---
title: "4 Matthew Crawford Quotes"
description: "Matthew B. Crawford is an American writer and research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-matthew-crawford-72018.jpg"
---

![Portrait of Matthew Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-matthew-crawford-72018.jpg)

# Matthew Crawford

 **4** quotes in **36** categories

Rate this collection:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

Matthew B. Crawford is an American writer and research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.

##  Quotes by Matthew Crawford

> [It's a good idea to pay attention to the world and try to understand how it works rather than how you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the-world-and-try-to-understand/)

Matthew Crawford

[Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/matthew-crawford-72018_attention_it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the_1171777.jpg)

> [We in the West have arranged our institutions to prevent the concentration of political power. … But we have failed utterly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/we-in-the-west-have-arranged-our-institutions-to-prevent-the/)

Matthew Crawford

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/matthew-crawford-72018_accounts_we-in-the-west-have-arranged-our-institu_1576439.jpg)

> [What sort of personality does one need to have, as a twenty-first-century mechanic, to tolerate the layers of electronic bullshit that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/what-sort-of-personality-does-one-need-to-have-as-a-twenty-first/)

Matthew Crawford

[Bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullshit/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/matthew-crawford-72018_bullshit_what-sort-of-personality-does-one-need-t_1662535.jpg)

> [The truth does not reveal itself to idle spectators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/the-truth-does-not-reveal-itself-to-idle-spectators/)

Matthew Crawford

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/matthew-crawford-72018_doe_the-truth-does-not-reveal-itself-to-idle_1895087.jpg)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/#itemlist",
            "name": "Matthew Crawford Quotes",
            "numberOfItems": 4,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It's a good idea to pay attention to the world and try to understand how it works rather than how you would like it to work.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Matthew Crawford"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the-world-and-try-to-understand/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/matthew-crawford-72018_attention_it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the_1171777.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/matthew-crawford-72018_attention_it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the_1171777.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/matthew-crawford-72018_attention_it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the_1171777.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It's a good idea to pay attention to the world and try to understand how it works rather than how you would…” — Matthew Crawford",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We in the West have arranged our institutions to prevent the concentration of political power. … But we have failed utterly to prevent the concentration of economic power, or take account of how such concentration damages the conditions under which full human flourishing becomes possible (it is never guaranteed).",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Matthew Crawford"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/we-in-the-west-have-arranged-our-institutions-to-prevent-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/matthew-crawford-72018_accounts_we-in-the-west-have-arranged-our-institu_1576439.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/matthew-crawford-72018_accounts_we-in-the-west-have-arranged-our-institu_1576439.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/445/matthew-crawford-72018_accounts_we-in-the-west-have-arranged-our-institu_1576439.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We in the West have arranged our institutions to prevent the concentration of political power. … But we have…” — Matthew Crawford",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "What sort of personality does one need to have, as a twenty-first-century mechanic, to tolerate the layers of electronic bullshit that get piled on top of machines?",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Matthew Crawford"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/what-sort-of-personality-does-one-need-to-have-as-a-twenty-first/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/matthew-crawford-72018_bullshit_what-sort-of-personality-does-one-need-t_1662535.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/matthew-crawford-72018_bullshit_what-sort-of-personality-does-one-need-t_1662535.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/matthew-crawford-72018_bullshit_what-sort-of-personality-does-one-need-t_1662535.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What sort of personality does one need to have, as a twenty-first-century mechanic, to tolerate the layers…” — Matthew Crawford",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The truth does not reveal itself to idle spectators.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Matthew Crawford"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-crawford/the-truth-does-not-reveal-itself-to-idle-spectators/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/matthew-crawford-72018_doe_the-truth-does-not-reveal-itself-to-idle_1895087.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/matthew-crawford-72018_doe_the-truth-does-not-reveal-itself-to-idle_1895087.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/matthew-crawford-72018_doe_the-truth-does-not-reveal-itself-to-idle_1895087.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The truth does not reveal itself to idle spectators.” — Matthew Crawford",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "Person",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/#person",
            "name": "Matthew Crawford",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/",
            "image": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-matthew-crawford-72018.jpg",
            "description": "Matthew B. Crawford is an American writer and research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia."
        },
        {
            "@type": "ProfilePage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/",
            "name": "Matthew Crawford",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/#person"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/matthew-crawford-72018_attention_it-s-a-good-idea-to-pay-attention-to-the_1171777.jpg"
            },
            "description": "Matthew B. Crawford is an American writer and research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/#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": "Authors",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/authors/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Matthew Crawford",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-crawford/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
