things/#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 } } ] } ```