---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like…"
description: "\"Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like Ben Shapiro were generally smart, highly informed, and often princely in difficult conversations, it's more unde..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg"
---

#  Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like Ben Shapiro were…

![“Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like Ben Shapiro were generally smart, highly informed, and often princely in difficult conversations, it's more understandable that occasionally a few frogs got kissed here and there as some I.D.W. members went in search of other maligned princes.” quote by Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg)

> “Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like Ben Shapiro were generally smart, highly informed, and often princely in difficult conversations, it's more understandable that occasionally a few frogs got kissed here and there as some I.D.W. members went in search of other maligned princes.”

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Intelligent discourse can be hijacked by sensationalism, leading to misdirected focus on minor figures.

**In simple terms:** Smart participants get distracted by fringe controversies.

Key Takeaway

Beware of attention traps.

Themes

dialogue intelligence distraction media

Mood

critical cautious

Type

philosophical observation

When to use this quote

- political debate
- online forum
- academic panel

Key Concepts

public discourse cognitive bias

Practical Applications

- maintaining focus on substance
- filtering noise

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you keep discussions on core issues?
- What signals indicate a conversation is being derailed?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Difficult conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-conversations/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/)

## Related quotes

> [One of the people who most influenced me was Ben Shapiro, a marketing professor at the business school. He used to rant and rave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-g-stemberg/one-of-the-people-who-most-influenced-me-was-ben-shapiro-a-marketing/)

[Thomas G. Stemberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-g-stemberg/)

> [There's no question that Ben Shapiro loves to provoke college students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bari-weiss/there-s-no-question-that-ben-shapiro-loves-to-provoke-college-students/)

[Bari Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bari-weiss/)

> [It's going to take me less time to wreck Ben Shapiro than it took me to curl my hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/it-s-going-to-take-me-less-time-to-wreck-ben-shapiro-than-it-took-me/)

ContraPoints

> [“Soon the boys will be here and the house will be transformed into a home once more. Noisy, glorious chaos again, just like when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-l-slater/soon-the-boys-will-be-here-and-the-house-will-be-transformed-into-a/)

[K.L. Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-l-slater/)

> [“I cared about Ben, but I was never in love with him. I was in love with what it said about me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-bolz-weber/i-cared-about-ben-but-i-was-never-in-love-with-him-i-was-in-love-with/)

[Nadia Bolz-Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-bolz-weber/)

> [There's a guy in London named Ben Cohen who is doing great things. In a way, we need people like Ben - we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/there-s-a-guy-in-london-named-ben-cohen-who-is-doing-great-things-in/)

[Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/)

> [I admire people who have fought for change: Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln. I'm dead serious when I say that -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-garcia/i-admire-people-who-have-fought-for-change-martin-luther-king-jr/)

[Ryan Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-garcia/)

> [I want to be like Ben Folds. Everyone loves his music, but you could be sitting next to him on a plane and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hutchinson/i-want-to-be-like-ben-folds-everyone-loves-his-music-but-you-could-be/)

[Eric Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hutchinson/)

> [One, I had never worked with John Woo before and I wanted to see what that was like, and two, Ben Affleck is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/one-i-had-never-worked-with-john-woo-before-and-i-wanted-to-see-what/)

[Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/)

> [“It was like his loneliness connected them more intimately and deeply than someone she could have known for years. Like she and Ben skipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gray/it-was-like-his-loneliness-connected-them-more-intimately-and-deeply/)

[Amanda Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-gray/)

> [“Twinks weren’t what Maddox wanted, but he wasn’t about to share that. He wanted...Ben. No. No, no he didn’t. But he liked men. Big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabeth-albert/twinks-weren-t-what-maddox-wanted-but-he-wasn-t-about-to-share-that/)

[Annabeth Albert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabeth-albert/)

> [I appreciate men like Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-getz/i-appreciate-men-like-ben-webster-and-coleman-hawkins-very-much/)

[Stan Getz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-getz/)

> [I didn't want to be an actor. I wanted to design historical movies like 'Ben-Hur'. I saw this as my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-ferretti/i-didn-t-want-to-be-an-actor-i-wanted-to-design-historical-movies/)

Dante Ferretti

> [I like Ben Stein. I think he's funny, creative, and an insightful commentator on a host of issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/i-like-ben-stein-i-think-he-s-funny-creative-and-an-insightful/)

[Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/)

> [I think I affiliate with somebody like Ben Howard. He's quite a bit younger than I am, but I think what he's doing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/i-think-i-affiliate-with-somebody-like-ben-howard-he-s-quite-a-bit/)

[Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/)

## More by Eric Weinstein

> [You have to understand that the I.D.W. emerged as a response to a world where perfectly reasonable intellectuals were being regularly mislabeled by activists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/you-have-to-understand-that-the-i-d-w-emerged-as-a-response-to-a/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

> [An embedded growth obligation is how fast a structure has to grow in order to maintain its honest positions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/an-embedded-growth-obligation-is-how-fast-a-structure-has-to-grow-in/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

> [Love is so important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/love-is-so-important/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

> [There is one place left in which open racism can be practiced institutionally in the U.S. today, that is through this diversity/equity movement, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/there-is-one-place-left-in-which-open-racism-can-be-practiced/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

> [If you're allowing the political environment to infect your relationships, it's time to bury the hatchets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/if-you-re-allowing-the-political-environment-to-infect-your/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

> [Individuals in very small groups are about the only thing that is free of the disease of the embedded growth obligation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/individuals-in-very-small-groups-are-about-the-only-thing-that-is/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

> [I'm really only interested in building this intellectual movement. The I.D.W. has bigger goals than anyone's buzz or celebrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/i-m-really-only-interested-in-building-this-intellectual-movement-the/)

[Eric Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

[Explore all 8 Eric Weinstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like Ben Shapiro were generally smart, highly informed, and often princely in difficult conversations, it's more understandable that occasionally a few frogs got kissed here and there as some I.D.W. members went in search of other maligned princes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eric Weinstein"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-ben-shapiro-were-generally/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-ben-shapiro-were-generally/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/eric-weinstein-48903_communication_once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-be_91502.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Once I.D.W. folks saw that people like Ben Shapiro were generally smart, highly informed, and often princely…” — Eric Weinstein",
                "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": "Eric Weinstein",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weinstein/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Once I.D.W. folks saw that people...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-ben-shapiro-were-generally/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weinstein/once-i-d-w-folks-saw-that-people-like-ben-shapiro-were-generally/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
