--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest sin is appearing naive or…" description: "\"The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so that somebody can give you a sort of a very cool arch smile and devastate you with one extraord..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg" --- # The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so… ![“The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so that somebody can give you a sort of a very cool arch smile and devastate you with one extraordinarily crafted line that puts kind of a hole in your pretentious balloon.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg) > “The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so that somebody can give you a sort of a very cool arch smile and devastate you with one extraordinarily crafted line that puts kind of a hole in your pretentious balloon.” [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. It warns that appearing naive can make you vulnerable to sharp criticism that undermines your confidence. **In simple terms:** Naïveté invites harsh critique. Key Takeaway Guard your ego and stay humble. Themes vulnerability ego criticism confidence social dynamics Mood defensive thoughtful Type advice reflective When to use this quote - public speaking - online debates - career negotiations Key Concepts psychology defense mechanisms communication Questions to Reflect On - Do you balance confidence with openness? - How do you respond to unexpected criticism? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can also be a risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balloons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) [Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned the novice can often see things that the expert overlooks. All that is necessary is not to be afraid of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/i-have-learned-the-novice-can-often-see-things-that-the-expert/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We confess our bad qualities to others out of fear of appearing naive or ridiculous by not being aware of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-confess-our-bad-qualities-to-others-out-of-fear-of-appearing-naive/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [The young and the ambitious share a common risk: appearing naive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/the-young-and-the-ambitious-share-a-common-risk-appearing-naive/) [Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/) > [“The most ominous of modern perversions is the shame of appearing naïve if we do not flirt with evil. (La más ominosa de las…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-most-ominous-of-modern-perversions-is-the-shame-of-appearing-na/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [The holocaust against the unborn is the greatest sin they could ever do or even ever participate in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-mccorvey/the-holocaust-against-the-unborn-is-the-greatest-sin-they-could-ever/) [Norma McCorvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-mccorvey/) > [Greatest sin of man kind: neglect to use his greatest asset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/greatest-sin-of-man-kind-neglect-to-use-his-greatest-asset/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The greatest sin is to miss the point of human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-greatest-sin-is-to-miss-the-point-of-human-existence/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“If love was Jesus's greatest commandment, why dont more christians do so? This is the greatest sin, if Jesus in fact gave us one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haggai-jeffers/if-love-was-jesus-s-greatest-commandment-why-dont-more-christians-do/) Haggai Jeffers > [I think the greatest sin in the world is bringing children into the world that have disease from their parents, that have no chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/i-think-the-greatest-sin-in-the-world-is-bringing-children-into-the/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [The greatest sin is to think yourself weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-sin-is-to-think-yourself-weak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Religion's greatest "sin" lies in displacing human endeavor, thought, time, resources and efforts from this world, our only world, in order to exalt a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-laurie-gaylor/religion-s-greatest-sin-lies-in-displacing-human-endeavor-thought/) [Annie Laurie Gaylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-laurie-gaylor/) > [In teaching, the greatest sin is to be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-friedrich-herbart/in-teaching-the-greatest-sin-is-to-be-boring/) Johann Friedrich Herbart > [The greatest sin is to be unconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-greatest-sin-is-to-be-unconscious/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Cowardice is the greatest sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/cowardice-is-the-greatest-sin/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [The greatest sin is judgment without knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-grammer/the-greatest-sin-is-judgment-without-knowledge/) [Kelsey Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-grammer/) ## 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 Appearing quotes > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I find it profoundly symbolic that I am appearing before a committee of fifteen men who will report to a legislative body of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/i-find-it-profoundly-symbolic-that-i-am-appearing-before-a-committee/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Acting is not a state of being ... but a state of appearing to be. You can't be eight times a week without going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/acting-is-not-a-state-of-being-but-a-state-of-appearing-to-be-you-can/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [We owe America something because they turned us into a touring band. But at least we feel confident about appearing in Britain again now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-marriott/we-owe-america-something-because-they-turned-us-into-a-touring-band/) Steve Marriott > [I stopped appearing as Dracula in 1972 because in my opinion the presentation of the character had deteriorated to such an extent, particularly bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/i-stopped-appearing-as-dracula-in-1972-because-in-my-opinion-the/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [It was 1988, I believe, that I met Grit. We were both appearing in a Canadian Folk Festival and as we sat backstage he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-chapin/it-was-1988-i-believe-that-i-met-grit-we-were-both-appearing-in-a/) [Tom Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-chapin/) > [I am of course getting angry if biologists try to use the general concept 'chance' in order to explain phenomena which are so typical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-paul/i-am-of-course-getting-angry-if-biologists-try-to-use-the-general/) [Wolfgang Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-paul/) > [Equity sends questions to Law. Law sends questions back to equity; Law finds it can't do this, equity finds it can't do that; neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/equity-sends-questions-to-law-law-sends-questions-back-to-equity-law/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Layering in different patterns will keep things from appearing too studied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/layering-in-different-patterns-will-keep-things-from-appearing-too/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [Barbra Streisand developed overwhelming performance anxiety at the height of her career; for 27 years she refused to perform for the general public, appearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/barbra-streisand-developed-overwhelming-performance-anxiety-at-the/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [I have often seen a cat without a grin - but a grin without a cat - remember the cat kept appearing and disappearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-have-often-seen-a-cat-without-a-grin-but-a-grin-without-a-cat/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [We feel a lot of pressure about looking silly or appearing weak, whatever that means, or being a failure. You have to keep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fassbender/we-feel-a-lot-of-pressure-about-looking-silly-or-appearing-weak/) [Michael Fassbender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fassbender/) > [When we developed the 'Seinfeld' show, we took a bet on Jerry Seinfeld, who was not a household name. But Jerry had a voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-littlefield/when-we-developed-the-seinfeld-show-we-took-a-bet-on-jerry-seinfeld/) [Warren Littlefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-littlefield/) > [The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness. Where we find a heroic life appearing as the uniform fruit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-practical-effect-of-a-belief-is-the-real-test-of-its-soundness/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) Browse all 284 Appearing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so that somebody can give you a sort of a very cool arch smile and devastate you with one extraordinarily crafted line that puts kind of a hole in your pretentious balloon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-old-fashioned-so-that-somebody/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appearing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-old-fashioned-so-that-somebody/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/david-foster-wallace-161_appearing_the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-o_170162.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so that somebody can give you a sort of a very cool…” — 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": "The greatest sin is appearing naive...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-old-fashioned-so-that-somebody/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-old-fashioned-so-that-somebody/#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 } } ] } ```