--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don't realize that you're intelligent…" description: "\"You don't realize that you're intelligent until it gets you into trouble.\" — James A. Baldwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/195/james-a-baldwin-2080_intelligent_you-don-t-realize-that-you-re-intelligen_408442.jpg" --- # You don't realize that you're intelligent until it gets… ![“You don't realize that you're intelligent until it gets you into trouble.” quote by James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/195/james-a-baldwin-2080_intelligent_you-don-t-realize-that-you-re-intelligen_408442.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/195/james-a-baldwin-2080_intelligent_you-don-t-realize-that-you-re-intelligen_408442.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/195/james-a-baldwin-2080_intelligent_you-don-t-realize-that-you-re-intelligen_408442.jpg) > “You don't realize that you're intelligent until it gets you into trouble.” [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence can become a burden when it leads to problematic situations. **In simple terms:** Smartness brings trouble. Key Takeaway Use wisdom wisely. Themes intelligence trouble self-awareness Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career decisions - social interactions - problem solving Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When has your knowledge caused difficulty? - How can you balance intellect and humility? A Different Perspective Intelligence alone doesn’t guarantee success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gets Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gets-trouble-722307/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Gets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-gets-3647562/) [Realize Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-intelligent-2464681/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) ## Related quotes > [Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and more imaginative than they can be in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/through-writing-through-that-process-they-realize-that-they-become/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Your stupidity is what gets you in trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jana-jones/your-stupidity-is-what-gets-you-in-trouble/) [Jana Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jana-jones/) > [Anyone who thinks they have a monopoly on truth, and there is only one way to see the world, always gets us into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anyone-who-thinks-they-have-a-monopoly-on-truth-and-there-is-only-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To this day I always insist on working out a problem from the beginning without reading up on it first, a habit that sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/to-this-day-i-always-insist-on-working-out-a-problem-from-the/) [Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/) > [“Anger gets you into trouble, ego keeps you in trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/anger-gets-you-into-trouble-ego-keeps-you-in-trouble/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Follow your heart. It rarely leads you astray. It's thinking that gets us into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-berry/follow-your-heart-it-rarely-leads-you-astray-it-s-thinking-that-gets/) [Steve Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-berry/) > [“you have to come of age when it's your time. If you try to rush it or put it off, it only gets you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-clayton/you-have-to-come-of-age-when-it-s-your-time-if-you-try-to-rush-it-or/) [Donna Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-clayton/) > [Who expects trouble gets trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-burns/who-expects-trouble-gets-trouble/) [Donnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-burns/) > [An Icelandic mayor goes on an anti-elf rant which gets him in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sagal/an-icelandic-mayor-goes-on-an-anti-elf-rant-which-gets-him-in-trouble/) [Peter Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sagal/) > [Keeping your word is never a problem; giving your word gets you in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/keeping-your-word-is-never-a-problem-giving-your-word-gets-you-in/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [It's okay. You aren't my type. What's your type? Someone who gets into less trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/it-s-okay-you-aren-t-my-type-what-s-your-type-someone-who-gets-into/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [“It’s not what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you do know that ain’t so. —Will Rogers or Mark Twain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-burger/it-s-not-what-you-don-t-know-that-gets-you-in-trouble-it-s-what-you/) [Edward B. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-b-burger/) > [Imprudence gets us into more trouble than actual misdeeds do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/imprudence-gets-us-into-more-trouble-than-actual-misdeeds-do/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Whenever I indulge my sense of humor, it gets me into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/whenever-i-indulge-my-sense-of-humor-it-gets-me-into-trouble/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [In our ordinary experiences with other people, we know that approaching each other in a machinelike way gets us into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/in-our-ordinary-experiences-with-other-people-we-know-that/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) ## More by James A. Baldwin > [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/all-i-know-about-music-is-that-not-many-people-ever-really-hear-it/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [I've always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-ve-always-believed-that-you-can-think-positive-just-as-well-as-you/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-white-man-discovered-the-cross-by-way-of-the-bible-but-the-black/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/voyagers-discover-that-the-world-can-never-be-larger-than-the-person/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [We take our shape, it is true, within and against that cage of reality bequeathed us at our birth; and yet it is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/we-take-our-shape-it-is-true-within-and-against-that-cage-of-reality/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The American ideal is, after all, that everyone should be as much alike as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-is-after-all-that-everyone-should-be-as-much-alike/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [I think Americans are terrified of feeling anything. I never met a people more infantile in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-think-americans-are-terrified-of-feeling-anything-i-never-met-a/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/unless-a-writer-is-extremely-old-when-he-dies-in-which-case-he-has/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [An identity is questioned only when it is menaced, as when the mighty begin to fall, or when the wretched begin to rise, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/an-identity-is-questioned-only-when-it-is-menaced-as-when-the-mighty/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [White people will have quite enough to do in learning how to accept and love themselves and each other, and when they have achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/white-people-will-have-quite-enough-to-do-in-learning-how-to-accept/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [A devotion to humanity is... too easily equated with a devotion to a Cause, and Causes, as we know, are notoriously bloodthirsty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/a-devotion-to-humanity-is-too-easily-equated-with-a-devotion-to-a/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Most people... find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/most-people-find-a-disorientating-mismatch-between-the-long-term/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) [Explore all 187 James A. Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) ## More Intelligent quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) [Whitney Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-balliett/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I prefer rappers who have something intelligent to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemele-hill/i-prefer-rappers-who-have-something-intelligent-to-say/) [Jemele Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemele-hill/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [If a Coach is determined to stay in the coaching profession, he will develop from year to year. This much is true, no coach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-rupp/if-a-coach-is-determined-to-stay-in-the-coaching-profession-he-will/) [Adolph Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-rupp/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [“It’s an intelligent woman who prepares in advance for any mishaps by ordering a drink the same color as her dress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-sloan/it-s-an-intelligent-woman-who-prepares-in-advance-for-any-mishaps-by/) [Brenda Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-sloan/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [“One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/one-who-sees-inaction-in-action-and-action-in-inaction-is-intelligent/) [Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I am really interested in the idea that art can reach wider, can go further, can go beyond the art world, why not? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-am-really-interested-in-the-idea-that-art-can-reach-wider-can-go/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [Man is so intelligent animal on earth that if he was empowered as much as God, he would start battling with him to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/man-is-so-intelligent-animal-on-earth-that-if-he-was-empowered-as/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 2,940 Intelligent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You don't realize that you're intelligent until it gets you into trouble.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James A. 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