--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am an intellectual. This does not mean…" description: "\"“I am an intellectual. This does not mean I am intelligent, but that ideas are more important to me than people.”\" — George Sheehan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/george-sheehan-23131_intellectual_i-am-an-intellectual-this-does-not-mean_2483290.jpg" --- # I am an intellectual. This does not mean I am intelligent… ![“I am an intellectual. This does not mean I am intelligent, but that ideas are more important to me than people.” quote by George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/george-sheehan-23131_intellectual_i-am-an-intellectual-this-does-not-mean_2483290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/george-sheehan-23131_intellectual_i-am-an-intellectual-this-does-not-mean_2483290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/george-sheehan-23131_intellectual_i-am-an-intellectual-this-does-not-mean_2483290.jpg) > ““I am an intellectual. This does not mean I am intelligent, but that ideas are more important to me than people.”” [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectualism values ideas over social interaction, separating intellectual identity from personal intelligence. **In simple terms:** Ideas matter more than people to the speaker. Key Takeaway Prioritize ideas, not popularity. Themes intellectualism values social dynamics Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic discussions - creative brainstorming - leadership meetings - personal reflection Key Concepts humanism identity philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Do you value ideas over relationships? - How can you balance intellectual pursuits with social empathy? A Different Perspective Ideas alone cannot replace human connection in collaborative work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) ## Related quotes > [Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/being-able-to-provoke-a-different-point-of-view-to-the-standard/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [For me, being an innovator doesn't mean being more intelligent, more rich, it's not a word, it's an action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ornette-coleman/for-me-being-an-innovator-doesn-t-mean-being-more-intelligent-more/) [Ornette Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ornette-coleman/) > [What is it with all of these young, single white women? Overeducated- doesn't mean intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/what-is-it-with-all-of-these-young-single-white-women-overeducated/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [To be intellectual does not require one to be alienated and oppositional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/to-be-intellectual-does-not-require-one-to-be-alienated-and/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [You've just got to expand the breadth of imagination. The diversity of ideas is the most important thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paterson-joseph/you-ve-just-got-to-expand-the-breadth-of-imagination-the-diversity-of/) [Paterson Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paterson-joseph/) > [With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you, but what's important is how you feel about yourself -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/with-fame-you-know-you-can-read-about-yourself-somebody-else-s-ideas/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [It's important to discuss ideas but it's more important to surrender control and preconceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-schaechter/it-s-important-to-discuss-ideas-but-it-s-more-important-to-surrender/) [Judith Schaechter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-schaechter/) > [“It's not all that important that you be able to originate brilliant ideas... The more important talent is to be able to recognize good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-s-raymond/it-s-not-all-that-important-that-you-be-able-to-originate-brilliant/) [Eric S. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-s-raymond/) > [“And then sometimes Actors have what they call “ideas.” Usually it involves them talking more, or, in the case of more experienced actors, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/and-then-sometimes-actors-have-what-they-call-ideas-usually-it/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [The Here-and-Now demands attention, is more present to us. We dismiss the inner world of our ideas as less important, although most of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-here-and-now-demands-attention-is-more-present-to-us-we-dismiss/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I think pushing the ideas is important. I wouldn't say it's more important than action. You can't really separate the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zerzan/i-think-pushing-the-ideas-is-important-i-wouldn-t-say-it-s-more/) [John Zerzan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zerzan/) > [In all seriousness, people think that it's the ideas that are important. Well, everyone has ideas, all the time. I tend to write mine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/in-all-seriousness-people-think-that-it-s-the-ideas-that-are/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I think game theory creates ideas that are important in solving and approaching conflict in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aumann/i-think-game-theory-creates-ideas-that-are-important-in-solving-and/) [Robert Aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aumann/) > [When you know in your heart that you and your ideas are important, you will give every idea you have a fighting chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cooper/when-you-know-in-your-heart-that-you-and-your-ideas-are-important-you/) [Sarah Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cooper/) > [Ideas are very important to the shaping of society. In fact, they are more powerful than bombings or armies or guns. And this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/ideas-are-very-important-to-the-shaping-of-society-in-fact-they-are/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## More by George Sheehan > [“The runner is coming to know, or will know if he runs enough...that the universe is the smallest divisible unit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/the-runner-is-coming-to-know-or-will-know-if-he-runs-enough-that-the/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Courage, then, has nothing to do with a single act of bravery. Courage is how one lives, not one specific incident. Just as mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/courage-then-has-nothing-to-do-with-a-single-act-of-bravery-courage/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“When I was young, I was afflicted with what my aunt called “convenient deafness.” I still am. I have the ability to tune out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/when-i-was-young-i-was-afflicted-with-what-my-aunt-called-convenient/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“I myself am my only obstacle to perfection,” wrote Kierkegaard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/i-myself-am-my-only-obstacle-to-perfection-wrote-kierkegaard/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“The 5-year-old sees that Paradise correctly, not in technology but in the fairy story, in the great myths that control and guide our lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/the-5-year-old-sees-that-paradise-correctly-not-in-technology-but-in/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“There were a lot of people in the service,” says Dickey, “who cried when they were discharged because they knew they would have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/there-were-a-lot-of-people-in-the-service-says-dickey-who-cried-when/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“The trouble with this country,” the late John Berryman once told fellow poet James Dickey, “is that a man can live his entire life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/the-trouble-with-this-country-the-late-john-berryman-once-told-fellow/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Running is just such a monestary-- a retreat, a place to commune with God and yourself, a place for psychological and spiritual renewal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/running-is-just-such-a-monestary-a-retreat-a-place-to-commune-with/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Disease, then, is one of those bad experiences that turns information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. The bad experiences that make you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/disease-then-is-one-of-those-bad-experiences-that-turns-information/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“If you think that life has passed you by, or, even worse, that you are living someone else’s life, you can still prove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/if-you-think-that-life-has-passed-you-by-or-even-worse-that-you-are/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Boredom, like beauty, is in the mind of the beholder. ’There is no such thing as an uninteresting subject,’ said Chesterton. ’The only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/boredom-like-beauty-is-in-the-mind-of-the-beholder-there-is-no-such/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Thomas Merton, another solitary, understood that. The beginning of freedom, he wrote, is not liberation from the body but liberation from the mind. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/thomas-merton-another-solitary-understood-that-the-beginning-of/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“I am a lonely figure when I run the roads. People wonder how far I have come, how far I have to go. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/i-am-a-lonely-figure-when-i-run-the-roads-people-wonder-how-far-i/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Writing, someone said, is turning blood into ink.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/writing-someone-said-is-turning-blood-into-ink/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [“Anyone with a sense of humor can see that life is a joke, not a tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/anyone-with-a-sense-of-humor-can-see-that-life-is-a-joke-not-a-tragedy/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) [Explore all 25 George Sheehan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) ## More Intellectual quotes > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Love isn't intellectual - it's visceral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-mcgillis/love-isn-t-intellectual-it-s-visceral/) [Kelly McGillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-mcgillis/) > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Laughter is one of the great beacons in life because we don't refract it by gunning it through our intellectual prism. What makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/laughter-is-one-of-the-great-beacons-in-life-because-we-don-t-refract/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ \[Our understanding is\] not intellectual, but instinctive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/our-understanding-is-not-intellectual-but-instinctive/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [It only takes a day to change someone from an anti-intellectual to an intellectual by persuading him that he might be one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/it-only-takes-a-day-to-change-someone-from-an-anti-intellectual-to-an/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [This film business, perhaps more so in America than in Europe, has always been about young sexuality. 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