--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My reasoning, if one can call it that…" description: "\"My reasoning, if one can call it that, was inflamed by the scatter shot passions of youth and a literary diet overly rich in the works of Nietzshe, Ker..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png" --- # My reasoning, if one can call it that, was inflamed by the… ![“My reasoning, if one can call it that, was inflamed by the scatter shot passions of youth and a literary diet overly rich in the works of Nietzshe, Kerouac, and John Menlove Edwards...” quote by Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png) > “My reasoning, if one can call it that, was inflamed by the scatter shot passions of youth and a literary diet overly rich in the works of Nietzshe, Kerouac, and John Menlove Edwards...” [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youthful passion and a rich literary diet sparked intense, scattered reasoning, reflecting both inspiration and lack of focus. **In simple terms:** Passion and diverse reading can both fuel and confuse thinking. Key Takeaway Balance inspiration with disciplined focus. Themes youth literature intellectual growth Mood introspective analytical Type personal motivational When to use this quote - academic research - creative writing - self‑reflection Key Concepts creative chaos influence of philosophy personal development Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel scattered passions productively? - Which authors shape your thinking most? A Different Perspective Risk of over‑intellectualizing without practical grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inflamed Scatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inflamed-scatter-1965687/) [Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kerouac/) [Literary Diet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-diet-1965685/) [Nietzshe Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nietzshe-kerouac-1965686/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Reasoning Inflamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning-inflamed-1965684/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Shots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shots/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [A bit of trash now and then is good for the severest reader. It provides the necessary roughage in the literary diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/a-bit-of-trash-now-and-then-is-good-for-the-severest-reader-it/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [“I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting. …It does not hurt them to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-cooney/i-believe-that-children-in-this-country-need-a-more-robust-literary/) [Barbara Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-cooney/) > [That is why the ideal literary diet consists of trash and classics; all that has survived, and all that has no reason to survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/that-is-why-the-ideal-literary-diet-consists-of-trash-and-classics/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [Kerouac's books portray a hero and narrator free and easy, confident, sure of his rebellion against the American system. In reality, Jack was torn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-nicosia/kerouac-s-books-portray-a-hero-and-narrator-free-and-easy-confident/) [Gerald Nicosia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-nicosia/) > [To be able to play Jack Kerouac or Sal Paradise, it's mad to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-penry-jones/to-be-able-to-play-jack-kerouac-or-sal-paradise-it-s-mad-to-me/) [Rupert Penry-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-penry-jones/) > [Try the meditation of the trail, just walk along looking at the trail at your feet and don't look about and just fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/try-the-meditation-of-the-trail-just-walk-along-looking-at-the-trail/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [I fantasised about F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' - I loved it, and then I read everything J. D. Salinger had to offer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/i-fantasised-about-f-scott-fitzgerald-s-the-great-gatsby-i-loved-it/) [Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/) > [I was always aware that Jack loved women not only for their bodies but for the stories that came into being as they interacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-was-always-aware-that-jack-loved-women-not-only-for-their-bodies/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [Kerouac was this kid who exemplified something happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/kerouac-was-this-kid-who-exemplified-something-happening/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [Kerouac: You're ruining American poetry, O'Hara. O'Hara: That's more than you ever did for it, Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/kerouac-you-re-ruining-american-poetry-o-hara-o-hara-that-s-more-than/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [My golden dream was to move to New York and live in the Village and become that cool rebel beatnik Jack Kerouac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/my-golden-dream-was-to-move-to-new-york-and-live-in-the-village-and/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [“Capote's rejoinder to the Kerouac assertion that he never needed to edit his writing: "That's not writing .That's typing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cavano/capote-s-rejoinder-to-the-kerouac-assertion-that-he-never-needed-to/) [Joseph Cavano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cavano/) > [The truest form of any form of revolutionary left, whatever you want to call it, was Jack Kerouac, E.E. Cummings, and Allan Ginsberg's period.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/the-truest-form-of-any-form-of-revolutionary-left-whatever-you-want/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [ “I was impressed with Jack \[Kerouac\]’s commitment to serious writing at the expense of everything else in his life. At a time when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/i-was-impressed-with-jack-kerouac-s-commitment-to-serious-writing-at/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) > [ “I realized Jack \[Kerouac\] was deeply committed to writing. Kesey was just as deeply committed to living and experiencing the lives of others; for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/i-realized-jack-kerouac-was-deeply-committed-to-writing-kesey-was/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) ## More by Jon Krakauer > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Climbing mattered. The danger bathed the world in a halogen glow that caused everything—the sweep of the rock, the orange and yellow lichens, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/climbing-mattered-the-danger-bathed-the-world-in-a-halogen-glow-that/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/it-is-easy-when-you-are-young-to-believe-that-what-you-desire-is-no/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [He read a lot. He used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-read-a-lot-he-used-a-lot-of-big-words-i-think-maybe-part-of-what/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ But \[Everett\] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/but-everett-and-mccandless-at-least-they-tried-to-follow-their-dream/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“he was ready, perhaps, to shed a little of the armor he wore around his heart, that upon returning to civilization, he intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-was-ready-perhaps-to-shed-a-little-of-the-armor-he-wore-around-his/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ “Continually question climbing pursuits. Do they draw one back to the climbing community? Or do they lead along the \[inner-directed\] path? This questioning generates… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/continually-question-climbing-pursuits-do-they-draw-one-back-to-the/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The boy unmasked the gaping void in Franz's life even as he helped fill it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/the-boy-unmasked-the-gaping-void-in-franz-s-life-even-as-he-helped/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/unlike-muir-and-thoreau-mccandless-went-into-the-wilderness-not/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-m-intrigued-by-fanatics-people-who-are-seduced-by-the-promise-or/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/you-are-wrong-if-you-think-joy-emanates-only-or-principally-from/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I mean, how can you not be a feminist if you have a brain in your head? If you’re not a feminist, then you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-mean-how-can-you-not-be-a-feminist-if-you-have-a-brain-in-your-head/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“...I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-quickly-came-to-understand-that-climbing-everest-was-primarily/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them in the future because they will think they have bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/going-to-have-to-be-real-careful-not-to-accept-any-gifts-from-them-in/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“He must have been very brave and very strong, at the end, not to do himself in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-must-have-been-very-brave-and-very-strong-at-the-end-not-to-do/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) [Explore all 221 Jon Krakauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## More Kerouac quotes > [ “I realized Jack \[Kerouac\] was deeply committed to writing. Kesey was just as deeply committed to living and experiencing the lives of others; for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/i-realized-jack-kerouac-was-deeply-committed-to-writing-kesey-was/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) > [ “I was impressed with Jack \[Kerouac\]’s commitment to serious writing at the expense of everything else in his life. At a time when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/i-was-impressed-with-jack-kerouac-s-commitment-to-serious-writing-at/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) > [The truest form of any form of revolutionary left, whatever you want to call it, was Jack Kerouac, E.E. Cummings, and Allan Ginsberg's period.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/the-truest-form-of-any-form-of-revolutionary-left-whatever-you-want/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [“Capote's rejoinder to the Kerouac assertion that he never needed to edit his writing: "That's not writing .That's typing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cavano/capote-s-rejoinder-to-the-kerouac-assertion-that-he-never-needed-to/) [Joseph Cavano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cavano/) > [My golden dream was to move to New York and live in the Village and become that cool rebel beatnik Jack Kerouac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/my-golden-dream-was-to-move-to-new-york-and-live-in-the-village-and/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [Kerouac: You're ruining American poetry, O'Hara. O'Hara: That's more than you ever did for it, Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/kerouac-you-re-ruining-american-poetry-o-hara-o-hara-that-s-more-than/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [Kerouac was this kid who exemplified something happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/kerouac-was-this-kid-who-exemplified-something-happening/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [I was always aware that Jack loved women not only for their bodies but for the stories that came into being as they interacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-was-always-aware-that-jack-loved-women-not-only-for-their-bodies/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [I fantasised about F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' - I loved it, and then I read everything J. D. Salinger had to offer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/i-fantasised-about-f-scott-fitzgerald-s-the-great-gatsby-i-loved-it/) [Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/) > [Try the meditation of the trail, just walk along looking at the trail at your feet and don't look about and just fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/try-the-meditation-of-the-trail-just-walk-along-looking-at-the-trail/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [To be able to play Jack Kerouac or Sal Paradise, it's mad to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-penry-jones/to-be-able-to-play-jack-kerouac-or-sal-paradise-it-s-mad-to-me/) [Rupert Penry-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-penry-jones/) > [Kerouac's books portray a hero and narrator free and easy, confident, sure of his rebellion against the American system. In reality, Jack was torn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-nicosia/kerouac-s-books-portray-a-hero-and-narrator-free-and-easy-confident/) [Gerald Nicosia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-nicosia/) > [Kerouac and I are not real at all. The only thing about a writer is that he has written, and not his so-called life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/kerouac-and-i-are-not-real-at-all-the-only-thing-about-a-writer-is/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [The cruellest thing you can do to Kerouac is reread him at thirty-eight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/the-cruellest-thing-you-can-do-to-kerouac-is-reread-him-at-thirty/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“...Cody is furiously explaining to his little son Tim 'Never let the right hand know what your left hand is doing'... Page 100.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/cody-is-furiously-explaining-to-his-little-son-tim-never-let-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) [Browse all 77 Kerouac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kerouac/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My reasoning, if one can call it that, was inflamed by the scatter shot passions of youth and a literary diet overly rich in the works of Nietzshe, Kerouac, and John Menlove Edwards...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Krakauer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was-inflamed-by-the-scatter-shot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kerouac" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was-inflamed-by-the-scatter-shot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/jon-krakauer-1557_kerouac_my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was_1793298.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My reasoning, if one can call it that, was inflamed by the scatter shot passions of youth and a literary…” — Jon Krakauer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jon Krakauer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My reasoning, if one can call...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was-inflamed-by-the-scatter-shot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/my-reasoning-if-one-can-call-it-that-was-inflamed-by-the-scatter-shot/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```