--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The essence of intelligence was to know…" description: "\"The essence of intelligence was to know when, or if, to expose even the heart's deep need for instruction.\" — Colum McCann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png" --- # The essence of intelligence was to know when, or if, to… ![“The essence of intelligence was to know when, or if, to expose even the heart's deep need for instruction.” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png) > “The essence of intelligence was to know when, or if, to expose even the heart's deep need for instruction.” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence involves knowing when to reveal deep desires for guidance. **In simple terms:** Know when to share inner needs. Key Takeaway Balance openness with timing. Themes intelligence self-awareness communication Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - coaching - mentoring - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology learning instruction Questions to Reflect On - When is it wise to reveal your true needs? - How does timing affect learning? A Different Perspective Overexposure can cause vulnerability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) ## Related quotes > [The essence of intelligence is skill in extracting meaning from everyday experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-essence-of-intelligence-is-skill-in-extracting-meaning-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are willing to expose your heart...being publicly private, you just may do something...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dern/if-you-are-willing-to-expose-your-heart-being-publicly-private-you/) [Bruce Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dern/) > [“She didn’t dare expose her heart the way she’d exposed her body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-elson/she-didn-t-dare-expose-her-heart-the-way-she-d-exposed-her-body/) [Nicki Elson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-elson/) > [The essence of intelligence would seem to be in knowing when to think and act quickly, and knowing when to think and act slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/the-essence-of-intelligence-would-seem-to-be-in-knowing-when-to-think/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [The essence of intelligence is skill in extracting meaning from everyday experienc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nateman/the-essence-of-intelligence-is-skill-in-extracting-meaning-from-2/) [Nateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nateman/) > [It is the very essence of intelligence to coordinate means with a view to a remote end, and to undertake what it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/it-is-the-very-essence-of-intelligence-to-coordinate-means-with-a/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [“Intelligence is not how much you know, but how you use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryann-austin/intelligence-is-not-how-much-you-know-but-how-you-use-it/) Maryann Austin > [You have multiple intelligence agencies. 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Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Once we had filled each other with desire, not remembrance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/once-we-had-filled-each-other-with-desire-not-remembrance/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“How long ago it was and how strange, but all dead friends come to life again sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-long-ago-it-was-and-how-strange-but-all-dead-friends-come-to-life/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She would want, instead, to recall him in the air, between layers of cloud. 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The real is imagined, in the sense that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-the-real-is-imagined-and-the-imagined-is/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She had that emigrant’s sadness—she would never go back to her old country—it was gone in more senses than one—but she was forever gazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-had-that-emigrant-s-sadness-she-would-never-go-back-to-her-old/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) [Explore all 333 Colum McCann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More Essence quotes > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [It's all the unwordable things one wants to write about, just as it's all the unformable things one wants to paint - essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/it-s-all-the-unwordable-things-one-wants-to-write-about-just-as-it-s/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [I am alive. Up here with the song of the engine and the air whispering on my face as the sunlight and shadows play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-am-alive-up-here-with-the-song-of-the-engine-and-the-air-whispering/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The wisdom or the essence of Guru Tattwa is a balance. Like when you maintain a plant, if you do not give it water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/the-wisdom-or-the-essence-of-guru-tattwa-is-a-balance-like-when-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [This is the pathless path - returning to where you were initially before you got lost. The deepest truth in you is where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/this-is-the-pathless-path-returning-to-where-you-were-initially/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [The essence of the stage is concentration and penetration. Of the screen action, movement, sweep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-essence-of-the-stage-is-concentration-and-penetration-of-the/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) [Browse all 3,115 Essence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The essence of intelligence was to know when, or if, to expose even the heart's deep need for instruction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colum McCann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know-when-or-if-to-expose-even-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Essence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know-when-or-if-to-expose-even-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b53/colum-mccann-902_essence_the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know_1754838.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The essence of intelligence was to know when, or if, to expose even the heart's deep need for instruction.” — Colum McCann", "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": "Colum McCann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The essence of intelligence was to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know-when-or-if-to-expose-even-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-essence-of-intelligence-was-to-know-when-or-if-to-expose-even-the/#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 } } ] } ```