--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the only thing for me, the tricky…" description: "\"I think the only thing for me, the tricky thing with the footnotes, is that they are an irritant, and they require a little extra work, and so they eit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg" --- # I think the only thing for me, the tricky thing with the… ![“I think the only thing for me, the tricky thing with the footnotes, is that they are an irritant, and they require a little extra work, and so they either have to be really germane or they have to be kind of fun to read.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg) > “I think the only thing for me, the tricky thing with the footnotes, is that they are an irritant, and they require a little extra work, and so they either have to be really germane or they have to be kind of fun to read.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Footnotes can be irritating but must be relevant or entertaining to justify effort **In simple terms:** Footnotes need purpose or fun to be worthwhile Key Takeaway Make footnotes purposeful or enjoyable Themes writing detail engagement Mood analytical playful Type literary instructional When to use this quote - academic papers - books - blog posts Key Concepts reader attention authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - When do footnotes enhance understanding? - How can they add humor without distraction? A Different Perspective Risk of overloading readers with unnecessary detail ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Irritants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritants/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“You teach the reader that he’s way smarter than he thought he was. I think one of the insidious lessons about TV is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-teach-the-reader-that-he-s-way-smarter-than-he-thought-he-was-i/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“James O. Incandenza - A Filmography The following listing is as complete as we can make it. Because the twelve years of Incadenza'a directorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/james-o-incandenza-a-filmography-the-following-listing-is-as-complete/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [The one real irritant is that my young children - they also adapt. They adapt to being without their father. That's a hard, hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-one-real-irritant-is-that-my-young-children-they-also-adapt-they/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [As long as being a stranger and surrounded by strangers was seen as a temporary irritant, a smallest departure from the binding rules of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/as-long-as-being-a-stranger-and-surrounded-by-strangers-was-seen-as-a/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [When life becomes an extended picnic, with nothing of importance to do, ideas of greatness become an irritant. Such is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-murray/when-life-becomes-an-extended-picnic-with-nothing-of-importance-to-do/) [Charles A. Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-murray/) > [Anger is the noise of the soul; the unseen irritant of the heart; the relentless invader of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/anger-is-the-noise-of-the-soul-the-unseen-irritant-of-the-heart-the/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Even matter called inorganic, believed to be dead, responds to irritants and gives unmistakable evidence of a living principle within. Everything that exists, organic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/even-matter-called-inorganic-believed-to-be-dead-responds-to/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [In experimental art, men are given the exact specifications of coming violence to their own psyches from their own counter-irritant or technology... But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/in-experimental-art-men-are-given-the-exact-specifications-of-coming/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [In "solid modernity" difference was tolerated as a temporary irritant only, expected to disappear tomorrow, when "those aliens" will become like us. "Living with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/in-solid-modernity-difference-was-tolerated-as-a-temporary-irritant/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [There is no irritant as painful as an ace up your sleeve that you can never use; it's the kind of thing that causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-ballantyne/there-is-no-irritant-as-painful-as-an-ace-up-your-sleeve-that-you-can/) [Sheila Ballantyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-ballantyne/) > [I think I have been much of my life an irritant. But some people say that something good came out of my research, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kurti/i-think-i-have-been-much-of-my-life-an-irritant-but-some-people-say/) Nicholas Kurti > [May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/may-i-say-that-i-have-not-thoroughly-enjoyed-serving-with-humans-i/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [Patience is like good motor oil. It doesn't remove all the contaminants. It just puts them into suspension so they don't get into your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/patience-is-like-good-motor-oil-it-doesn-t-remove-all-the/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [My ultimate vocation in life is to be an irritant, someone who disrupts the daily drag of life just enough to leave the victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/my-ultimate-vocation-in-life-is-to-be-an-irritant-someone-who/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Be kind quotes > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [Volunteer. Find ways to be useful. Be kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-black/volunteer-find-ways-to-be-useful-be-kind/) [Claudia Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-black/) > [Remember to be kind. Remember to be loving. Remember to feel all your feelings and to take care of yourself. But most of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/remember-to-be-kind-remember-to-be-loving-remember-to-feel-all-your/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let me be patient, let me be kind, make me unselfish, without being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/let-me-be-patient-let-me-be-kind-make-me-unselfish-without-being-blind/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [When you have the choice between being right and being kind just choose kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/when-you-have-the-choice-between-being-right-and-being-kind-just/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [At least with pets, and for all I know, people too, intelligence and quick-wittedness have nothing to do with a talent for being loved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/at-least-with-pets-and-for-all-i-know-people-too-intelligence-and/) [Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/) > [“A part of a healthy conscience is being able to confront consciencelessness. When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/a-part-of-a-healthy-conscience-is-being-able-to-confront/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And most importantly, be kind to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/don-t-let-fear-or-insecurity-stop-you-from-trying-new-things-believe/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [Technology has just been the major progression of the last 15 years - instant communication. That stuff has gone so global. That's what's interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/technology-has-just-been-the-major-progression-of-the-last-15-years/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) Browse all 873 Be kind quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the only thing for me, the tricky thing with the footnotes, is that they are an irritant, and they require a little extra work, and so they either have to be really germane or they have to be kind of fun to read.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky-thing-with-the-footnotes-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be kind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky-thing-with-the-footnotes-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/david-foster-wallace-161_be-kind_i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky_2177633.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the only thing for me, the tricky thing with the footnotes, is that they are an irritant, and they…” — David Foster Wallace", "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": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the only thing for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky-thing-with-the-footnotes-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-think-the-only-thing-for-me-the-tricky-thing-with-the-footnotes-is/#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 } } ] } ```