--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am told by others that I have a…" description: "\"I am told by others that I have a lateral-thinking, broad approach to problems, sometimes to my detriment. In school, my grades always suffered because..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/barry-marshall-28295_grades_i-am-told-by-others-that-i-have-a-latera_2412586.jpg" --- # I am told by others that I have a lateral-thinking, broad… ![“I am told by others that I have a lateral-thinking, broad approach to problems, sometimes to my detriment. In school, my grades always suffered because I was continually mucking about with irrelevant side issues, which I often found to be more interesting.” quote by Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/barry-marshall-28295_grades_i-am-told-by-others-that-i-have-a-latera_2412586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/barry-marshall-28295_grades_i-am-told-by-others-that-i-have-a-latera_2412586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/barry-marshall-28295_grades_i-am-told-by-others-that-i-have-a-latera_2412586.jpg) > “I am told by others that I have a lateral-thinking, broad approach to problems, sometimes to my detriment. In school, my grades always suffered because I was continually mucking about with irrelevant side issues, which I often found to be more interesting.” [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A broad, lateral approach can spark creativity but may distract from core goals, affecting performance. **In simple terms:** Thinking broadly is valuable but can hinder focus. Key Takeaway Balance curiosity with disciplined focus. Themes creativity focus academic performance Mood analytical motivational Type educational psychological When to use this quote - research projects - classroom learning - problem‑solving sessions Key Concepts Interdisciplinary thinking cognitive style learning strategies Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel curiosity productively? - When should you prioritize depth over breadth? A Different Perspective Over‑exploration can dilute results. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lateral thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lateral-thinking/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [If you're a kid, it's all you think about if you stutter. Kids can be so mean. My grades suffered. Class participation weighs heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenyon-martin/if-you-re-a-kid-it-s-all-you-think-about-if-you-stutter-kids-can-be/) [Kenyon Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenyon-martin/) > [Controversial issues are always more interesting but I don't create material about a subject I have opinion on just because it's controversial. The most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/controversial-issues-are-always-more-interesting-but-i-don-t-create/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [“To approach these problems we once again rely on one of our guiding principles: transparency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-h-thaler/to-approach-these-problems-we-once-again-rely-on-one-of-our-guiding/) [Richard H. Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-h-thaler/) > [I think very often problems are so big, people approach problems from the bottom up: 'If only I do this little bit, then hopefully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/i-think-very-often-problems-are-so-big-people-approach-problems-from/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [I was obsessed. I wouldn't quit. My grades suffered. I didn't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/i-was-obsessed-i-wouldn-t-quit-my-grades-suffered-i-didn-t-care/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [Being able to ‘think out of the box’ presupposes you were able to think in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-lutz/being-able-to-think-out-of-the-box-presupposes-you-were-able-to-think/) [Bob Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-lutz/) > [Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces. It is concerned with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/lateral-thinking-is-concerned-not-with-playing-with-the-existing/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/there-is-no-doubt-that-creativity-is-the-most-important-human/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [A successful work of art is not one which resolves contradictions in a spurious harmony, but one which expresses the idea of harmony negatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/a-successful-work-of-art-is-not-one-which-resolves-contradictions-in/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [Natural resources have dropped out of the competitive equation. In fact, a lack of natural resources may even be an advantage. 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Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [We would like to believe that we are not in the business of surviving but in being good, and we do not like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-rowe/we-would-like-to-believe-that-we-are-not-in-the-business-of-surviving/) [Dorothy Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-rowe/) > [Don't confuse being stimulating with being blunt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/don-t-confuse-being-stimulating-with-being-blunt/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) > [If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-at-first-the-idea-is-not-absurd-then-there-is-no-hope-for-it/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions - if they only had taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hayes/held-in-the-palms-of-thousands-of-disgruntled-people-over-the/) Robert M. Hayes ## More by Barry Marshall > [In high school I had B's and C's, not too many A's, but I must have done well on that medical school test, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/in-high-school-i-had-b-s-and-c-s-not-too-many-a-s-but-i-must-have/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [I was hoping I was going to get an ulcer. I was hoping to boost my research career by developing a bleeding ulcer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/i-was-hoping-i-was-going-to-get-an-ulcer-i-was-hoping-to-boost-my/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [Dad always explained the car engine when he repaired it, and he had many technical books, so I was making electromagnets by age eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/dad-always-explained-the-car-engine-when-he-repaired-it-and-he-had/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [If you say you are the Safe Food Foundation, that means you're implying that your food is safer or that every other bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/if-you-say-you-are-the-safe-food-foundation-that-means-you-re/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [In medical school, it's quite possible to get taught that you can diagnose everybody and treat everything. But then you get out in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/in-medical-school-it-s-quite-possible-to-get-taught-that-you-can/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [I was born in 1951 in Kalgoorlie, a prosperous mining town 370 miles east of Perth, Western Australia. Kalgoorlie was a gold rush town…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/i-was-born-in-1951-in-kalgoorlie-a-prosperous-mining-town-370-miles/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [It was so frustrating to see ulcer patients having surgery, or even dying, when I knew a simple antibiotic treatment could fix the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/it-was-so-frustrating-to-see-ulcer-patients-having-surgery-or-even/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [To gastroenterologists, the concept of a germ causing ulcers was like saying that the Earth is flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/to-gastroenterologists-the-concept-of-a-germ-causing-ulcers-was-like/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [If humans evolved in a tiny area of Africa, they only saw plants and animals within a 100-kilometre radius for a million years. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/if-humans-evolved-in-a-tiny-area-of-africa-they-only-saw-plants-and/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [My mother was a nurse, and in her era, most diseases weren't understood; people put mustard plasters on knees and rubbed camphor on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/my-mother-was-a-nurse-and-in-her-era-most-diseases-weren-t-understood/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [The politics have always been difficult in medicine. There is some truth in the way medical practice is portrayed in TV dramas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/the-politics-have-always-been-difficult-in-medicine-there-is-some/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [You can always find stress in someone's life if you want to. 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I got good grades. 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I was teased a lot, sure I was, of course.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hunt/everybody-either-wanted-to-take-care-of-me-or-push-me-around-you-know/) [Linda Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hunt/) > [I just always loved mythology, ever since I was a kid. Greek mythology was something I remember learning about in fourth grade, and Egypt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-larson/i-just-always-loved-mythology-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-greek-mythology/) [Brie Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-larson/) > [Many jobs at Google require math, computing, and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/many-jobs-at-google-require-math-computing-and-coding-skills-so-if/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Worry is different from fear. If fear is like a raging fever, worry is a low-grade temperature. 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