--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is almost a rule that the more complex…" description: "\"It is almost a rule that the more complex a man is, the simpler his billing. A person with a retrospective ability gone rampant often would be called a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/joseph-brodsky-1225_ability_it-is-almost-a-rule-that-the-more-comple_3173988.jpg" --- # It is almost a rule that the more complex a man is, the… ![“It is almost a rule that the more complex a man is, the simpler his billing. A person with a retrospective ability gone rampant often would be called an historian. Similarly, one to whom reality doesn't seem to make sense gets dubbed a philosopher.” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/joseph-brodsky-1225_ability_it-is-almost-a-rule-that-the-more-comple_3173988.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/joseph-brodsky-1225_ability_it-is-almost-a-rule-that-the-more-comple_3173988.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/joseph-brodsky-1225_ability_it-is-almost-a-rule-that-the-more-comple_3173988.jpg) > “It is almost a rule that the more complex a man is, the simpler his billing. A person with a retrospective ability gone rampant often would be called an historian. Similarly, one to whom reality doesn't seem to make sense gets dubbed a philosopher.” [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex individuals are often reduced to simple labels, like historian or philosopher, based on how they process reality. **In simple terms:** People get simple labels despite complex thoughts. Key Takeaway Beware of oversimplification. Themes identity labeling complexity Mood critical analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic discussions - media profiling - personal introspection Key Concepts philosophy history cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do we make about others' complexity? - How can we see beyond labels? A Different Perspective Labels can limit understanding of nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Called Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-historian-5788229/) [Dubbed Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dubbed-philosopher-5788230/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [Historian Similarly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian-similarly-5788231/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [I called it 'Historian' because I feel like most of my creative efforts are efforts to capture something or to document it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-dacus/i-called-it-historian-because-i-feel-like-most-of-my-creative-efforts/) [Lucy Dacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-dacus/) > [Virtually every subject is most effectively learned directly from the greatest thinkers, historians, artists, philosophers, scientists, prophets and their original works. Great works inspire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/virtually-every-subject-is-most-effectively-learned-directly-from-the/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [When I first collected these authorities, I was desirous that every quotation should be useful to some other end than the illustration of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/when-i-first-collected-these-authorities-i-was-desirous-that-every/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-delusion-that-encourages-belief-where-there-is-no-evidence-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Indeed, the distribution of wealth is too important an issue to be left to economists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too-important-an-issue-to-be/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [We need the historian and philosopher to give us with trenchant pen, the story of our forefathers, and let our soul and body, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-alfonso-schomburg/we-need-the-historian-and-philosopher-to-give-us-with-trenchant-pen/) [Arturo Alfonso Schomburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-alfonso-schomburg/) > [If experiments are performed thousands of times at all seasons and in every place without once producing the effects mentioned by your philosophers, poets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/if-experiments-are-performed-thousands-of-times-at-all-seasons-and-in/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The historian amputates reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaetano-salvemini/the-historian-amputates-reality/) [Gaetano Salvemini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaetano-salvemini/) > [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [“military historian Richard Holmes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/military-historian-richard-holmes/) [Clare Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-wright/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) ## More by Joseph Brodsky > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [For some odd reason, the expression 'death of a poet' always sounds somewhat more concrete than 'life of a poet.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/for-some-odd-reason-the-expression-death-of-a-poet-always-sounds/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [A poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. 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To a part of speech”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/what-gets-left-of-a-man-amounts-to-a-part-to-his-spoken-part-to-a/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“secrecy is a hotbed of vanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/secrecy-is-a-hotbed-of-vanity/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“The instinctive preference was to read rather than to act. No wonder our actual lives were more or less a shambles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-instinctive-preference-was-to-read-rather-than-to-act-no-wonder/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Americans have been tremendously fortunate in poetry, regarding both the quantity and quality of poetry produced. Unfortunately, it remains in schools and universities; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/americans-have-been-tremendously-fortunate-in-poetry-regarding-both/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/life-the-way-it-really-is-is-a-battle-not-between-good-and-bad-but/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Poems, novels - these things belong to the nation, to the culture, and the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poems-novels-these-things-belong-to-the-nation-to-the-culture-and-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/if-there-is-any-substitute-for-love-it-is-memory/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) [Explore all 264 Joseph Brodsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. 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