--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing that obsesses me more than…" description: "\"The thing that obsesses me more than anything is waste - the waste of human intelligence and creativity.\" — Brian Eno" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg" --- # The thing that obsesses me more than anything is waste… ![“The thing that obsesses me more than anything is waste - the waste of human intelligence and creativity.” quote by Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg) > “The thing that obsesses me more than anything is waste - the waste of human intelligence and creativity.” [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the tragedy of wasted human potential, urging better use of intellect and creativity. **In simple terms:** Don't waste people's minds and talents. Key Takeaway Cultivate and apply creative abilities. Themes creativity potential waste Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - workplace - schools - research labs - artistic projects Key Concepts human capital innovation education Questions to Reflect On - What talents are being underutilized today? - How can societies nurture creative expression? A Different Perspective People may lack resources to realize potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Human intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-intelligence/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## Related quotes > [Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/chess-is-as-elaborate-a-waste-of-human-intelligence-as-you-can-find/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Chess is the most elaborate waste of human intelligence outside of an advertising agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/chess-is-the-most-elaborate-waste-of-human-intelligence-outside-of-an/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Of all the damnable waste of human life that ever was invented, clerking is the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/of-all-the-damnable-waste-of-human-life-that-ever-was-invented/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Waste is also not waste, it can be recycled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-talwar/waste-is-also-not-waste-it-can-be-recycled/) Deepak Talwar > [The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeo-shingo/the-most-dangerous-kind-of-waste-is-the-waste-we-do-not-recognize/) [Shigeo Shingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeo-shingo/) > [Waste is only waste if we waste it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/waste-is-only-waste-if-we-waste-it/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [“To have humans executing tests that should be automated is a waste of human potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/to-have-humans-executing-tests-that-should-be-automated-is-a-waste-of/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [Above all, we should question the consumer ethic, which uses up non-renewable resources, creates inequality and injustice, generates pollution, destroys other species and upsets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/above-all-we-should-question-the-consumer-ethic-which-uses-up-non/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [There is nothing sadder in this world than the waste of human potential. The purpose of evolution is to raise us out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-schneider/there-is-nothing-sadder-in-this-world-than-the-waste-of-human/) [Andrew Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-schneider/) > [The only waste of human resources is letting them go unused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-victor-hansen/the-only-waste-of-human-resources-is-letting-them-go-unused/) [Mark Victor Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-victor-hansen/) > [Everything I say seems to be a lie to people. Everything I do is wrong. Waste of human space. And human air. Then why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-laura/everything-i-say-seems-to-be-a-lie-to-people-everything-i-do-is-wrong/) [Jasmine Laura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-laura/) > [“Waste is any human activity which absorbs resources but creates no value. — James P. Womak and Daniel T. Jones, Lean Thinking (Free Press)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-maurya/waste-is-any-human-activity-which-absorbs-resources-but-creates-no/) Ash Maurya > [Just read 66 pages of PerezHilton.com. If I didn't have anal sex on camera for a living, I'd be a total waste of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-akira/just-read-66-pages-of-perezhilton-com-if-i-didn-t-have-anal-sex-on/) [Asa Akira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-akira/) > [The prodigious waste of human life occasioned by this perpetual struggle for room and food, was more than supplied by the mighty power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-prodigious-waste-of-human-life-occasioned-by-this-perpetual/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [Getting after this terrible, avoidable waste of human potentiality is what gets me out of bed every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-buckingham/getting-after-this-terrible-avoidable-waste-of-human-potentiality-is/) [Marcus Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-buckingham/) ## More by Brian Eno > [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The lyrics are constructed as empirically as the music. I don't set out to say anything very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-lyrics-are-constructed-as-empirically-as-the-music-i-don-t-set/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Admirers can be a tremendous force for conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/admirers-can-be-a-tremendous-force-for-conservatism/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-whole-history-of-pop-music-had-rested-on-the-first-person/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [You can't really imagine music without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/you-can-t-really-imagine-music-without-technology/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Robert Fripp and I will be recording another LP very soon. It should be even more monotonous than the first one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/robert-fripp-and-i-will-be-recording-another-lp-very-soon-it-should/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I think very often producers are really trying to repeat things. When they hear something in the new songs that they recognize as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-very-often-producers-are-really-trying-to-repeat-things-when/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I think that's very significant that we're so attached to the idea now of - it was something I advocated for years, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-that-s-very-significant-that-we-re-so-attached-to-the-idea/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [If you watch any good player, they're using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. They're moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-watch-any-good-player-they-re-using-different-parts-of-their/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Songs that don't depend on composition depend instead on performance - so the fire has to be there in the playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/songs-that-don-t-depend-on-composition-depend-instead-on-performance/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I can see the use and value of religion, just as I can see the use of mud wrestling, yoga, astronomy and sadomasochism. but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-can-see-the-use-and-value-of-religion-just-as-i-can-see-the-use-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I wanted to get rid of the element that had been considered essential in pop music: the voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-wanted-to-get-rid-of-the-element-that-had-been-considered-essential/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-of-the-great/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I had an interesting day. I was in the studio with a group of musicians, who shall remain nameless, and I said to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-had-an-interesting-day-i-was-in-the-studio-with-a-group-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) [Explore all 373 Brian Eno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing that obsesses me more than anything is waste - the waste of human intelligence and creativity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Eno" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-anything-is-waste-the-waste-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-anything-is-waste-the-waste-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/brian-eno-776_creativity_the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-any_1281569.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing that obsesses me more than anything is waste - the waste of human intelligence and creativity.” — Brian Eno", "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": "Brian Eno", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing that obsesses me more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-anything-is-waste-the-waste-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-thing-that-obsesses-me-more-than-anything-is-waste-the-waste-of/#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 } } ] } ```