--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a dilettante. My governing word is…" description: "\"I'm a dilettante. My governing word is 'curiosity.'\" — Ian Hacking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/ian-hacking-9085_curiosity_i-m-a-dilettante-my-governing-word-is-cu_2143690.jpg" --- # I'm a dilettante. My governing word is 'curiosity.' ![“I'm a dilettante. My governing word is 'curiosity.'” quote by Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/ian-hacking-9085_curiosity_i-m-a-dilettante-my-governing-word-is-cu_2143690.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/ian-hacking-9085_curiosity_i-m-a-dilettante-my-governing-word-is-cu_2143690.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/ian-hacking-9085_curiosity_i-m-a-dilettante-my-governing-word-is-cu_2143690.jpg) > “I'm a dilettante. My governing word is 'curiosity.'” [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A self‑identified dilettante values curiosity as the guiding principle, embracing broad, shallow exploration over deep specialization. **In simple terms:** Curiosity drives a broad, exploratory approach. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity over mastery. Themes learning exploration humility Mood inquisitive reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - creative projects - lifelong learning - cross‑disciplinary work Key Concepts interdisciplinarity intellectual openness Questions to Reflect On - How does curiosity shape your choices? - What are the trade‑offs of being a dilettante? A Different Perspective May lack depth or expertise in any one area. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious/) [Dilettante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilettante/) [Dilettante Governing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilettante-governing-4474965/) [Governing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governing/) [Governing Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governing-word-4474966/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word/) [Word Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-curiosity-480886/) ## Related quotes > [What drove me and kept me going over the decades? If I had to use a single word, it would be 'curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-arnold/what-drove-me-and-kept-me-going-over-the-decades-if-i-had-to-use-a/) [Eve Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-arnold/) > [In my mind, so-called "cultures of innovation" really boil down to one word: curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-anthony/in-my-mind-so-called-cultures-of-innovation-really-boil-down-to-one/) [Scott D. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [“Some folks called Dewar a dilettante; he did not consider it an appropriate term, indicating as it did a lack of seriousness, a trifling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/some-folks-called-dewar-a-dilettante-he-did-not-consider-it-an/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“I’m curious about everyone, hungry for everything, greedy for all ideas. My awareness that not everything can be seen, not everything read and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-m-curious-about-everyone-hungry-for-everything-greedy-for-all-ideas/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Omnivore, omnifume, omniboit, omnivoit. Ne znaš odabrati, to je uvijek nedostatak izvrsnosti. Zato si ti svaštar. To je netko kome je sve lijepo. Život…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cees-nooteboom/omnivore-omnifume-omniboit-omnivoit-ne-zna-odabrati-to-je-uvijek/) [Cees Nooteboom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cees-nooteboom/) > [“Above all else I am a dilettante in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/above-all-else-i-am-a-dilettante-in-life/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) > [John Kerry, windsurfing dilettante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clift/john-kerry-windsurfing-dilettante/) [Eleanor Clift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clift/) > [I am interested in study, reflection, philosophy - but always as a dilettante. I also consider myself a dilettante as a painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-tapies/i-am-interested-in-study-reflection-philosophy-but-always-as-a/) [Antoni Tapies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoni-tapies/) > [Life must be something more than dilettante speculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/life-must-be-something-more-than-dilettante-speculation/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [I have a very, very secret drive to become a dilettante, without the pejorative overtones or the obligation to produce myself. There's so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-have-a-very-very-secret-drive-to-become-a-dilettante-without-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Data is what distinguishes the dilettante from the artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/data-is-what-distinguishes-the-dilettante-from-the-artist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cat is a dilettante in fur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/the-cat-is-a-dilettante-in-fur/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [I'm a dilettante by temperament. I don't have any expectation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-m-a-dilettante-by-temperament-i-don-t-have-any-expectation/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [In our hurried world too little value is attached to the part of the connoisseur and dilettante.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/in-our-hurried-world-too-little-value-is-attached-to-the-part-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [And dilettantism is a humorous way to survive. Everybody understands you for it and everybody hates you for it. And not everybody chooses to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-clemente/and-dilettantism-is-a-humorous-way-to-survive-everybody-understands/) [Francesco Clemente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-clemente/) ## More by Ian Hacking > [The best reaction to a paradox is to invent a genuinely new and deep idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/the-best-reaction-to-a-paradox-is-to-invent-a-genuinely-new-and-deep/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One of the things Kuhn said about normal science is that people 'expect' things to be discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-of-the-things-kuhn-said-about-normal-science-is-that-people/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Probability fractions arise from our knowledge and from our ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/probability-fractions-arise-from-our-knowledge-and-from-our-ignorance/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One ought to begin an analysis of power from the ground up, at the level of tiny local events where battles are unwittingly enacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-ought-to-begin-an-analysis-of-power-from-the-ground-up-at-the/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is possible to argue that our present conception of revolution was staked out more securely in science than in political action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-possible-to-argue-that-our-present-conception-of-revolution-was/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Why should there be the method of science? There is not just one way to build a house, or even to grow tomatoes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/why-should-there-be-the-method-of-science-there-is-not-just-one-way/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Opinion is the companion of probability within the medieval epistemology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/opinion-is-the-companion-of-probability-within-the-medieval/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Risk analysis can cater to any sort of hazard, but their profession owes its existence to a relatively narrow band of possible dangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/risk-analysis-can-cater-to-any-sort-of-hazard-but-their-profession/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is so hard to make important decisions that we have a great urge to reduce them to rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-so-hard-to-make-important-decisions-that-we-have-a-great-urge/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [In each case you settle on an act. Doing nothing at all counts as an act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/in-each-case-you-settle-on-an-act-doing-nothing-at-all-counts-as-an/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [I think it's unfortunate when people say that there is just one true story of science. For one thing, there are many different sciences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/i-think-it-s-unfortunate-when-people-say-that-there-is-just-one-true/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [As a political metaphor, a revolution could, in that sense, mean only a return to better times, or to the true constitution: a ridding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/as-a-political-metaphor-a-revolution-could-in-that-sense-mean-only-a/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [“Labels such as ‘‘the culture wars,’’ ‘‘the science wars,’’ or ‘‘the Freud wars’’ are now widely used to refer to some of the disagreements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/labels-such-as-the-culture-wars-the-science-wars-or-the-freud-wars/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [There are two ways in which a science develops; in response to problems which is itself creates, and in response to problems that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/there-are-two-ways-in-which-a-science-develops-in-response-to/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [From any vocabulary of ideas we can build other ideas by formal combinations of signs. But not any set of ideas will be instructive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/from-any-vocabulary-of-ideas-we-can-build-other-ideas-by-formal/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) [Explore all 75 Ian Hacking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## More Curiosity quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [ “\[T\]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. \[...\] The point is, perhaps, that I am not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no-meaning-even-though-it-seems/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [There is nothing so carking as the pangs of unsatisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/there-is-nothing-so-carking-as-the-pangs-of-unsatisfied-curiosity/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [As long as your curiosity is greater than your fear, you will move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-long-as-your-curiosity-is-greater-than-your-fear-you-will-move/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) [Robyn Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-irving/) [Browse all 2,721 Curiosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a dilettante. 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