--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first prepared this particular…" description: "\"When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that I do, that most ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/alan-kay-7358_approach_when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-ta_25153.jpg" --- # When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized… ![“When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that I do, that most people do, are because they hate something somebody else has done, or they hate that something hasn't been done. And I realized that informed…” quote by Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/alan-kay-7358_approach_when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-ta_25153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/alan-kay-7358_approach_when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-ta_25153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/alan-kay-7358_approach_when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-ta_25153.jpg) > “When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that I do, that most people do, are because they hate something somebody else has done, or they hate that something hasn't been done. And I realized that informed criticism has completely been done in by the web. Because the web has produced so much uninformed criticism. It's kind of a Gresham's Law-bad money drives the good money out of circulation. Bad criticism drives good criticism out of circulation. You just can't criticize anything.” [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The internet amplifies shallow, hostile critique, crowd genuine, thoughtful analysis, making constructive criticism scarce. **In simple terms:** Online noise drowns quality critique. Key Takeaway Bad criticism crowds out good. Themes digital culture communication critical thinking information overload social dynamics Mood cautious reflective Type observational analytical When to use this quote - blog commenting - social media debates - product reviews - academic peer review - political discussion Key Concepts Gresham's Law analogy online discourse quality vs quantity Practical Applications - design guidelines for moderation - training on constructive feedback Questions to Reflect On - How can we incentivize depth over volume in online critique? - What mechanisms can preserve high‑quality discourse? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Bad Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-criticism-409387/) [Circulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circulation/) [Critical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Circulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-circulation-409388/) [Criticism Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-kind-409389/) [Criticize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticize/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Good money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-money/) [Graphic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic/) [Graphic design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-design/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [I realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-realized/) [Informed Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/informed-criticism-409385/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Uninformed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uninformed/) [Uninformed Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uninformed-criticism-409386/) [Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual/) ## Related quotes > [“Informed criticism is one thing, ignorant abuse quite another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bray/informed-criticism-is-one-thing-ignorant-abuse-quite-another/) [Peter Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bray/) > [I think the biggest hole is in criticism. I think there should be more informed criticism. Part of the problem is that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-horyn/i-think-the-biggest-hole-is-in-criticism-i-think-there-should-be-more/) [Cathy Horyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-horyn/) > [Criticism pretty much follows anything anyone ever does. So, anytime anyone ever writes a song, plays a show, or does whatever they do, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/criticism-pretty-much-follows-anything-anyone-ever-does-so-anytime/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [Criticism is hard for me but people find hard to believe because they think I'm very tough, very strident, that I tell everybody where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/criticism-is-hard-for-me-but-people-find-hard-to-believe-because-they/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I think Mr. Clarke had a tendency to interfere too much with the activities of the CIA, and our leadership at the senior level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/i-think-mr-clarke-had-a-tendency-to-interfere-too-much-with-the/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [“Criticism, can be done with a kind heart and an earnest word to stimulate learning. However, sometimes with no accountability there is no regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eri-nelson/criticism-can-be-done-with-a-kind-heart-and-an-earnest-word-to/) [Eri Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eri-nelson/) > [Bad criticism has followed things like comic books or TV, and they put down a medium. A medium cannot be inherently good or bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/bad-criticism-has-followed-things-like-comic-books-or-tv-and-they-put/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [A bad short story or novel or poem leaves one comparatively calm because it does not exist, unless it gets a fake prestige throughbeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/a-bad-short-story-or-novel-or-poem-leaves-one-comparatively-calm/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“So the challenge, as you contemplate your next opportunity to be boring or remarkable, is to answer these two questions: (1) "If I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/so-the-challenge-as-you-contemplate-your-next-opportunity-to-be/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [It's a healthy thing to get some bad criticism. I'm still here and I'm fine, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hawes/it-s-a-healthy-thing-to-get-some-bad-criticism-i-m-still-here-and-i-m/) [Keeley Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hawes/) > [Bad criticism recites rote arguments. The shame of rote arguments isn't just that they're cliches, though they are, but that they tend to hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/bad-criticism-recites-rote-arguments-the-shame-of-rote-arguments-isn/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) > [Guys like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, they'll take bad criticism in a good way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-payton/guys-like-kobe-bryant-lebron-james-kevin-garnett-they-ll-take-bad/) [Gary Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-payton/) > [Politicians and bureaucrats are substituting their uninformed, largely political decisions for those of the marketplace. Their past miscalculations demonstrate that they do not and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-substituting-their-uninformed-largely/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [Uninformed people can be easily manipulated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/uninformed-people-can-be-easily-manipulated/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Anybody who pretends that how you read the 10th and 11th Amendment doesn't have a fundamental impact on the things we care about is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/anybody-who-pretends-that-how-you-read-the-10th-and-11th-amendment/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) ## More by Alan Kay > [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [As far as Apple goes, it was a different company every few years from the time I joined in 1984.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/as-far-as-apple-goes-it-was-a-different-company-every-few-years-from/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Quite a few people have to believe something is normal before it becomes normal - a sort of 'voting' situation. But once the threshold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/quite-a-few-people-have-to-believe-something-is-normal-before-it/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Every technology really needs to be shipped with a special manual - not how to use it but why, when and for what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/every-technology-really-needs-to-be-shipped-with-a-special-manual-not/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Java and C++ make you think that the new ideas are like the old ones. Java is the most distressing thing to hit computing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/java-and-c-make-you-think-that-the-new-ideas-are-like-the-old-ones/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [It's hard to change information in books, but if we have everything online, then a somewhat untrustworthy group of people controlling the thing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/it-s-hard-to-change-information-in-books-but-if-we-have-everything/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Computer programmers do it byte by byte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/computer-programmers-do-it-byte-by-byte/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Lisp isn't a language, it's a building material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/lisp-isn-t-a-language-it-s-a-building-material/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [The tree of research must be fed from time to time with the blood of bean-counters, for it is its natural manure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/the-tree-of-research-must-be-fed-from-time-to-time-with-the-blood-of/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/people-who-are-really-serious-about-software-should-make-their-own/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [I think the trick with knowledge is to “acquire it, and forget all except the perfume” - because it is noisy and sometimes drowns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/i-think-the-trick-with-knowledge-is-to-acquire-it-and-forget-all/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Possibly the only real object-oriented system in working order. (About Internet)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/possibly-the-only-real-object-oriented-system-in-working-order-about/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [“A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/a-change-in-perspective-is-worth-80-iq-points/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Humans are communications junkies. We just can't get enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/humans-are-communications-junkies-we-just-can-t-get-enough/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Television should be the last mass communication medium to be naively designed and put into the world without a surgeon-general's warning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/television-should-be-the-last-mass-communication-medium-to-be-naively/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) [Explore all 91 Alan Kay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) ## More Approach 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/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [What begins as a Utopian vision, always - always - ends in bloodshed. Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) [Browse all 3,949 Approach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that I do, that most people do, are because they hate something somebody else has done, or they hate that something hasn't been done. 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