--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How could anything non-controversial be…" description: "\"How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png" --- # How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual… ![“How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png) > “How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Non‑controversial topics often lack depth, making them uninteresting to mature readers. **In simple terms:** Boring topics lack depth. Key Takeaway Embrace challenging ideas. Themes intellectual curiosity controversy growth Mood provocative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - debate - education - media consumption - political discourse Key Concepts critical thinking dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What makes a topic intellectually stimulating? - Can safe topics still be profound? A Different Perspective Some may find controversy off‑putting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) [Grown Ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-ups/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) ## Related quotes > [I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-controversial-speech-in-my-life/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [My experience in government is that when things are non-controversial and beautifully coordinated, there is not much going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-experience-in-government-is-that-when-things-are-non-controversial/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The one thing ... that is truly ugly is the climate of hate and intimidation, created by a noisy few, which makes the decent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-one-thing-that-is-truly-ugly-is-the-climate-of-hate-and/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Grown - ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaning things to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/grown-ups-never-understand-anything-for-themselves-and-it-is-tiresome/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Grown ups don't believe in Santa Claus. They vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-desproges/grown-ups-don-t-believe-in-santa-claus-they-vote/) Pierre Desproges > [Real isn't what they try to tell you. Time isn't. Grown-ups hammer down all these markers, bells, schedules, coffee-breaks, to stake down time so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/real-isn-t-what-they-try-to-tell-you-time-isn-t-grown-ups-hammer-down/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [The thing about grown ups is that they're always wanting you to be this Great Hero and Leader. What's wrong with being NORMAL, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-thing-about-grown-ups-is-that-they-re-always-wanting-you-to-be/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [You know, it's just politics, it's a game grown-ups like to play, like we lil' children play with toys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/you-know-it-s-just-politics-it-s-a-game-grown-ups-like-to-play-like/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“...and that there were many things grow-ups did which couldn't properly be judged by young people until the young people were grown-ups themselves...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-joaqu-n/and-that-there-were-many-things-grow-ups-did-which-couldn-t-properly/) [Nick Joaquín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-joaqu-n/) > [One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups, to a child, is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-of-the-most-obvious-facts-about-grown-ups-to-a-child-is-that-they/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [I'd like a pop-up magazine with 45 articles on Russell Crowe. I'm like a teenager. I'd have 'Teen Beat' if I could, for grown-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-rhea/i-d-like-a-pop-up-magazine-with-45-articles-on-russell-crowe-i-m-like/) [Caroline Rhea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-rhea/) > [And this I have learned grown-ups do not know the language of shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-whiteley/and-this-i-have-learned-grown-ups-do-not-know-the-language-of-shadows/) [Opal Whiteley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-whiteley/) > [“Children have a more restricted and yet a more intense feeling for nature than grown-ups.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/children-have-a-more-restricted-and-yet-a-more-intense-feeling-for/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [“We've had fifteen years of being grown-ups when we could have got together and we never have. Doesn't that tell you something?' 'Yeah, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-bliss/we-ve-had-fifteen-years-of-being-grown-ups-when-we-could-have-got/) [Karina Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-bliss/) > [Once I thought fairy tales were lies or worse promises spoken yet meant to be broken intent is all. Why do grown ups feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-fitzgerald/once-i-thought-fairy-tales-were-lies-or-worse-promises-spoken-yet/) [Justice Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-fitzgerald/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Controversial quotes > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [For a lot of women, one of the hardest things about leadership is the desire to be liked by everyone. That's often inconsistent with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weddington/for-a-lot-of-women-one-of-the-hardest-things-about-leadership-is-the/) [Sarah Weddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weddington/) > [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) > [If art is singular expression, then by nature, the best art is controversial. But when art stirs debate for reasons besides its artistic integrity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/if-art-is-singular-expression-then-by-nature-the-best-art-is/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Here - at this final hour, Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes - extinguished now, and gone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ossie-davis/here-at-this-final-hour-harlem-has-come-to-bid-farewell-to-one-of-its/) [Ossie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ossie-davis/) > [Those who misrepresent the normal experiences of life, who decry being controversial, who shun risk, are the enemies of the American way of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wriston/those-who-misrepresent-the-normal-experiences-of-life-who-decry-being/) [Henry Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wriston/) > [“My personal analysis is that the media have made the AI-safety debate seem more controversial than it really is. After all, fear sells, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/my-personal-analysis-is-that-the-media-have-made-the-ai-safety-debate/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [I think if I'm controversial it's not because I set out to be. It's because I've never felt comfortable being part of someone else's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-think-if-i-m-controversial-it-s-not-because-i-set-out-to-be-it-s/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [I was very willing to take on controversial roles that people didn't really want to look at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-perez/i-was-very-willing-to-take-on-controversial-roles-that-people-didn-t/) [Rosie Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-perez/) > [I get called 'controversial' all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/i-get-called-controversial-all-the-time/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [“When you fear nothing, you have nothing to fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-f-chandler/when-you-fear-nothing-you-have-nothing-to-fear/) S.F. Chandler > [I've been a very effective leader in the gay rights movement, though at times I've been controversial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-o-leary/i-ve-been-a-very-effective-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-though/) [Jean O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-o-leary/) > [“At the time, though, vaccination was controversial. Many were opposed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-wright/at-the-time-though-vaccination-was-controversial-many-were-opposed/) [Jennifer Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-wright/) [Browse all 486 Controversial quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-could-anything-non-controversial-be-of-intellectual-interest-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Controversial" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-could-anything-non-controversial-be-of-intellectual-interest-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/edward-abbey-254_controversial_how-could-anything-non-controversial-be_2479019.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?” — Edward Abbey", "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": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How could anything non-controversial be of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-could-anything-non-controversial-be-of-intellectual-interest-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-could-anything-non-controversial-be-of-intellectual-interest-to/#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 } } ] } ```