--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Build a system that even a fool can use…" description: "\"Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will want to use it.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png" --- # Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool… ![“Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will want to use it.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png) > “Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will want to use it.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Systems designed for ease attract only those lacking skill, exposing flaws. **In simple terms:** Simple tools may be misused by the unskilled. Key Takeaway Design for competence, not just simplicity. Themes design usability competence Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - software interfaces - consumer appliances - training programs - policy design Key Concepts human factors design ethics over-simplification Questions to Reflect On - Who truly benefits from a design? - When does simplicity become a liability? A Different Perspective Over-simplified designs can lead to misuse or complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Build Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-fool-6012366/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-use-2979648/) [Fool Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-want-866157/) [Foolishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolishness/) [Fools and foolishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools-and-foolishness/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Humourous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humourous/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Murphys law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murphys-law/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Use Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-fool-6012367/) [Use it or lose it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-it-or-lose-it/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Any fool can use a computer. Many do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/any-fool-can-use-a-computer-many-do/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [“Don’t let time make a fool of you, use Cosmic Ordering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/don-t-let-time-make-a-fool-of-you-use-cosmic-ordering/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [Being funny is my biggest differentiator, and I think I'd be a fool not to use that, and there's nothing I enjoy personally more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-dicky/being-funny-is-my-biggest-differentiator-and-i-think-i-d-be-a-fool/) [Lil Dicky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-dicky/) > [Perhaps there is a reason that there is no fool piece on the chessboard. What action, a fool? What strategy, a fool? What use,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/perhaps-there-is-a-reason-that-there-is-no-fool-piece-on-the/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [Think of yourself as an insensitive, nitpicking, irritable fool to use the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-huateng/think-of-yourself-as-an-insensitive-nitpicking-irritable-fool-to-use/) [Ma Huateng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-huateng/) > [A man may be as much a fool from the want of sensibility as the want of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-may-be-as-much-a-fool-from-the-want-of-sensibility-as-the-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You've got to be a fool to want to stop the march of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/you-ve-got-to-be-a-fool-to-want-to-stop-the-march-of-time/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Don't let men fool you... we all want love; we just know that it can leave us very vulnerable, and we seek a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iman-shumpert/don-t-let-men-fool-you-we-all-want-love-we-just-know-that-it-can/) [Iman Shumpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iman-shumpert/) > [“I stopped in the middle of that building and I saw — the sky. I saw the things that I love in this world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-stopped-in-the-middle-of-that-building-and-i-saw-the-sky-i-saw-the/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Movies don't make people act a fool. People act a fool because they want to act a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eazy-e/movies-don-t-make-people-act-a-fool-people-act-a-fool-because-they/) [Eazy-E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eazy-e/) > [“He was a fool. Claire Montoya was convinced she didn’t need anyone. That her way was the only way. He kept walking. Because only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-scott/he-was-a-fool-claire-montoya-was-convinced-she-didn-t-need-anyone/) [Jessica Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-scott/) > [That is the point of quotations. One can use another's words to be insulting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-heilbrun/that-is-the-point-of-quotations-one-can-use-another-s-words-to-be/) [Carolyn Heilbrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-heilbrun/) > [We have more than we use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-have-more-than-we-use/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If you want to retire happy, great health is important. The foundation for all happiness lies in health. Physical, mental, or spiritual health -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-j-zelinski/if-you-want-to-retire-happy-great-health-is-important-the-foundation/) [Ernie J Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-j-zelinski/) > [It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-not-what-we-have-that-will-make-us-a-great-nation-it-is-the-way/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Fool quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [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/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/) [Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [A fool and his money get a lot of publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-bernstein/a-fool-and-his-money-get-a-lot-of-publicity/) [Al Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-bernstein/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/) [WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'd be a fool to be in this for the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/i-d-be-a-fool-to-be-in-this-for-the-money/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 5,535 Fool quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will want to use it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use-and-only-a-fool-will-want-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fool" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use-and-only-a-fool-will-want-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use_2400979.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will want to use it.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Build a system that even a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use-and-only-a-fool-will-want-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/build-a-system-that-even-a-fool-can-use-and-only-a-fool-will-want-to/#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 } } ] } ```