--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Foolproof depends on the size of the fool" description: "\"“Foolproof depends on the size of the fool”\" — David Mitchell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg" --- # Foolproof depends on the size of the fool ![“Foolproof depends on the size of the fool” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg) > ““Foolproof depends on the size of the fool”” [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Foolproof plans fail when the fool is too large. **In simple terms:** Plans aren't foolproof if the fool is big. Key Takeaway Plan for realistic limitations. Themes wisdom humor planning human error Mood witty cautionary Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - business strategy - personal advice Key Concepts Risk assessment overconfidence strategic thinking Questions to Reflect On - What makes a plan truly foolproof? - How to gauge one's own foolhood? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depends Size](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends-size-1892848/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Foolproof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolproof/) [Foolproof Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolproof-depends-1892846/) [Size Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/size-fool-1892847/) ## Related quotes > [The size of your miracle depends on the size of your problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-size-of-your-miracle-depends-on-the-size-of-your-problem/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I know when a story is finished when there is not a single thing more I can think to do to it. And since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/i-know-when-a-story-is-finished-when-there-is-not-a-single-thing-more/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [There has never been a failure of a currency board anywhere in the world. These are tough systems, and when I say they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hanke/there-has-never-been-a-failure-of-a-currency-board-anywhere-in-the/) [Steve Hanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hanke/) > [Foolproof systems to not take into account the ingenuity of fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-brown/foolproof-systems-to-not-take-into-account-the-ingenuity-of-fools/) [Gene Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-brown/) > [If you believe you have a foolproof system, you've failed to take into consideration the creativity of fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/if-you-believe-you-have-a-foolproof-system-you-ve-failed-to-take-into/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) > [“As a matter of fact, yeah, they were foolproof. The problem is that you don't have to protect yourself against fools. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/as-a-matter-of-fact-yeah-they-were-foolproof-the-problem-is-that-you/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [It is impossible to design anything that is foolproof because fools are so ingenious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/it-is-impossible-to-design-anything-that-is-foolproof-because-fools/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [The deadliest foe of democracy is not autocracy but liberty frenzied. Liberty is not foolproof. For its beneficent working it demands self-restraint, a sane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-hermann-kahn/the-deadliest-foe-of-democracy-is-not-autocracy-but-liberty-frenzied/) [Otto Hermann Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-hermann-kahn/) > [So here are some foolproof recipes for those of you who understand the true function of food. Bean Treat: Gingerly pour four fluid oz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/so-here-are-some-foolproof-recipes-for-those-of-you-who-understand/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/there-is-a-race-between-mankind-and-the-universe-mankind-is-trying-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Nine out of ten businesses fail; so I came up with a foolproof plan - create ten businesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/nine-out-of-ten-businesses-fail-so-i-came-up-with-a-foolproof-plan/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [When I finally gathered, invented, stole, simplified, borrowed, and found a publisher for a clutch of reasonably foolproof recipes, I learned I had friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/when-i-finally-gathered-invented-stole-simplified-borrowed-and-found/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [There really is no foolproof or even optimal way of dealing with White House emissaries who tell whoppers on live television. On the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-wemple/there-really-is-no-foolproof-or-even-optimal-way-of-dealing-with/) [Erik Wemple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-wemple/) > [ Here's a foolproof method for keeping America safe. Always do the exact 180-degree opposite of whatever \[Jimmy\] Carter says, as quickly as possible. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/here-s-a-foolproof-method-for-keeping-america-safe-always-do-the/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [If you're waiting for the perfect moment, you'll never write a thing because it will never arrive. I have no routine. I have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/if-you-re-waiting-for-the-perfect-moment-you-ll-never-write-a-thing/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More by David Mitchell > [“In the next room a freckly girl Julia's age sat in a wheelchair. One of her legs wasn't there. She'd probably love to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/in-the-next-room-a-freckly-girl-julia-s-age-sat-in-a-wheelchair-one/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“... Ethical cyberexplorers are responsible, yeah? We are friendly ghosts in the machine, not poltergeists or hooligans. We are a growing breed. Over sixty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/ethical-cyberexplorers-are-responsible-yeah-we-are-friendly-ghosts-in/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I succumbed. Late-fifteenth-century verb, Old French succomber or Latin succumbere, but a basic necessity of the human condition, especially mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-succumbed-late-fifteenth-century-verb-old-french-succomber-or-latin/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Your environment affects you wherever you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/your-environment-affects-you-wherever-you-are/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Loyalty looks simple... but it ain't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/loyalty-looks-simple-but-it-ain-t/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Only the trombonist played on. That's trombonists for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/only-the-trombonist-played-on-that-s-trombonists-for-you/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/war-s-an-auction-where-whoever-can-pay-the-most-in-damage-and-still/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [So little is actually worthy of belief or disbelief. Better to strive to coexist than seek to disapprove . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/so-little-is-actually-worthy-of-belief-or-disbelief-better-to-strive/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A classical LP was playing... ... Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-classical-lp-was-playing-jealous-and-sweet-this-music-was-sobbing/) [david mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/how-lazily-xperts-dismiss-what-they-fail-to-understand/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Writing poetry's,' I looked around the solarium, but Madame Crommelynck's got a tractor beam, 'sort of . . . gay.' '"Gay"? A merry activity?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/writing-poetry-s-i-looked-around-the-solarium-but-madame-crommelynck/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) [Explore all 748 David Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More Fool quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/) [Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [A fool and his money get a lot of publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-bernstein/a-fool-and-his-money-get-a-lot-of-publicity/) [Al Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-bernstein/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/) [WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'd be a fool to be in this for the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/i-d-be-a-fool-to-be-in-this-for-the-money/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 5,535 Fool quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Foolproof depends on the size of the fool”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mitchell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-fool/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fool" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-fool/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/david-mitchell-264_fool_foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-foo_2594793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Foolproof depends on the size of the fool” — David Mitchell", "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 Mitchell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Foolproof depends on the size of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-fool/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/foolproof-depends-on-the-size-of-the-fool/#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 } } ] } ```