--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Natural selection is intolerant of idle…" description: "\"“Natural selection is intolerant of idle verbosity.”\" — John M. Marzluff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/john-m-marzluff-63700_evolution_natural-selection-is-intolerant-of-idle_2995094.jpg" --- # Natural selection is intolerant of idle verbosity. ![“Natural selection is intolerant of idle verbosity.” quote by John M. Marzluff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/john-m-marzluff-63700_evolution_natural-selection-is-intolerant-of-idle_2995094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/john-m-marzluff-63700_evolution_natural-selection-is-intolerant-of-idle_2995094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a16/john-m-marzluff-63700_evolution_natural-selection-is-intolerant-of-idle_2995094.jpg) > ““Natural selection is intolerant of idle verbosity.”” [John M. Marzluff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-marzluff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idle chatter is wasteful; nature favors efficiency and purposeful communication. **In simple terms:** Idle talk is inefficient. Key Takeaway Communicate purposefully and concisely. Themes communication efficiency nature speech Mood analytical pragmatic reflective Type science philosophy When to use this quote - team meetings - public speaking - writing - educational instruction Key Concepts behavioral ecology linguistics evolutionary biology Questions to Reflect On - When is verbosity beneficial? - How can you balance clarity with warmth? A Different Perspective Silence can be misinterpreted as disengagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Procrastination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastination/) [Verbosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verbosity/) ## Related quotes > [Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/verbosity-leads-to-unclear-inarticulate-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He gave me a look of great contempt; as I supposed, for venturing, even by implication, to draw a parallel between a lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-gave-me-a-look-of-great-contempt-as-i-supposed-for-venturing-even/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Our language, once homely and colloquial, seeks to aggrandize our meanest activities with polysyllabic terms or it retreats from frankness into a stammering verbosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/our-language-once-homely-and-colloquial-seeks-to-aggrandize-our/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I unintentionally slaughter sacred cows in public venues and speak my mind even when I have lost it. I often open my mouth just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/i-unintentionally-slaughter-sacred-cows-in-public-venues-and-speak-my/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [“You have a faculty for defining the simplest in terms of the grandiose, so that a poor devil like me can't understand it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-bradbury/you-have-a-faculty-for-defining-the-simplest-in-terms-of-the/) [Malcolm Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-bradbury/) > [Verbosity was an established Victorian trait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-engel/verbosity-was-an-established-victorian-trait/) [Matthew Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-engel/) > [“Verbosity is the enemy of eloquence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-douglass/verbosity-is-the-enemy-of-eloquence/) Rebecca Douglass > [“Your father had other plans for you. Alas, his breakdown and untimely demise derailed everything he'd worked to accomplish. 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"A tintamarrous bombilation!" he remarked. "Sounds more like a fight to me," Monk muttered. 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