--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I only want power so I can get books." description: "\"I only want power so I can get books.\" — Eliezer Yudkowsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_book_i-only-want-power-so-i-can-get-books-322_3224044.png" --- # I only want power so I can get books. ![“I only want power so I can get books.” quote by Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_book_i-only-want-power-so-i-can-get-books-322_3224044.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_book_i-only-want-power-so-i-can-get-books-322_3224044.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_book_i-only-want-power-so-i-can-get-books-322_3224044.png) > “I only want power so I can get books.” [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for power is justified only when it serves a higher purpose, such as acquiring knowledge. **In simple terms:** Power should serve a purpose like learning. Key Takeaway Align power with meaningful goals. Themes power knowledge ethics Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic research - library funding - educational NGOs Key Concepts instrumental rationality goal alignment Questions to Reflect On - What higher purpose guides your pursuit of power? - Is power necessary for knowledge? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt if not checked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-books-1334332/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-power/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Much is written of the power of the Press, a power which may last but a day; by comparison little is heard of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/much-is-written-of-the-power-of-the-press-a-power-which-may-last-but/) [Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/) > [I believe in the power of ideas, I believe in the power of books, but you have to give them time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-believe-in-the-power-of-ideas-i-believe-in-the-power-of-books-but/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [One should never underestimate the power of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/one-should-never-underestimate-the-power-of-books/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Don't give up on the power of books to change lives and the world. As everything goes digital, book formats will morph, but their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marshall/don-t-give-up-on-the-power-of-books-to-change-lives-and-the-world-as/) [David Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marshall/) > [“You're so completely going to be in Slytherin." "I'm so completely going to be in Ravenclaw, thank you very much. I only want power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/you-re-so-completely-going-to-be-in-slytherin-i-m-so-completely-going/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [There are two kinds of women, those who want power in the world and those who want power in bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-kinds-of-women-those-who-want-power-in-the-world-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm basically a control freak. It's not because I want to be. I'm not at all into the power play that's involved in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-michael/i-m-basically-a-control-freak-it-s-not-because-i-want-to-be-i-m-not/) [George Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-michael/) > [I don't want the power. When a project is given to me, and I say yes, I'm gonna oblige everybody who has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/i-don-t-want-the-power-when-a-project-is-given-to-me-and-i-say-yes-i/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [ “Everybody wants power. Power in some form or other. \[...\] Some people want power to persecute other human beings; you expend your lust for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/everybody-wants-power-power-in-some-form-or-other-some-people-want/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/this-life-is-yours-take-the-power-to-choose-what-you-want-to-do-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I'd want to have the power of mind control. If I had that one skill you'd always see at the bank loading up bags…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-hall/i-d-want-to-have-the-power-of-mind-control-if-i-had-that-one-skill/) [Ryan Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-hall/) > [I only feel, but want the power to paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/i-only-feel-but-want-the-power-to-paint/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [The older I get, the more I realize that you don't have to be around people you don't want to be around, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-bruno/the-older-i-get-the-more-i-realize-that-you-don-t-have-to-be-around/) [Aaron Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-bruno/) > [We want his power more than his purity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilkerson/we-want-his-power-more-than-his-purity/) [David Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilkerson/) > [“You do not realize the power you have over me,” Asmoday says quietly. He brushes the hair from her shoulders. Keely’s body goes rigid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dark-calling/you-do-not-realize-the-power-you-have-over-me-asmoday-says-quietly-he/) [Dark Calling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dark-calling/) ## More by Eliezer Yudkowsky > [“But I really am Ravenclaw, you know, not Slytherin. I don't want to rule the universe. I just think it could be more sensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/but-i-really-am-ravenclaw-you-know-not-slytherin-i-don-t-want-to-rule/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“‎If you regard evidence as a constraint and seek to free yourself, you sell yourself into the chains of your whims. For you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-regard-evidence-as-a-constraint-and-seek-to-free-yourself-you/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-that-truth-matters-to-us/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [I see little hope for democracy as an effective form of government, but I admire the poetry of how it makes its victims complicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-see-little-hope-for-democracy-as-an-effective-form-of-government/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“He really really really shouldn't have done that. 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There are a very few injunctions in the human art of rationality that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/it-is-triple-ultra-forbidden-to-respond-to-criticism-with-violence/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The human species was not born into a market economy. Bees won't sell you honey if you offer them an electronic funds transfer. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-human-species-was-not-born-into-a-market-economy-bees-won-t-sell/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Frigideiro! " said Hermione again from the desk next to him. Her water was solid ice and there were white crystals forming on the rim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/frigideiro-said-hermione-again-from-the-desk-next-to-him-her-water/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“And then Harry Potter had launched in to a speech that was inspiring, yet vague. 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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