--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By and large, talent is in such short…" description: "\"By and large, talent is in such short supply that mediocrity can be taken for brilliance rather more than genius can go undiscovered.\" — Charles Saatchi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png" --- # By and large, talent is in such short supply that… ![“By and large, talent is in such short supply that mediocrity can be taken for brilliance rather more than genius can go undiscovered.” quote by Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png) > “By and large, talent is in such short supply that mediocrity can be taken for brilliance rather more than genius can go undiscovered.” [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Talent scarcity leads to mediocrity being mistaken for brilliance, while true genius may remain hidden. **In simple terms:** Mediocrity can be seen as brilliance when talent is rare. Key Takeaway Recognize and seek genuine talent. Themes talent perception mediocrity genius Mood critical reflective Type analytical observational When to use this quote - hiring - creative teams - academic admissions - artistic collaborations Key Concepts cognitive bias recognition valuation Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish real talent from hype? - What systems can uncover hidden genius? A Different Perspective It can be hard to differentiate true skill from flashy but shallow work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brilliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [Talent is in short supply everywhere. At Wipro, we are training nonengineers to be engineers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/talent-is-in-short-supply-everywhere-at-wipro-we-are-training/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [They used to say I had some talent, but was too short. At one point, I wanted to quit football, as the scouts all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-insigne/they-used-to-say-i-had-some-talent-but-was-too-short-at-one-point-i/) [Lorenzo Insigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-insigne/) > [“She was sorceress on paper, a goddess in her mind but a mere peasant to everyone living in her present times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/she-was-sorceress-on-paper-a-goddess-in-her-mind-but-a-mere-peasant/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [“There are so many other worlds and dimensions that are undiscovered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maci-bright/there-are-so-many-other-worlds-and-dimensions-that-are-undiscovered/) Maci Bright > [The extent of our knowledge is just a foot set on the shore not yet sailed accross the great sea of undiscovered truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascals-einstein/the-extent-of-our-knowledge-is-just-a-foot-set-on-the-shore-not-yet/) [Pascals Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascals-einstein/) > [And it is utterly true that he who cannot find wonder, mystery, awe, the sense of a new world and an undiscovered realm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/and-it-is-utterly-true-that-he-who-cannot-find-wonder-mystery-awe-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“The unknowns wasn't full of terrors, it was full of undiscovered advantages. 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Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/we-only-know-a-tiny-proportion-about-the-complexity-of-the-natural/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) ## More by Charles Saatchi > [Be the Worst You Can Be: Life's Too Long for Patience and Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/be-the-worst-you-can-be-life-s-too-long-for-patience-and-virtue/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [My dark little secret is that I don't actually believe many people in the art world have much feeling for art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/my-dark-little-secret-is-that-i-don-t-actually-believe-many-people-in/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [If you can't take a good kicking, you shouldn't parade how much luckier you are than other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/if-you-can-t-take-a-good-kicking-you-shouldn-t-parade-how-much/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [If, like me, you have many reasons to be less than secure and self-assured, and like me, you are far from stable even on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/if-like-me-you-have-many-reasons-to-be-less-than-secure-and-self/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [I liked working in advertising, but don't believe my taste in art, such as it is, was entirely formed by TV commercials. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-liked-working-in-advertising-but-don-t-believe-my-taste-in-art-such/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [Nothing is as uplifting as standing before a great painting whether it was painted in 1505 or last Tuesday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/nothing-is-as-uplifting-as-standing-before-a-great-painting-whether/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [If I stop being on good behaviour for a moment, my dark little secret is that I don't actually believe many people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/if-i-stop-being-on-good-behaviour-for-a-moment-my-dark-little-secret/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [My aim in life isn't so much the pursuit of happiness as the happiness of pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/my-aim-in-life-isn-t-so-much-the-pursuit-of-happiness-as-the/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [Nobody can give you advice after you've been collecting for a while. If you don't enjoy making your own decisions, you're never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/nobody-can-give-you-advice-after-you-ve-been-collecting-for-a-while/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [I have asked to have no funeral, and no memorial service. I hate other people's and would certainly not appreciate my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-have-asked-to-have-no-funeral-and-no-memorial-service-i-hate-other/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [I find the theatre faintly embarrassing for the actors performing on stage. It seems rather showy-off in an undignified way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-find-the-theatre-faintly-embarrassing-for-the-actors-performing-on/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [I may not be much good at most things, but if I didn't have the pleasure of planning and installing shows, and doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-may-not-be-much-good-at-most-things-but-if-i-didn-t-have-the/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [The fact that in the last 10 years only five of the 40 Turner Prize nominees have been painters tells you more about curators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/the-fact-that-in-the-last-10-years-only-five-of-the-40-turner-prize/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [It's obvious nonsense, but it makes nice people feel good about themselves to do their bit for the planet. It's vanity of a grotesque…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/it-s-obvious-nonsense-but-it-makes-nice-people-feel-good-about/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [I hate to sound like a romantic adolescent, but I believe artists don't generally see art as a career choice; they simply can't overcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-hate-to-sound-like-a-romantic-adolescent-but-i-believe-artists-don/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) [Explore all 47 Charles Saatchi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) ## More Brilliance quotes > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-is-merely-brilliance-in-organization-of-ideas-and-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquillity of a lovely sunset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/sensual-pleasures-have-the-fleeting-brilliance-of-a-comet-a-happy/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [What is writing, no matter how lavish the pieces, if it says nothing of the truth, cares little for the heart, and is merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/what-is-writing-no-matter-how-lavish-the-pieces-if-it-says-nothing-of/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I love the idea of a movie hero in a thriller who is able to get ahead by just his brilliance, and not with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-strong/i-love-the-idea-of-a-movie-hero-in-a-thriller-who-is-able-to-get/) [Danny Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-strong/) > [Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-von-oech/most-brilliance-arises-from-ordinary-people-working-together-in/) [Roger von Oech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-von-oech/) > [A man doesn't need brilliance or genius, all he needs is energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-m-greenfield/a-man-doesn-t-need-brilliance-or-genius-all-he-needs-is-energy/) Albert M. Greenfield > [We aren't suggesting that mental instability or unhappiness makes one a better poet, or a poet at all; and contrary to the romantic notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-aren-t-suggesting-that-mental-instability-or-unhappiness-makes-one/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Enlightenment is like witnessing the brilliant sun for the first time in the morning. It is like seeing the beautiful flowers that grow in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/enlightenment-is-like-witnessing-the-brilliant-sun-for-the-first-time/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Too much brilliance has its disadvantages, and misplaced wit may raise a laugh, but often beheads a topic of profound interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/too-much-brilliance-has-its-disadvantages-and-misplaced-wit-may-raise/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [It is not brilliance or facility that is necessary, but the determination to bear and even enjoy the dull process of wading into one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/it-is-not-brilliance-or-facility-that-is-necessary-but-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [Our humanity is trapped by moral adolescents. We have too many men of science, too few men of God. The world has achieved brilliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-n-bradley/our-humanity-is-trapped-by-moral-adolescents-we-have-too-many-men-of/) [Omar N. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-n-bradley/) > [Here is just emptiness. There is no getting my ego out of the way, and all that stuff. There is just the seeing, shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-harding/here-is-just-emptiness-there-is-no-getting-my-ego-out-of-the-way-and/) [Douglas Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-harding/) > [“You can't stop the future. All you can do is pick a side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-sakey/you-can-t-stop-the-future-all-you-can-do-is-pick-a-side/) Markus Sakey [Browse all 411 Brilliance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By and large, talent is in such short supply that mediocrity can be taken for brilliance rather more than genius can go undiscovered.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Saatchi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-supply-that-mediocrity-can-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brilliance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-supply-that-mediocrity-can-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/charles-saatchi-14210_brilliance_by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-sup_1566787.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By and large, talent is in such short supply that mediocrity can be taken for brilliance rather more than…” — Charles Saatchi", "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": "Charles Saatchi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By and large, talent is in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-supply-that-mediocrity-can-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/by-and-large-talent-is-in-such-short-supply-that-mediocrity-can-be/#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 } } ] } ```