--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dangerous man is the one who has only…" description: "\"“The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it.\" [As quoted in The New Yorker , April 25, 2011]”\" — Franc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png" --- # The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea… ![“The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it." [As quoted in The New Yorker , April 25, 2011]” quote by Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png) > ““The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it." \[As quoted in The New Yorker , April 25, 2011\]”” [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that single‑mindedness can become dangerous, leading to extreme conflict. **In simple terms:** One idea can make a person dangerous. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse perspectives. Themes danger extremism dogmatism Mood cautionary critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debate - ideological disputes - personal decision‑making Key Concepts psychology politics conflict Questions to Reflect On - What alternative ideas could you explore? - How can you balance conviction with openness? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on one idea can limit adaptability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Zealotry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zealotry/) ## Related quotes > [The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-only-one-idea-because-then-he-ll/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [Ken Shamrock is the World's Most Dangerous Man? Maybe behind the wheel of a car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-frye/ken-shamrock-is-the-world-s-most-dangerous-man-maybe-behind-the-wheel/) [Don Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-frye/) > [“He's the most dangerous man alive. Not so much because he believes in his actions, but because he believes his actions are all which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/he-s-the-most-dangerous-man-alive-not-so-much-because-he-believes-in/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [Fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wallace-campbell/fight-and-you-may-die-run-and-you-ll-live/) William Wallace Campbell > [“These are lessons that they have been taught since the dawn of time and, yet, they still fight and die, as if without care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/these-are-lessons-that-they-have-been-taught-since-the-dawn-of-time/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [If he makes me fight for you, die for you, would he do the same?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sean/if-he-makes-me-fight-for-you-die-for-you-would-he-do-the-same/) [Jay Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sean/) > [“What about ‘we fight, we die?’” I asked. “What happened to bravery and heroism?” Mister Smith rolled his eyes. “Load of crap,” he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-tuttle/what-about-we-fight-we-die-i-asked-what-happened-to-bravery-and/) [Frank Tuttle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-tuttle/) > [“Fight or DIE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-m-ashraf/fight-or-die/) P.M.Ashraf > [Without excuse and self-consideration of health or limb or life, true soldiers fight, live to fight, love the thickest of the fight, and die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/without-excuse-and-self-consideration-of-health-or-limb-or-life-true/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every fight is do or die for me. 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We fight and die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-barr/years-go-by-but-the-heart-of-what-we-all-fight-and-die-for-at-the/) [Matt Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-barr/) > [“There are very few, very fuckin' few people, Kia, who get what's precious in this world. They work their asses off for pure shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/there-are-very-few-very-fuckin-few-people-kia-who-get-what-s-precious/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Old men make war, young men fight and die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/old-men-make-war-young-men-fight-and-die/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More by Francis Crick > [In my experience most mathematicians are intellectually lazy and especially dislike reading experimental papers. He seemed to have very strong biological intuitions but unfortunately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/in-my-experience-most-mathematicians-are-intellectually-lazy-and/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [It is notoriously difficult to define the word living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/it-is-notoriously-difficult-to-define-the-word-living/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [We've discovered the secret of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/we-ve-discovered-the-secret-of-life/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [The major credit I think Jim and I deserve ... is for selecting the right problem and sticking to it. It's true that by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-major-credit-i-think-jim-and-i-deserve-is-for-selecting-the-right/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [“It is one of the striking generalizations of biochemistry—which surprisingly is hardly ever mentioned in the biochemical text-books—that the twenty amino acids and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/it-is-one-of-the-striking-generalizations-of-biochemistry-which/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [The ultimate aim of the modern movement in biology is in fact to explain all biology in terms of physics and chemistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-ultimate-aim-of-the-modern-movement-in-biology-is-in-fact-to/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [One of the most frightening things in the Western world, and in this country in particular, is the number of people who believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/one-of-the-most-frightening-things-in-the-western-world-and-in-this/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [For simplicity one can think of the + class as having one extra base at some point or other in the genetic message and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/for-simplicity-one-can-think-of-the-class-as-having-one-extra-base-at/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [God is a hacker, not an engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/god-is-a-hacker-not-an-engineer/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [There is no form of prose more difficult to understand and more tedious to read than the average scientific paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/there-is-no-form-of-prose-more-difficult-to-understand-and-more/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [Finally one should add that in spite of the great complexity of protein synthesis and in spite of the considerable technical difficulties in synthesizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/finally-one-should-add-that-in-spite-of-the-great-complexity-of/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [Unfortunately it makes the unambiguous determination of triplets by these methods much more difficult than would be the case if there were only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/unfortunately-it-makes-the-unambiguous-determination-of-triplets-by/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [ I also suspect that many workers in this field \[molecular biology\] and related fields have been strongly motivated by the desire, rarely actually expressed,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/i-also-suspect-that-many-workers-in-this-field-molecular-biology-and/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [What could be more foolish than to base one's entire view of life on ideas that, however plausible at the time, now appear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/what-could-be-more-foolish-than-to-base-one-s-entire-view-of-life-on/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [If, for example, all the codons are triplets, then in addition to the correct reading of the message, there are two incorrect readings which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/if-for-example-all-the-codons-are-triplets-then-in-addition-to-the/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) [Explore all 81 Francis Crick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) ## More Dangerous quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/in-my-youth-team-days-i-was-always-a-left-winger-who-would-stay-close/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [The temptations of God were always more dangerous for mankind than those of Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-temptations-of-god-were-always-more-dangerous-for-mankind-than/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-you-start-talking-about-elections-being-rigged-you-re-pushing/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Die gefährlichste Weltanschauung ist die Weltanschauung derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben. (The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/die-gef-hrlichste-weltanschauung-ist-die-weltanschauung-derer-die-die/) [Alexander von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The more people that learn about you, even if you're an underdog, then you can come under fire a lot and the more attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/the-more-people-that-learn-about-you-even-if-you-re-an-underdog-then/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) Browse all 6,450 Dangerous quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it.\" [As quoted in The New Yorker , April 25, 2011]”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Crick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-only-one-idea-because-then-he-ll-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dangerous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-only-one-idea-because-then-he-ll-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/francis-crick-8439_dangerous_the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-onl_2816110.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it.\" [As quoted in…” — Francis Crick", "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": "Francis Crick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The dangerous man is the one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-only-one-idea-because-then-he-ll-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/the-dangerous-man-is-the-one-who-has-only-one-idea-because-then-he-ll-2/#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 } } ] } ```