--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a…" description: "\"Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a person clever.\" — Arundhati Roy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/arundhati-roy-346_clever_going-to-oxford-didn-t-necessarily-make_3008650.png" --- # Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a person clever. ![“Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a person clever.” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/arundhati-roy-346_clever_going-to-oxford-didn-t-necessarily-make_3008650.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/arundhati-roy-346_clever_going-to-oxford-didn-t-necessarily-make_3008650.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5af/arundhati-roy-346_clever_going-to-oxford-didn-t-necessarily-make_3008650.png) > “Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a person clever.” [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that attending Oxford does not automatically confer intelligence, challenging assumptions about education and merit. **In simple terms:** Oxford attendance ≠ guaranteed intelligence. Key Takeaway Education isn’t the sole measure of intellect. Themes education merit elitism Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - college admissions - career development - public debate Key Concepts social mobility critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do we evaluate true competence? - What role does education play in personal growth? A Different Perspective Prestige can still influence perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Going Oxford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-oxford-1212273/) [Harvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harvard/) [Oxford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford/) [Oxford Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford-didn-4047980/) [Person Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-clever-4047981/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) ## Related quotes > [“(a) Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a person clever. (b) Cleverness didn't necessarily make a good prime minister. (c) If a person couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/a-going-to-oxford-didn-t-necessarily-make-a-person-clever-b/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [A lot of girls annoy me who go to university - one girl told me she was going to Oxford because it was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-bernard/a-lot-of-girls-annoy-me-who-go-to-university-one-girl-told-me-she-was/) [Jeffrey Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-bernard/) > [It's lovely going to Oxford, it's very difficult to film there as you're doing a period drama in a city which is very crowded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-allam/it-s-lovely-going-to-oxford-it-s-very-difficult-to-film-there-as-you/) [Roger Allam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-allam/) > [If I find a dress I really like and it happens to be a bit short, I'm not going to lose any sleep over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/if-i-find-a-dress-i-really-like-and-it-happens-to-be-a-bit-short-i-m/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [I started my career as a liberal arts major from Berkeley, wrote about enterprise IT for a few years, then followed my passion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/i-started-my-career-as-a-liberal-arts-major-from-berkeley-wrote-about/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [I actually went on lectures at Harvard, Stanford, Oxford and all the business schools eight years ago, explaining what the implications were and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-hammer/i-actually-went-on-lectures-at-harvard-stanford-oxford-and-all-the/) [MC Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-hammer/) > [Oxford also taught me something else - it taught me scepticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-scott/oxford-also-taught-me-something-else-it-taught-me-scepticism/) [Frank Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-scott/) > [The Rhodes is something I've always really wanted. I would never have applied for it if I didn't really want to go. The opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-rolle/the-rhodes-is-something-i-ve-always-really-wanted-i-would-never-have/) [Myron Rolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-rolle/) > [Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones' mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/universities-such-as-cambridge-oxford-and-harvard-all-began-as-jesus/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [If your parents are billionaires, that might actually be an obstacle to your own happiness and self-development. If you go to Oxford or Harvard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-your-parents-are-billionaires-that-might-actually-be-an-obstacle/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I studied at Howard. I studied at Oxford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/i-studied-at-howard-i-studied-at-oxford/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [All of my education at Harvard, then Oxford, then Paris was in literature - even my thesis was on Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/all-of-my-education-at-harvard-then-oxford-then-paris-was-in/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [Children, as well as grown-ups, in their individual, glorified, drudgery-proof homes of Labrador, the tropics, the Orient, or where you will, to which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/children-as-well-as-grown-ups-in-their-individual-glorified-drudgery/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [...60 advocates of unorthodox therapies whose credentials are given in the ACS book (above).(:) Of these 60, thirty-nine or almost two-thirds, hold...medical degrees from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/60-advocates-of-unorthodox-therapies-whose-credentials-are-given-in/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More by Arundhati Roy > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Poverty is a crime and the poor are terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/poverty-is-a-crime-and-the-poor-are-terrorists/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [NGOs have a complicated space in neoliberal politics. They are supposed to mop up the anger. Even when they are doing good work, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/ngos-have-a-complicated-space-in-neoliberal-politics-they-are/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Truly, there's no alternative to stupidity. Cretinism is the mother of fascism. I have no defence against it, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/truly-there-s-no-alternative-to-stupidity-cretinism-is-the-mother-of/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-secret-of-the-great-stories-is-that-they-have-no-secrets-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“stilts, the ground floors given over to parking. It’s a good idea in this car-maddened city,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/stilts-the-ground-floors-given-over-to-parking-it-s-a-good-idea-in/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change-in-a-day-that-a-few-dozen/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Explore all 628 Arundhati Roy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. 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They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If she is stupid enough to let you go, you're clever enough not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-she-is-stupid-enough-to-let-you-go-you-re-clever-enough-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Need to go to the pharmacy, because I'm so sick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-matthews/need-to-go-to-the-pharmacy-because-i-m-so-sick/) [Tasha Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-matthews/) > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > ['I Love You' fails to sum up all the memories, smiles, laughs, trials, and tribulations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/i-love-you-fails-to-sum-up-all-the-memories-smiles-laughs-trials-and/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. 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