--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the extent that the academy is…" description: "\"To the extent that the academy is producing people who are talking utter nonsense, and imagining that it is sophisticated and enlightened - that system..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg" --- # To the extent that the academy is producing people who are… ![“To the extent that the academy is producing people who are talking utter nonsense, and imagining that it is sophisticated and enlightened - that system is a failure.” quote by Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg) > “To the extent that the academy is producing people who are talking utter nonsense, and imagining that it is sophisticated and enlightened - that system is a failure.” [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When academia produces nonsense and pretends it’s enlightened, it fails its purpose. **In simple terms:** Academia failing when it values style over substance. Key Takeaway Demand rigor and humility in scholarship. Themes education critical thinking integrity Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - university curricula - public discourse - policy advising - media analysis Key Concepts intellectual honesty systemic critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve academic standards? - What role should critics play? A Different Perspective Complex issues may be oversimplified, risking loss of nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) ## Related quotes > [The paleo diet is utter nonsense - it is such pseudoscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/the-paleo-diet-is-utter-nonsense-it-is-such-pseudoscience/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [Totally mad. Utter nonsense. But we'll do it because it's brilliant nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/totally-mad-utter-nonsense-but-we-ll-do-it-because-it-s-brilliant/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“I am sure you have heard that appearance doesn't matter and that it's what's on the inside that counts. Well that of course is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/i-am-sure-you-have-heard-that-appearance-doesn-t-matter-and-that-it-s/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“The debate over the semantics of “preference” versus “orientation” is utter nonsense, and if you even suggest to me that one might “pray the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/the-debate-over-the-semantics-of-preference-versus-orientation-is/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“Consider the possibility that many of the things you hear and say are utter nonsense and meaningless repetitions of noise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/consider-the-possibility-that-many-of-the-things-you-hear-and-say-are/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > ['Totally mad,' he said, 'utter nonsense. But we'll do it because it's brilliant nonsense.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/totally-mad-he-said-utter-nonsense-but-we-ll-do-it-because-it-s/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Even God has been defended with nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/even-god-has-been-defended-with-nonsense/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [While all men are born as equals, to say that Brahmins alone are the highest and all others are low as Pariah (the Untouchables)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/while-all-men-are-born-as-equals-to-say-that-brahmins-alone-are-the/) [Periyar E. V. Ramasamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/) > [Films take too long. There's too much BS, too much nonsense. If I want to do a play, I just call the theater, whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/films-take-too-long-there-s-too-much-bs-too-much-nonsense-if-i-want/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [GenX has a no-nonsense attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-dev/genx-has-a-no-nonsense-attitude/) [Rahul Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-dev/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I love people who have such passion for complete nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-love-people-who-have-such-passion-for-complete-nonsense/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by Bret Weinstein > [On a college campus, people should be equally free to be on campus, irrespective of their skin color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/on-a-college-campus-people-should-be-equally-free-to-be-on-campus/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [Evergreen is arguably the most radical college in the country - and while it does lean far to the left in a political sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/evergreen-is-arguably-the-most-radical-college-in-the-country-and/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [Day of Absence is a tradition at Evergreen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/day-of-absence-is-a-tradition-at-evergreen/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [There was a time when the term liberal had been so thoroughly demonized by those on the right that I remember consciously choosing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/there-was-a-time-when-the-term-liberal-had-been-so-thoroughly/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [The button-down empirical and deductive fields, including all the hard sciences, have lived side by side with 'critical theory,' postmodernism and its perception-based relatives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/the-button-down-empirical-and-deductive-fields-including-all-the-hard/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [It is fair to say that the political duopoly we are forced to accept creates a set of problems that threaten the survival of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/it-is-fair-to-say-that-the-political-duopoly-we-are-forced-to-accept/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [Terrorism is a tactic in which the primary objective is to produce fear, rather than direct harm. Terrorist attacks are, first and foremost, psychological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/terrorism-is-a-tactic-in-which-the-primary-objective-is-to-produce/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [If one's desire for change is an earnest desire to see things improve, then surely there is a state in which things have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/if-one-s-desire-for-change-is-an-earnest-desire-to-see-things-improve/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [What we do have is a system in which power tends to be awarded to people on the basis that they are corruptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/what-we-do-have-is-a-system-in-which-power-tends-to-be-awarded-to/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [To women, Americans of color, and the citizens of the world, Donald Trump, if he is taken at his word, represents a threat to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/to-women-americans-of-color-and-the-citizens-of-the-world-donald/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [The idea that we should prioritize a racial viewpoint on, who knows, maybe even organic chemistry, over somebody who is adept at understanding how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/the-idea-that-we-should-prioritize-a-racial-viewpoint-on-who-knows/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [I hear many people talking as if the terms liberal, progressive and leftist refer to different factions, and that one might partner with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/i-hear-many-people-talking-as-if-the-terms-liberal-progressive-and/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [For many reasons, the natural thing is for Americans to unify under some banner in order to regain power over the policymaking structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/for-many-reasons-the-natural-thing-is-for-americans-to-unify-under/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [Conservatives tend to be very skeptical of change. When something could be improved, they often get in the way of those improvements because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/conservatives-tend-to-be-very-skeptical-of-change-when-something/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) > [Terrorists do not engage in terror attacks because they are strong. They engage in these attacks because they are weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/terrorists-do-not-engage-in-terror-attacks-because-they-are-strong/) [Bret Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) [Explore all 36 Bret Weinstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To the extent that the academy is producing people who are talking utter nonsense, and imagining that it is sophisticated and enlightened - that system is a failure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bret Weinstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-producing-people-who-are-talking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-producing-people-who-are-talking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/bret-weinstein-17832_failure_to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-produc_2019526.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To the extent that the academy is producing people who are talking utter nonsense, and imagining that it is…” — Bret Weinstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Bret Weinstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-weinstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To the extent that the academy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-producing-people-who-are-talking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-weinstein/to-the-extent-that-the-academy-is-producing-people-who-are-talking/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```