--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's an ingrained distrust in our…" description: "\"“There's an ingrained distrust in our society of highly intelligent, highly trained, highly competent persons. One need only look at the last president..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4c/john-brunner-10043_distrust_there-s-an-ingrained-distrust-in-our-soc_283586.jpg" --- # There's an ingrained distrust in our society of highly… ![“There's an ingrained distrust in our society of highly intelligent, highly trained, highly competent persons. One need only look at the last presidential election for proof of that.” quote by John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4c/john-brunner-10043_distrust_there-s-an-ingrained-distrust-in-our-soc_283586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4c/john-brunner-10043_distrust_there-s-an-ingrained-distrust-in-our-soc_283586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4c/john-brunner-10043_distrust_there-s-an-ingrained-distrust-in-our-soc_283586.jpg) > ““There's an ingrained distrust in our society of highly intelligent, highly trained, highly competent persons. One need only look at the last presidential election for proof of that.”” [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Notes societal distrust of highly capable individuals, exemplified by recent election skepticism. **In simple terms:** People distrust expertise. Key Takeaway Earn trust through transparency. Themes trust expertise politics Mood cautionary analytical Type critical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - public policy - elections - science communication - leadership Key Concepts Sociology media studies Questions to Reflect On - How can experts rebuild trust? - What fuels distrust of competence? A Different Perspective Mistrust can be deep‑rooted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Highly intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highly-intelligent/) ## Related quotes > [Society highly values its normal man. It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd, and thus to be normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/society-highly-values-its-normal-man-it-educates-children-to-lose/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [“Widespread distrust in a society…imposes a kind of tax on all forms of economic activity, a tax that high-trust societies do not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/widespread-distrust-in-a-society-imposes-a-kind-of-tax-on-all-forms/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [“Of course, many highly intelligent people like Dan find a place to feel comfortable in adulthood, when there is a bit less stigma to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-prinstein/of-course-many-highly-intelligent-people-like-dan-find-a-place-to/) [Mitch Prinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-prinstein/) > [“Far from being repelled by the duplicity around him, Elliott felt ever more drawn to the game of skulduggery and double cross. The Venlo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-macintyre/far-from-being-repelled-by-the-duplicity-around-him-elliott-felt-ever/) [Ben Macintyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-macintyre/) > [“That's right I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/that-s-right-i-am-a-book-kisser-maybe-that-s-kind-of-perverted-or/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [It should be done with the same degree of alacrity and nonchalance that you would display in authorizing a highly intelligent trained bear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-greenberg-2/it-should-be-done-with-the-same-degree-of-alacrity-and-nonchalance/) Daniel S Greenberg > [“Neuroscientist David Comings drew out the larger implications of such hallucinations for the relationship between our rational and spiritual brains: The psychedelic drugs like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/neuroscientist-david-comings-drew-out-the-larger-implications-of-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Lionel Messi is a wonderful player. Very skillful. Highly intelligent. He is not good in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pel/lionel-messi-is-a-wonderful-player-very-skillful-highly-intelligent/) [Pele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pel/) > [We are the products of a highly intelligent and creative supreme being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/we-are-the-products-of-a-highly-intelligent-and-creative-supreme-being/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [We all know in the deaf community, there are deaf actors, men and women who are highly, highly skilled, highly intuitive, highly intelligent, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-raci/we-all-know-in-the-deaf-community-there-are-deaf-actors-men-and-women/) [Paul Raci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-raci/) > [“The team must consist of three sorts of specialists, he says. Otherwise the revolution, whether in politics or the arts or the sciences or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-team-must-consist-of-three-sorts-of-specialists-he-says-otherwise/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Maybe it’s my tattoos talking, but this is my favorite missional mandate. Because the perception of Christians as self-righteous segregationists is so prevailing, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hatmaker/maybe-it-s-my-tattoos-talking-but-this-is-my-favorite-missional/) [Jen Hatmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hatmaker/) > [“The Austrian writer Robert Musil summed up the Fanatic's great rhetorical advantage in just ten words: There is no truth which stupidity can't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/the-austrian-writer-robert-musil-summed-up-the-fanatic-s-great/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [Hillary Clinton's a highly intelligent woman, hard-working, she's dedicated her life to public service, but unfortunately, she does not have a track record of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/hillary-clinton-s-a-highly-intelligent-woman-hard-working-she-s/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [ \[About Pierre de Fermat\] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## More by John Brunner > [For all the claims one hears about the liberating impact of the data-net, the truth is that it's wished on most of us a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/for-all-the-claims-one-hears-about-the-liberating-impact-of-the-data/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“Take stock, citizen bacillus, Now that there are so many billions of you, Bleeding through your opened veins, Into your bathtub, or into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/take-stock-citizen-bacillus-now-that-there-are-so-many-billions-of/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“What hurt him most of all, made him feel like a sick child aware of terrible wrongness and yet incapable of explaining it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/what-hurt-him-most-of-all-made-him-feel-like-a-sick-child-aware-of/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“He had many names, but one nature, and this unique nature made him subject to certain laws not binding upon ordinary persons. In a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/he-had-many-names-but-one-nature-and-this-unique-nature-made-him/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“True, you’re not a slave. You’re worse off than that by a long, long way. You’re a predatory beast shut up in a cage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/true-you-re-not-a-slave-you-re-worse-off-than-that-by-a-long-long-way/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“It's natural for a man to defend what's dear to him: his own life, his home, his family. But in order to make him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/it-s-natural-for-a-man-to-defend-what-s-dear-to-him-his-own-life-his/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“Time entails memory, memory entails conscience, conscience entails thought for the future, which is itself implied by the existence of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/time-entails-memory-memory-entails-conscience-conscience-entails/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“It's not because my mind is made up that I don't want you to confuse me with any more facts. It's because my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/it-s-not-because-my-mind-is-made-up-that-i-don-t-want-you-to-confuse/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, " This is new, and therefore better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/there-are-two-kinds-of-fools-one-says-this-is-old-and-therefore-good/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“The walls were chipped and needed paint. The windows were mostly okay but one pane was blocked with cardboard. There were fleas the exterminator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/the-walls-were-chipped-and-needed-paint-the-windows-were-mostly-okay/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“Right! Right! 'Stead of which, over here, they shit in the water until it's dangerous to drink, then make a fucking fortune out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/right-right-stead-of-which-over-here-they-shit-in-the-water-until-it/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [NEGRO :; Member of a subgroup of the human race who hails, or whose ancestors hailed, from a chunk of land nicknamed not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/negro-member-of-a-subgroup-of-the-human-race-who-hails-or-whose/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“She recalled him as a forceful and witty speaker with a ready repartee and a penetrating voice. He had once, for example, put down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/she-recalled-him-as-a-forceful-and-witty-speaker-with-a-ready/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [It's supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/it-s-supposed-to-be-automatic-but-actually-you-have-to-push-this/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [To go faster you must slow down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/to-go-faster-you-must-slow-down/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) [Explore all 66 John Brunner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) ## More Distrust quotes > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Distrust all those who love you extremely upon a very slight acquaintance and without any visible reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distrust-all-those-who-love-you-extremely-upon-a-very-slight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [Our own distrust gives a fair pretence for the knavery of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/our-own-distrust-gives-a-fair-pretence-for-the-knavery-of-other-people/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Let not the world see fear and sad distrust govern the motion of a kingly eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-not-the-world-see-fear-and-sad-distrust-govern-the-motion-of-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Excessive distrust is not less hurtfJul than its opposite. Most men become useless to him who is unwilling to risk being deceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/excessive-distrust-is-not-less-hurtfjul-than-its-opposite-most-men/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Objection, evasion, joyous distrust, and love of irony are signs of health; everything absolute belongs to pathology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/objection-evasion-joyous-distrust-and-love-of-irony-are-signs-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [On one thing, at least, men & women both agree: They both distrust women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/on-one-thing-at-least-men-women-both-agree-they-both-distrust-women/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Our distrust of another justifies his deceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/our-distrust-of-another-justifies-his-deceit/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to democracies as against despots.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/there-is-one-safeguard-known-generally-to-the-wise-which-is-an/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [When I arrived in America, though I had left the war physically far behind, in my mind, the soldiers were still chasing to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loung-ung/when-i-arrived-in-america-though-i-had-left-the-war-physically-far/) [Loung Ung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loung-ung/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You have to believe in something, and you have to believe in the things that you feel and find value in those things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-choi/you-have-to-believe-in-something-and-you-have-to-believe-in-the/) [Roy Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-choi/) [Browse all 582 Distrust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There's an ingrained distrust in our society of highly intelligent, highly trained, highly competent persons. 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