--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not long after the book came out I found…" description: "\"“Not long after the book came out I found myself being driven to a meeting by a professor of electrical engineering in the graduate school I of MIT. He..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/john-holt-14171_book_not-long-after-the-book-came-out-i-found_1506846.jpg" --- # Not long after the book came out I found myself being… ![“Not long after the book came out I found myself being driven to a meeting by a professor of electrical engineering in the graduate school I of MIT. He said that after reading the book he realized that his graduate students were using on him, and had used for the ten years and more he had been…” quote by John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/john-holt-14171_book_not-long-after-the-book-came-out-i-found_1506846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/john-holt-14171_book_not-long-after-the-book-came-out-i-found_1506846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/john-holt-14171_book_not-long-after-the-book-came-out-i-found_1506846.jpg) > ““Not long after the book came out I found myself being driven to a meeting by a professor of electrical engineering in the graduate school I of MIT. He said that after reading the book he realized that his graduate students were using on him, and had used for the ten years and more he had been teaching there, all the evasive strategies I described in the book — mumble, guess-and-look, take a wild guess and see what happens, get the teacher to answer his own questions, etc. But as I later realized, these are the games that all humans play when others are sitting in judgment on them.”” [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Students often use evasive tactics to avoid judgment, revealing a universal human tendency to play games when evaluated. **In simple terms:** People hide behind tricks when judged. Key Takeaway Recognize and address avoidance behaviors. Themes education psychology human behavior Mood reflective critical Type advice observational When to use this quote - classroom discussions - mentor feedback - performance reviews Key Concepts evasion judgment self‑protection Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when you feel judged? - What strategies foster honest engagement? A Different Perspective These tactics can also hinder genuine learning and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-realized-659540/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Electrical engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electrical-engineering/) [Graduate student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-student/) [Graduate students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-students/) [Mit Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mit-said-2952498/) [Realized Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realized-games-3012159/) [Schooling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schooling/) [Strategies Described](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategies-described-3569212/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Teaching Evasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-evasive-5537970/) [Ten years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten-years/) ## Related quotes > [Synthetic Worlds is a surprisingly profound book about the social, political, and economic issues arising from the emergence of vast multiplayer games on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/synthetic-worlds-is-a-surprisingly-profound-book-about-the-social/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [I was at a speaking engagement for MIT... and I said, 'The Professor has all sorts of degrees, including one from this very institution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-johnson/i-was-at-a-speaking-engagement-for-mit-and-i-said-the-professor-has/) [Russell Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-johnson/) > [“Power-purchasing” strategies are described, some of which are group purchasing organizations, just-in-time purchasing, one-stop purchasing, and prime vendor agreements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-parker-puckett/power-purchasing-strategies-are-described-some-of-which-are-group/) [Ruby Parker Puckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-parker-puckett/) > [I lived my life with alot of sin... 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No matter how well you get along with your children when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/john-if-you-ever-get-a-family-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-no/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [It is hard not to feel that there must be something very wrong with much of what we do in school, if we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/it-is-hard-not-to-feel-that-there-must-be-something-very-wrong-with/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [“Why do they do this? Because it gives them a license to act like tyrants and to feel like saints. “Do what I tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/why-do-they-do-this-because-it-gives-them-a-license-to-act-like/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [“We learn to do something by doing it. There is no other way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/we-learn-to-do-something-by-doing-it-there-is-no-other-way/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [Since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/since-we-can-t-know-what-knowledge-will-be-most-needed-in-the-future/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [“Leaders are not, as we are often led to think, people who go along with huge crowds following them. 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