--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there are still honest-smart men and…" description: "\"If there are still honest-smart men and women within those old and noble traditions, they should think carefully, observe and diagnose the illness. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/david-brin-3024_bills_if-there-are-still-honest-smart-men-and_448941.jpg" --- # If there are still honest-smart men and women within those… ![“If there are still honest-smart men and women within those old and noble traditions, they should think carefully, observe and diagnose the illness. They should face the contradiction. Discuss the conflation. And then do as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and many others have done. Choose the miracle…” quote by David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/david-brin-3024_bills_if-there-are-still-honest-smart-men-and_448941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/david-brin-3024_bills_if-there-are-still-honest-smart-men-and_448941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/david-brin-3024_bills_if-there-are-still-honest-smart-men-and_448941.jpg) > “If there are still honest-smart men and women within those old and noble traditions, they should think carefully, observe and diagnose the illness. They should face the contradiction. Discuss the conflation. And then do as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and many others have done. Choose the miracle of creative competition over an idolatry of cash. They should stand up..” [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identify and confront institutional decay, then choose creative competition over pure profit. **In simple terms:** Challenge corrupt traditions, embrace innovative rivalry. Key Takeaway Reject idolizing cash; pursue creative competition. Themes integrity innovation competition corruption Mood critical hopeful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - business strategy - policy reform - entrepreneurship - education reform Key Concepts Systems thinking ethical leadership creative economy Questions to Reflect On - What are the hidden costs of creative competition? - How can we balance profit with purpose? A Different Perspective Risk of idealizing competition without addressing inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bills/) [Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buffett/) [Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cash/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Contradiction Discuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction-discuss-3922504/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-smart-1511528/) [Idolatry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idolatry/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Smart man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart-man/) [Smart Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart-men-1057758/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Think Carefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-carefully-1149667/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Traditions Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditions-think-2999304/) ## Related quotes > [I can deal with Stalin. 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They thought they had all the answers, and then when life knocked them aside, they thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-lee/that-was-the-trouble-with-smart-men-they-thought-they-had-all-the/) [Jade Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-lee/) > [“Smart men play close to the line because they have to--some of them can't stand it, so they quit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/smart-men-play-close-to-the-line-because-they-have-to-some-of-them/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by David Brin > [Beware of self-indulgence. 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Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/it-s-how-creativity-works-especially-in-humans-for-every-good-idea/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Tragedies such as Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach' and Stanley Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove' are so powerful because there's an underlying assumption that this did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/tragedies-such-as-nevil-shute-s-on-the-beach-and-stanley-kubrick-s-dr/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [In contrast, markets - oft mythologized as "natural" are the most unnatural things going. Libertarians will tell you "market laws are laws of nature",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/in-contrast-markets-oft-mythologized-as-natural-are-the-most/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Snow and soot covered the ancient tree's broken branches and seared bark. It wasn't dead, not quite yet. Here and there tiny shoots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/snow-and-soot-covered-the-ancient-tree-s-broken-branches-and-seared/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“As simple an act as reading or writing a sentence must be surrounded by perceptory nap and weave . . . an itch, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/as-simple-an-act-as-reading-or-writing-a-sentence-must-be-surrounded/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Ideologies are too seductive anyway. It does a man good to see things from a different point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/ideologies-are-too-seductive-anyway-it-does-a-man-good-to-see-things/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Explore all 142 David Brin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## More Bills quotes > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [Simple fairness dictates that government must not raise taxes on families struggling to pay their bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/simple-fairness-dictates-that-government-must-not-raise-taxes-on/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [ I will not agree to have this bill \[to repeal DADT \] go forward, because our economy is in the tank. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-will-not-agree-to-have-this-bill-to-repeal-dadt-go-forward-because/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [This is not really currency that circulates. It's like the old joke about expensive vintage wine. Wine prices will go up and once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/this-is-not-really-currency-that-circulates-it-s-like-the-old-joke/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [If Bill Gates left Microsoft we wouldn't allow Donald Trump to run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/if-bill-gates-left-microsoft-we-wouldn-t-allow-donald-trump-to-run-it/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Your goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/your-goal-should-be-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-bills-in-full-at-the/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [He's fat and a clown, Bill, a fat clown for all to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-dunphy/he-s-fat-and-a-clown-bill-a-fat-clown-for-all-to-see/) [Eamon Dunphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-dunphy/) > [There's nothing nice about Steve Jobs and there's nothing evil about Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-peddle/there-s-nothing-nice-about-steve-jobs-and-there-s-nothing-evil-about/) [Chuck Peddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-peddle/) > [At first I thought, if I were Superman, a perfect secret identity would be "Clark Kent, Dentist," because you could save money on tooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/at-first-i-thought-if-i-were-superman-a-perfect-secret-identity-would/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Whether it's people walking off 'The View' when Bill O'Reilly makes a statement about radical Islam or Juan Williams being fired for expressing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantor/whether-it-s-people-walking-off-the-view-when-bill-o-reilly-makes-a/) [Eric Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantor/) > [The one thing the police cannot protect us from is a politician like Bill de Blasio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/the-one-thing-the-police-cannot-protect-us-from-is-a-politician-like/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Browse all 2,663 Bills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bills/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there are still honest-smart men and women within those old and noble traditions, they should think carefully, observe and diagnose the illness. They should face the contradiction. Discuss the conflation. And then do as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and many others have done. Choose the miracle of creative competition over an idolatry of cash. 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