--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the man who knows all about the…" description: "\"When the man who knows all about the fruit fly chromosomes finds himself sitting next to an authority on Beowulf, there may be an uneasy silence.\" — Br..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/brand-blanshard-35170_authority_when-the-man-who-knows-all-about-the-fru_837056.png" --- # When the man who knows all about the fruit fly chromosomes… ![“When the man who knows all about the fruit fly chromosomes finds himself sitting next to an authority on Beowulf, there may be an uneasy silence.” quote by Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/brand-blanshard-35170_authority_when-the-man-who-knows-all-about-the-fru_837056.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/brand-blanshard-35170_authority_when-the-man-who-knows-all-about-the-fru_837056.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/brand-blanshard-35170_authority_when-the-man-who-knows-all-about-the-fru_837056.png) > “When the man who knows all about the fruit fly chromosomes finds himself sitting next to an authority on Beowulf, there may be an uneasy silence.” [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scholar of genetics feels awkward beside a literary expert, highlighting disciplinary gaps. **In simple terms:** Scientists and literary scholars may feel uneasy together. Key Takeaway Recognize and bridge gaps between fields. Themes disciplinary divide communication humility Mood thoughtful curious Type observational reflective When to use this quote - academic conferences - collaborative research - teaching - public talks Key Concepts epistemology interdisciplinary dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster respectful dialogue across disciplines? - What assumptions do we make about other fields? A Different Perspective Different expertise can lead to mutual misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Beowulf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-beowulf-610416/) [Beowulf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beowulf/) [Beowulf Uneasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beowulf-uneasy-610415/) [Chromosomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chromosomes/) [Fly Chromosomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fly-chromosomes-610418/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Fruit flies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit-flies/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Uneasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uneasy/) [Uneasy Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uneasy-silence-610417/) ## Related quotes > [Just don't take any class where you have to read BEOWULF.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/just-don-t-take-any-class-where-you-have-to-read-beowulf/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Beowulf stands out as a poem which makes extensive use of this kind of figurative language. There are over one thousand compounds in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/beowulf-stands-out-as-a-poem-which-makes-extensive-use-of-this-kind/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [In 'Beowulf,' director Robert Zemeckis uses a technique called 'motion capture' to conjure fantastical things, angles into action and sweeping vistas to stun your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/in-beowulf-director-robert-zemeckis-uses-a-technique-called-motion/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [“Stars, spattered out through lifeless night from end to end, like jewels scattered in a dead king's grave, tease, torment my wits toward meaningful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/stars-spattered-out-through-lifeless-night-from-end-to-end-like/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“A man inherited a field in which was an accumulation of old stone, part of an older hall. Of the old stone some had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/a-man-inherited-a-field-in-which-was-an-accumulation-of-old-stone/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/in-my-writing-i-strive-for-a-lyrical-beauty-somewhere-between-tolkien/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“And a young prince must be prudent like that, giving freely while his father lives so that afterwards, in age when fighting starts steadfast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/and-a-young-prince-must-be-prudent-like-that-giving-freely-while-his/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbour, ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince. They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, laid out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/a-ring-whorled-prow-rode-in-the-harbour-ice-clad-outbound-a-craft-for/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Quickly, the dragon came at him, encouraged As Beowulf fell back; its breath flared, And he suffered, wrapped around in swirling Flames -- a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-raffel/quickly-the-dragon-came-at-him-encouraged-as-beowulf-fell-back-its/) [Burton Raffel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-raffel/) > [To encounter 'Beowulf' is like taking a sledgehammer to a quarry face. You must bang in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/to-encounter-beowulf-is-like-taking-a-sledgehammer-to-a-quarry-face/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [We took Beowulf, the epic poem in Old English, and put it right together with John Gardner's contemporary retelling. If you bring it into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/we-took-beowulf-the-epic-poem-in-old-english-and-put-it-right/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [“4. The whole Icarus-flying-too-near-the-sun-and-plummeting-out-of-the-sky thing? That's real. Same with the Sirens who lure you to death with their irresistible song, and the odalisque so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-hanson/4-the-whole-icarus-flying-too-near-the-sun-and-plummeting-out-of-the/) [Todd Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-hanson/) > [“Eleven or twelve hundred years ago the poem Beowulf explored the contradictions of treasure: jewels and gold that when they have been bard won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-keene/eleven-or-twelve-hundred-years-ago-the-poem-beowulf-explored-the/) [Suzanne Keene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-keene/) > [Beloved Beowulf, remember how you boasted, Once, that nothing in the world would ever Destroy your fame; fight to keep it, Now, be strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-raffel/beloved-beowulf-remember-how-you-boasted-once-that-nothing-in-the/) [Burton Raffel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-raffel/) > [“Beowulf is usually seen as a masculine text, but I think that's somewhat unfair. The poem, while (with one exception) not structured around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-dahvana-headley/beowulf-is-usually-seen-as-a-masculine-text-but-i-think-that-s/) [Maria Dahvana Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-dahvana-headley/) ## More by Brand Blanshard > [“Thinking in art and morals and even mathematics is neither the reflection in consciousness of a mechanical order in the brain nor the tracing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/thinking-in-art-and-morals-and-even-mathematics-is-neither-the/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [“...reality is a system, completely ordered and fully intelligible, with which thought in its advance is more and more identifying itself. 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One may become a St Francis or equally a Hitler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/once-the-anchor-of-reason-has-been-cut-ones-craft-may-go-anywhere-one/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [To think at its best is to find oneself carried down the current of necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/to-think-at-its-best-is-to-find-oneself-carried-down-the-current-of/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [Most men live like raisins in a cake of custom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/most-men-live-like-raisins-in-a-cake-of-custom/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [ \[How to think about a problem:\] The first step is to make the problem specific . . . ; The second step is to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/how-to-think-about-a-problem-the-first-step-is-to-make-the-problem/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [If science could get rid of consciousness, it would have disposed of the only stumbling block to its universal application.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/if-science-could-get-rid-of-consciousness-it-would-have-disposed-of/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [I am a determinist...The real issue, so far as the will is concerned, is not whether we can do what we choose to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/i-am-a-determinist-the-real-issue-so-far-as-the-will-is-concerned-is/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [Shakespeare without Othello, Lear, Macbeth and Hamlet would be all too much like Hamlet without the prince.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/shakespeare-without-othello-lear-macbeth-and-hamlet-would-be-all-too/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [“I do not think that G. H. Hardy was talking nonsense when he insisted that the mathematician was discovering rather than creating... The world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/i-do-not-think-that-g-h-hardy-was-talking-nonsense-when-he-insisted/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [Custom calls me to 't: What custom wills, in all things should we do't, The dust on antique time would lie unswept, And mountainous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/custom-calls-me-to-t-what-custom-wills-in-all-things-should-we-do-t/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [I do not think that G. H. Hardy was talking nonsense when he insisted that the mathematician was discovering rather than creating, nor was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/i-do-not-think-that-g-h-hardy-was-talking-nonsense-when-he-insisted-2/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) [Explore all 13 Brand Blanshard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. 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This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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