--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spent a year in Professor Baker's…" description: "\"I spent a year in Professor Baker's famous class at Harvard. There, too, I learned some things that were useful to me-particularly what not to do. Not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/eugene-o-neill-4173_bakers_i-spent-a-year-in-professor-baker-s-famo_976403.png" --- # I spent a year in Professor Baker's famous class at… ![“I spent a year in Professor Baker's famous class at Harvard. There, too, I learned some things that were useful to me-particularly what not to do. Not to take ten lines, for instance, to say something that can be said in one line.” quote by Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/eugene-o-neill-4173_bakers_i-spent-a-year-in-professor-baker-s-famo_976403.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/eugene-o-neill-4173_bakers_i-spent-a-year-in-professor-baker-s-famo_976403.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/eugene-o-neill-4173_bakers_i-spent-a-year-in-professor-baker-s-famo_976403.png) > “I spent a year in Professor Baker's famous class at Harvard. There, too, I learned some things that were useful to me-particularly what not to do. Not to take ten lines, for instance, to say something that can be said in one line.” [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He learned that brevity is essential; avoid overly long explanations. **In simple terms:** Short, clear writing is better. Key Takeaway Write concisely. Themes writing education clarity Mood reflective instructional Type writing pedagogical When to use this quote - academic papers - business emails - public speaking Key Concepts conciseness pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - When is detail necessary? - How to balance brevity and depth? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [One line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-line/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachers/) ## Related quotes > [“At Harvard I learned most uncomfortably that facts are facts. In Italy I learned that facts are the way you look at them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-faolain-2/at-harvard-i-learned-most-uncomfortably-that-facts-are-facts-in-italy/) [Sean O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-faolain-2/) > [When I was a graduate student at Harvard, I learned about showers and central heating. Ten years later, I learned about breakfast meetings. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-was-a-graduate-student-at-harvard-i-learned-about-showers-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was a student at Harvard, and that's where I learned about so-called avant-garde music. Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionism and painting were well known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/i-was-a-student-at-harvard-and-that-s-where-i-learned-about-so-called/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [I never felt that I had the natural intellectual gifts that the people who graduate first in their class from Harvard Law had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/i-never-felt-that-i-had-the-natural-intellectual-gifts-that-the/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [My most difficult class at Harvard Business School would have to be finance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/my-most-difficult-class-at-harvard-business-school-would-have-to-be/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [If you're last in your class at Harvard, it doesn't feel like you're a good student, even though you really are. It's not smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-you-re-last-in-your-class-at-harvard-it-doesn-t-feel-like-you-re-a/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Anyone being flown to a distant city for heart-bypass surgery has conceded, tacitly at least, that we have learned a few things about physics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/anyone-being-flown-to-a-distant-city-for-heart-bypass-surgery-has/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [I felt as if I learned a few things. I learned that it's sometimes okay to think like a weenie, so long as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-felt-as-if-i-learned-a-few-things-i-learned-that-it-s-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've learned a few things from the tea party, both the political one and the one in Alice in Wonderland. From the first, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-sjoberg/i-ve-learned-a-few-things-from-the-tea-party-both-the-political-one/) [Lore Sjoberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-sjoberg/) > [The best function of the school in my head, as it turns out, is to remind me where not to dwell. I did my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-dodd/the-best-function-of-the-school-in-my-head-as-it-turns-out-is-to/) [Sandra Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-dodd/) > [When I was four or five years old, my grandfather showed me how to build things, paint, saw. Through years of fixing bikes, repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-fadell/when-i-was-four-or-five-years-old-my-grandfather-showed-me-how-to/) [Tony Fadell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-fadell/) > [I never learned all the things you're not supposed to do; I just do what makes the most sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-carson/i-never-learned-all-the-things-you-re-not-supposed-to-do-i-just-do/) [David Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-carson/) > [I have learned to take things as they come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohanlal/i-have-learned-to-take-things-as-they-come/) [Mohanlal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohanlal/) > [I very rarely want to go back and fix things, because I'm much more interested in the next thing, and in taking what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-very-rarely-want-to-go-back-and-fix-things-because-i-m-much-more/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I've recently learned not to take things personally. We can get offended by anything if we want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-iglesias/i-ve-recently-learned-not-to-take-things-personally-we-can-get/) [Melanie Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-iglesias/) ## More by Eugene O'Neill > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [We need above all to learn again to believe in the possibility of nobility of spirit in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/we-need-above-all-to-learn-again-to-believe-in-the-possibility-of/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The past is the present, isn’t it? It’s the future too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/the-past-is-the-present-isn-t-it-it-s-the-future-too/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“You can't be too careful about work. It's the most dangerous habit known to medical science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/you-can-t-be-too-careful-about-work-it-s-the-most-dangerous-habit/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-for-each-man-a-solitary-cell-whose-walls-are-mirrors/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“LARRY--(with increasing bitter intensity, more as if he were fighting with himself than with Hickey) I'm afraid to live, am I?--and even more afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/larry-with-increasing-bitter-intensity-more-as-if-he-were-fighting/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The child was diseased at birth, stricken with a hereditary ill that only the most vital men are able to shake off. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/the-child-was-diseased-at-birth-stricken-with-a-hereditary-ill-that/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will. But be drunken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/drunken-with-what-with-wine-with-poetry-or-with-virtue-as-you-will/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“Now I have to lie, especially to myself. But how can you understand, when I don't myself. I've never understood anything about it, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/now-i-have-to-lie-especially-to-myself-but-how-can-you-understand/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [We are such things as rubbish is made of, so let's drink up and forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/we-are-such-things-as-rubbish-is-made-of-so-let-s-drink-up-and-forget/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/curiosity-killed-the-cat-but-satisfaction-brought-it-back/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [How thick the fog is. I can't see the road. All the people in the world could pass by and I would never know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/how-thick-the-fog-is-i-can-t-see-the-road-all-the-people-in-the-world/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [I hate doctors! They'll do anything... to keep you coming to them. They'll sell their souls. What's worse, they'll sell yours, and you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/i-hate-doctors-they-ll-do-anything-to-keep-you-coming-to-them-they-ll/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Like a saint's vision of beatitude. Like the veil of things as they seem drawn back by an unseen hand. For a second you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/like-a-saint-s-vision-of-beatitude-like-the-veil-of-things-as-they/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [There is no present or future-only the past, happening over and over again-now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/there-is-no-present-or-future-only-the-past-happening-over-and-over/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) [Explore all 114 Eugene O'Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) ## More Bakers quotes > [“Socrates: Have you noticed on our journey how often the citizens of this new land remind each other it is a free country? Plato:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/socrates-have-you-noticed-on-our-journey-how-often-the-citizens-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't have a very good relationship with baking. I do bake sometimes, but my natural instinct is to just do what feels right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thu-tran/i-don-t-have-a-very-good-relationship-with-baking-i-do-bake-sometimes/) [Thu Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thu-tran/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I have a treasure trove of Baker memories, all of which reinforce my sense of Howard Baker as one of the most decent people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yarmuth/i-have-a-treasure-trove-of-baker-memories-all-of-which-reinforce-my/) [John Yarmuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yarmuth/) > [I was always a person on my mother's hip in the kitchen. My mom really wanted her kids at her side as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-ray/i-was-always-a-person-on-my-mother-s-hip-in-the-kitchen-my-mom-really/) [Rachael Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-ray/) > [I invite all brats to throw their cookies at the baker's head if they're not sweet, winos to chuck their wine if it's bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-invite-all-brats-to-throw-their-cookies-at-the-baker-s-head-if-they/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Bakers of bread rolls and pastry cooks will not buy grain before eleven o'clock in winter and noon in summer; bakers of large loaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardinal-richelieu/bakers-of-bread-rolls-and-pastry-cooks-will-not-buy-grain-before/) [Cardinal Richelieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardinal-richelieu/) > [Kyle Baker's work is really funny, but it's also got a very clear vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-sienkiewicz/kyle-baker-s-work-is-really-funny-but-it-s-also-got-a-very-clear/) [Bill Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-sienkiewicz/) > [Well, the movie isn't bad. For a while, I even told myself I liked it, even as it missed one mark after another. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edelstein/well-the-movie-isn-t-bad-for-a-while-i-even-told-myself-i-liked-it/) [David Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edelstein/) > [In those days Mr. Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-those-days-mr-sherlock-holmes-was-still-living-in-baker-street-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me writing about tennis is like a baker baking bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ion-tiriac/me-writing-about-tennis-is-like-a-baker-baking-bread/) [Ion Tiriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ion-tiriac/) > [When I was little I always wanted to drive a train. That, and become a baker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/when-i-was-little-i-always-wanted-to-drive-a-train-that-and-become-a/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [I played with a left hamstring injury since playing college football at Washington University. I went to doctors all over the country to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-dillon/i-played-with-a-left-hamstring-injury-since-playing-college-football/) [Corey Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-dillon/) > [When George W. Bush decided to save the American position in Iraq by going against the advice of all of his wise men, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-george-w-bush-decided-to-save-the-american-position-in-iraq-by/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [...Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holmes-who-loathed-every-form-of-society-with-his-whole-bohemian-soul/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) Browse all 154 Bakers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent a year in Professor Baker's famous class at Harvard. There, too, I learned some things that were useful to me-particularly what not to do. 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