--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to avoid what I call the…" description: "\"You have to avoid what I call the 'smartest boy in class syndrome,' which is, just because you know it, you don't have to tell it. I often will go thro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1d/don-winslow-3586_avoid_you-have-to-avoid-what-i-call-the-smarte_2385619.png" --- # You have to avoid what I call the 'smartest boy in class… ![“You have to avoid what I call the 'smartest boy in class syndrome,' which is, just because you know it, you don't have to tell it. I often will go through a manuscript crossing stuff out, and say, 'This is just too much,' you know?” quote by Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1d/don-winslow-3586_avoid_you-have-to-avoid-what-i-call-the-smarte_2385619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1d/don-winslow-3586_avoid_you-have-to-avoid-what-i-call-the-smarte_2385619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1d/don-winslow-3586_avoid_you-have-to-avoid-what-i-call-the-smarte_2385619.png) > “You have to avoid what I call the 'smartest boy in class syndrome,' which is, just because you know it, you don't have to tell it. I often will go through a manuscript crossing stuff out, and say, 'This is just too much,' you know?” [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author warns against over‑explaining because knowledge can become a hindrance, encouraging restraint in sharing information. **In simple terms:** Don’t over‑share what you know; sometimes less is more. Key Takeaway Practice restraint when communicating expertise. Themes communication humility knowledge management teaching Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type advice reflection When to use this quote - workshop - editing - public speaking - team meetings Key Concepts cognitive overload information fatigue clarity Questions to Reflect On - When should you speak up? - How do you balance clarity with brevity? A Different Perspective Too much restraint may lead to misunderstandings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) ## Related quotes > [People with Down syndrome can do anything. They just do it at their own pace. Give them a chance, and you will be rewarded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-stuart/people-with-down-syndrome-can-do-anything-they-just-do-it-at-their/) [Madeline Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-stuart/) > [I don't really have Down's syndrome; I just have a slight case of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-burke/i-don-t-really-have-down-s-syndrome-i-just-have-a-slight-case-of-it/) [Chris Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-burke/) > [When I was in Class VII, a boy from Class VI came to me with a bunch of roses and said, 'Didi, will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tridha-choudhury/when-i-was-in-class-vii-a-boy-from-class-vi-came-to-me-with-a-bunch/) [Tridha Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tridha-choudhury/) > [I can distinctly remember being the only boy in my class whose parents had separated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/i-can-distinctly-remember-being-the-only-boy-in-my-class-whose/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [I was always the youngest boy in my class at high school. I have retained this feeling of being the youngest, even though now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/i-was-always-the-youngest-boy-in-my-class-at-high-school-i-have/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [“I am sort of medium...I guess you could call me the mediumest boy in the class. -Leigh Botts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-am-sort-of-medium-i-guess-you-could-call-me-the-mediumest-boy-in/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [She was a classmate of the boy in her class. At the end of it all, it's not successfully unmasked why she fell for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-herrera/she-was-a-classmate-of-the-boy-in-her-class-at-the-end-of-it-all-it-s/) [Alexandra Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-herrera/) > [I studiously avoid any academic dissections of the play and any kind of previous experience of playing. For me, it's all in the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/i-studiously-avoid-any-academic-dissections-of-the-play-and-any-kind/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [Patients' lives are more important than embryos. I do want to avoid the use of embryos if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/patients-lives-are-more-important-than-embryos-i-do-want-to-avoid-the/) [Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [I avoid processed food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-hopkins/i-avoid-processed-food/) [Bernard Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-hopkins/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [I love the sea, but I avoid any sort of seaside resort that has skyscrapers or seaside entertainments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-blake/i-love-the-sea-but-i-avoid-any-sort-of-seaside-resort-that-has/) [Quentin Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-blake/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) ## More by Don Winslow > [There are various kinds of savagery: emotional, spiritual, economic, and cultural savagery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/there-are-various-kinds-of-savagery-emotional-spiritual-economic-and/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [“We proclaimed the freedom of the individual, bought and drove millions of cars to prove it, built more roads for the cars to drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/we-proclaimed-the-freedom-of-the-individual-bought-and-drove-millions/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [We need to do something about gun violence in America. But every time one of these things happen, we say the same thing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/we-need-to-do-something-about-gun-violence-in-america-but-every-time/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [And the most dangerous place on earth - Is where you’re safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/and-the-most-dangerous-place-on-earth-is-where-you-re-safe/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [So I thought I should write five pages a day. And that's what I did. Eventually I had a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/so-i-thought-i-should-write-five-pages-a-day-and-that-s-what-i-did/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [I used to joke that my next book would be about puppies that have lost a chew toy, and everywhere they went, people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/i-used-to-joke-that-my-next-book-would-be-about-puppies-that-have/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [I was a safari guide in the 1980s in Kenya.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/i-was-a-safari-guide-in-the-1980s-in-kenya/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [Bookstores never seem to know where to put me on the shelves. But I do. I love my genre and I love those writers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/bookstores-never-seem-to-know-where-to-put-me-on-the-shelves-but-i-do/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [Shane Salerno and I adapted my book Savages together, and I learned a lot about adaptation. I think it's an extremely difficult thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/shane-salerno-and-i-adapted-my-book-savages-together-and-i-learned-a/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [I've been writing since I was six years old. It's hard to imagine stopping. I would hate to think that I've already written my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/i-ve-been-writing-since-i-was-six-years-old-it-s-hard-to-imagine/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [I lived in mafia neighborhoods off and on when I was a kid. If you were in Little Italy, in East Harlem, in Brooklyn...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/i-lived-in-mafia-neighborhoods-off-and-on-when-i-was-a-kid-if-you/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [“Hell isn't having no choice. It's having to make a choice between horrific things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/hell-isn-t-having-no-choice-it-s-having-to-make-a-choice-between/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [Producing words isn't a problem for me. And I usually write two books at a time. When one horse gets winded, you jump on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/producing-words-isn-t-a-problem-for-me-and-i-usually-write-two-books/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [I think people will be surprised at some of the things about the shootings by policemen of unarmed African-American men. 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I do want to avoid the use of embryos if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/patients-lives-are-more-important-than-embryos-i-do-want-to-avoid-the/) [Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/) > [I studiously avoid any academic dissections of the play and any kind of previous experience of playing. For me, it's all in the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/i-studiously-avoid-any-academic-dissections-of-the-play-and-any-kind/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [The mark of the man is how he responds to situations. You're not going to avoid tough times. We're all over the barrel some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-short/the-mark-of-the-man-is-how-he-responds-to-situations-you-re-not-going/) [Martin Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-short/) > [God knows we are subtle creatures who are more than able to use candour to avoid acknowledging our deceptions of others and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/god-knows-we-are-subtle-creatures-who-are-more-than-able-to-use/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [Because Techstars is an intensely productive three-month program in which product development and iteration are primary goals, we're constantly looking to streamline our program…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cohen/because-techstars-is-an-intensely-productive-three-month-program-in/) [David Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cohen/) > [Pacifism as a mass movement aims to avoid suffering; pacifists often say that no cause is worth suffering or dying for. The ethos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-michnik/pacifism-as-a-mass-movement-aims-to-avoid-suffering-pacifists-often/) [Adam Michnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-michnik/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [When I was younger, I used humour as a tool to avoid getting too serious with people - if there was deep emotional stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-perry/when-i-was-younger-i-used-humour-as-a-tool-to-avoid-getting-too/) [Matthew Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-perry/) > [I'm quite tactile, so I like fabrics that feel good. I try to avoid fabrics that crease - especially with my son. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/i-m-quite-tactile-so-i-like-fabrics-that-feel-good-i-try-to-avoid/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) Browse all 985 Avoid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have to avoid what I call the 'smartest boy in class syndrome,' which is, just because you know it, you don't have to tell it. 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