--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The education explosion is producing a…" description: "\"The education explosion is producing a vast number of people who want to live significant, important lives but lack the ability to satisfy this craving..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/eric-hoffer-343_ability_the-education-explosion-is-producing-a-v_2870550.jpg" --- # The education explosion is producing a vast number of… ![“The education explosion is producing a vast number of people who want to live significant, important lives but lack the ability to satisfy this craving for importance by individual achievement. The country is being swamped with nobodies who want to be somebodies.” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/eric-hoffer-343_ability_the-education-explosion-is-producing-a-v_2870550.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/eric-hoffer-343_ability_the-education-explosion-is-producing-a-v_2870550.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ff/eric-hoffer-343_ability_the-education-explosion-is-producing-a-v_2870550.jpg) > “The education explosion is producing a vast number of people who want to live significant, important lives but lack the ability to satisfy this craving for importance by individual achievement. The country is being swamped with nobodies who want to be somebodies.” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society creates many aspiring individuals lacking means to achieve significance, leading to a surge of “nobodies.” **In simple terms:** Many want importance but lack means. Key Takeaway Provide pathways for meaningful achievement. Themes society achievement identity Mood analytical concerned Type sociological motivational When to use this quote - career counseling - education reform - personal development - community building Key Concepts meaning purpose social structure Questions to Reflect On - How can societies create more avenues for personal significance? - What role does community play? A Different Perspective Economic constraints can hinder opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Explosions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosions/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-achievement/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [... what a fatal thing in pictures, books, or human lives, is a lack of proportion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/what-a-fatal-thing-in-pictures-books-or-human-lives-is-a-lack-of/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Ah! If nations could only agree to employ their resources to perfect agriculture and improve transportation, and to bring all their girl children a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-bonheur/ah-if-nations-could-only-agree-to-employ-their-resources-to-perfect/) [Rosa Bonheur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-bonheur/) > [Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/respect-for-the-fragility-and-importance-of-an-individual-life-is/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [Islamophobia, in all its guises, seeks to minimise the importance of the individual and maximise the importance of the group. Yet our instinctive stance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/islamophobia-in-all-its-guises-seeks-to-minimise-the-importance-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [The Renaissance… was based on a new idea of the importance of the individual. But this was a fragile foundation, because individuals depended on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/the-renaissance-was-based-on-a-new-idea-of-the-importance-of-the/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [The importance of an individual thinker owes something to chance. 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But in the field,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-man-stands-alone-at-the-plate-this-is-the-time-for-what-for/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Men's competitive team sports focus on the balance between individual achievement and team achievement with the emphasis on team achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-s-competitive-team-sports-focus-on-the-balance-between-individual/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I dream of Poland becoming a modern society that is defined not by the crippling nature of history, but by our individual achievements, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/i-dream-of-poland-becoming-a-modern-society-that-is-defined-not-by/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [I love the success of my teammates more than my individual achievements. I've just always cared more about that since I started playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/i-love-the-success-of-my-teammates-more-than-my-individual/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [If I stayed in this game for individual achievements, I don't think I'd still be playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chili-davis/if-i-stayed-in-this-game-for-individual-achievements-i-don-t-think-i/) [Chili Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chili-davis/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. 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We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. 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