--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always believed in the Nero Wolfe…" description: "\"“I've always believed in the Nero Wolfe theory of knowledge. You can just sit quietly in your room - according to Pascal, the activity that if practice..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/katha-pollitt-16599_knowledge_i-ve-always-believed-in-the-nero-wolfe-t_2095693.jpg" --- # I've always believed in the Nero Wolfe theory of… ![“I've always believed in the Nero Wolfe theory of knowledge. You can just sit quietly in your room - according to Pascal, the activity that if practiced more assiduously would free humanity from most of its troubles, but that was before e-mail - and through sheer mental effort force the tiniest…” quote by Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/katha-pollitt-16599_knowledge_i-ve-always-believed-in-the-nero-wolfe-t_2095693.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/katha-pollitt-16599_knowledge_i-ve-always-believed-in-the-nero-wolfe-t_2095693.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/katha-pollitt-16599_knowledge_i-ve-always-believed-in-the-nero-wolfe-t_2095693.jpg) > ““I've always believed in the Nero Wolfe theory of knowledge. You can just sit quietly in your room - according to Pascal, the activity that if practiced more assiduously would free humanity from most of its troubles, but that was before e-mail - and through sheer mental effort force the tiniest snippets of information to yield the entire story of which they are a fragment, because the whole truth is contained in every particle of it, the way every human cell contains our DNA.”” [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Quiet contemplation can reveal deep truths, but modern distractions hinder this mental effort. **In simple terms:** Thinking quietly uncovers hidden knowledge. Key Takeaway Allocate distraction‑free time for deep thought. Themes knowledge focus technology Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - writing - problem solving Key Concepts cognitive depth information theory Questions to Reflect On - What practices help you maintain focus? - Can brief pauses improve insight? A Different Perspective Digital overload can prevent sustained concentration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Theory of knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-of-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“In various ways, methods of approaching the mathematician's ideal were sought, and the resulting suggestions were the source of much that was mistaken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-various-ways-methods-of-approaching-the-mathematician-s-ideal-were/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [A modern theory of knowledge which takes account of the relational as distinct from the merely relative character of all historical knowledge must start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/a-modern-theory-of-knowledge-which-takes-account-of-the-relational-as/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [“Logic is also the theory of knowledge of Marxism, but for quite another reason, because the forms themselves of the activity of the ‘spirit’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evald-vasilyevich-ilyenkov/logic-is-also-the-theory-of-knowledge-of-marxism-but-for-quite/) Evald Vasilyevich Ilyenkov > [Positivism is a theory of knowledge according to which the only kind of sound knowledge available to human kind is that if science grounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/positivism-is-a-theory-of-knowledge-according-to-which-the-only-kind/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [“Pascal was even convinced that he could use his theories to justify a belief in God. He stated that ‘the excitement that a gambler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-singh/pascal-was-even-convinced-that-he-could-use-his-theories-to-justify-a/) [Simon Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-singh/) > [“More people saying what they believe would be a great improvement. Because I often do I am unfit for common intercourse.-Nero Wolfe in "Blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/more-people-saying-what-they-believe-would-be-a-great-improvement/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [ “Mrs. Rachel Bruner: \[trying to goad Wolfe\] I thought you were afraid of nobody and nothing. Nero Wolfe: \[unruffled\] I can dodge folly without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/mrs-rachel-bruner-trying-to-goad-wolfe-i-thought-you-were-afraid-of/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Theory is knowledge that doesn't work. Practice is when everything works and you don't know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/theory-is-knowledge-that-doesn-t-work-practice-is-when-everything/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“I knew how to use a dictionary, and if I was going to be spending time around Nero Wolfe, I would have to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-knew-how-to-use-a-dictionary-and-if-i-was-going-to-be-spending-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge is theory. We should be thankful if action of management is based on theory. Knowledge has temporal spread. Information is not knowledge. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/knowledge-is-theory-we-should-be-thankful-if-action-of-management-is/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [The fundamental proposition of the apriorist theory is that knowledge is made up of two sorts of elements, which cannot be reduced into one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-fundamental-proposition-of-the-apriorist-theory-is-that-knowledge/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [“I have undertaken to to find an explanation for something that can't possibly be explained-Nero Wolfe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/i-have-undertaken-to-to-find-an-explanation-for-something-that-can-t/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [I try to know what I need to know. I make sure to know what I want to know. (Nero Wolfe)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/i-try-to-know-what-i-need-to-know-i-make-sure-to-know-what-i-want-to/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Theory without practice is of little value, whereas practice is the proof of theory.Theory is the knowledge, practice the ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alois-podhajsky/theory-without-practice-is-of-little-value-whereas-practice-is-the/) [Alois Podhajsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alois-podhajsky/) > [“It strikes me, sir, that you are nearing the point where even a grateful American might tell you to go to the devil.-Nero Wolfe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/it-strikes-me-sir-that-you-are-nearing-the-point-where-even-a/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) ## More by Katha Pollitt > [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-should-say-that-it-was-only-for-me-that-marxism-seemed-over-surely/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [One of the very important ideas of feminism for me has always been women helping and supporting each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/one-of-the-very-important-ideas-of-feminism-for-me-has-always-been/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [funny how ready people are to believe that counseling, which even when voluntary takes years to modify garden-variety neuroses, can work wonders in months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/funny-how-ready-people-are-to-believe-that-counseling-which-even-when/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [Misogyny runs deeper than religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/misogyny-runs-deeper-than-religion/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [Why must the woman apologize for not having a baby just because she happened to get pregnant? It's as if we think motherhood is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/why-must-the-woman-apologize-for-not-having-a-baby-just-because-she/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [“Maybe I’m not cut out for monogamy,” G. had said to me early on. “Maybe I should just live in a room by myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/maybe-i-m-not-cut-out-for-monogamy-g-had-said-to-me-early-on-maybe-i/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [For many people, feminism is one of those words of which, as St. Augustine said about time, they know the meaning as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/for-many-people-feminism-is-one-of-those-words-of-which-as-st/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [When it comes to ideas - and religions are, among other things, ideas - there is no right not to be offended. ... In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/when-it-comes-to-ideas-and-religions-are-among-other-things-ideas/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [In a better world, science teachers would teach creationism along with evolution as an exercise in critical thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/in-a-better-world-science-teachers-would-teach-creationism-along-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision and move on with their lives. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/we-need-to-say-that-women-have-sex-have-abortions-are-at-peace-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [“I’m a writer; I can float for hours on a word like “amethyst” or “broom” or the way so many words sound like what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-m-a-writer-i-can-float-for-hours-on-a-word-like-amethyst-or-broom/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [A feminist is a person who answers 'yes' to the question 'Are women human?' Feminism is not about whether women are better than, worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/a-feminist-is-a-person-who-answers-yes-to-the-question-are-women/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [If you run into trouble doing what's expected, people sympathize with you, while if you try something else and flop everyone says, You see?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-you-run-into-trouble-doing-what-s-expected-people-sympathize-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [ When you consider that God could have commanded anything he wanted--anything!--the Ten \[Commandments\] have got to rank as one of the great missed moral… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/when-you-consider-that-god-could-have-commanded-anything-he-wanted/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [While woman sheds the Blood of Life each moon at menstruation, man can only shed the blood of death through warfare and killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/while-woman-sheds-the-blood-of-life-each-moon-at-menstruation-man-can/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) [Explore all 39 Katha Pollitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. They should be aware of what's happening in the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/i-am-an-aware-citizen-so-i-want-my-characters-to-be-aware-too-they/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Love is a vision,love carry our vision,and love by-step our vision. we carry our love to our by-step. once love is vision love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-vision-love-carry-our-vision-and-love-by-step-our-vision-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is an ignoramus athirst for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wagner/man-is-an-ignoramus-athirst-for-knowledge/) [Charles Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wagner/) [Browse all 13,227 Knowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I've always believed in the Nero Wolfe theory of knowledge. 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