--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's some way in which we would prefer…" description: "\"There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who live in our most abject ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/katherine-boo-7467_abject_there-s-some-way-in-which-we-would-prefe_217150.jpg" --- # There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very… ![“There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who live in our most abject conditions. Maybe there are some things at work in deciding who gets to be society's winners and who gets to be society's losers that don't have to…” quote by Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/katherine-boo-7467_abject_there-s-some-way-in-which-we-would-prefe_217150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/katherine-boo-7467_abject_there-s-some-way-in-which-we-would-prefe_217150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/katherine-boo-7467_abject_there-s-some-way-in-which-we-would-prefe_217150.jpg) > “There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who live in our most abject conditions. Maybe there are some things at work in deciding who gets to be society's winners and who gets to be society's losers that don't have to do with merit.” [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society often overlooks the talents of those in dire poverty, suggesting success is not solely merit-based. **In simple terms:** We ignore the gifts of the poorest, implying success isn’t just merit. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions about merit and poverty. Themes poverty merit inequality Mood thoughtful critical Type sociological inspirational When to use this quote - policy debates - community programs - educational reform Key Concepts social stratification psychology structural bias Questions to Reflect On - What biases shape our view of the poor? - How can we value hidden talents? A Different Perspective May ignore individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abject/) [Gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gifts/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Loser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loser/) [Losers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winner/) [Winners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winners/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“I was ungrateful to Providence by not being happy; and, yet, does happiness always result from the gifts of intelligence? I tend to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-de-duras/i-was-ungrateful-to-providence-by-not-being-happy-and-yet-does/) Claire de Duras > [In a capitalistic society the losers slaved for the winners and you have to have more losers than winners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/in-a-capitalistic-society-the-losers-slaved-for-the-winners-and-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Greed: A word commonly used by liberals, low achievers, anti-capitalists and society's losers to denigrate, shame and discredit those who have acquired superior job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/greed-a-word-commonly-used-by-liberals-low-achievers-anti-capitalists/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [The more intelligence one has, the more people one finds original. Commonplace people see no difference between men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-more-intelligence-one-has-the-more-people-one-finds-original/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [A republican form of government, without intelligence in the people, must be, on a vast scale, what a mad-house, without superintendent or keepers, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/a-republican-form-of-government-without-intelligence-in-the-people/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Why is it that the less intelligence people have, the more spiritual they are? They seem to fill all the vacant, ignorant spaces in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/why-is-it-that-the-less-intelligence-people-have-the-more-spiritual/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [The long-term value of amplifying the intelligence of people is a lot more important than betting on sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-b-rosenberg/the-long-term-value-of-amplifying-the-intelligence-of-people-is-a-lot/) [Louis B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-b-rosenberg/) > [When you look at obesity in the United States, clearly it is not a bunch of stupid people. It has nothing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/when-you-look-at-obesity-in-the-united-states-clearly-it-is-not-a/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“Multipliers increase intelligence in people and in organizations. People actually get smarter and more capable around them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-wiseman/multipliers-increase-intelligence-in-people-and-in-organizations/) [Liz Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-wiseman/) > [“One problem with the way the educational system is set up is that it only recognizes a certain type of intelligence, and it’s incredibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/one-problem-with-the-way-the-educational-system-is-set-up-is-that-it/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“She confused wit with intelligence, and made people laugh rather than lightening their hearts or making them think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/she-confused-wit-with-intelligence-and-made-people-laugh-rather-than/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) > [I think there's been this long cycle of the big companies making a lot of money by underestimating people's intelligence and people are used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robbins/i-think-there-s-been-this-long-cycle-of-the-big-companies-making-a/) [J. Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robbins/) > [I think that the artificial-intelligence people are making a lot of noise recently, claiming that artificial intelligence is making huge progress and we're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/i-think-that-the-artificial-intelligence-people-are-making-a-lot-of/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/by-far-the-greatest-danger-of-artificial-intelligence-is-that-people/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) ## More by Katherine Boo > [“In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/in-places-where-government-priorities-and-market-imperatives-create-a/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“The forces of justice had finally come to Annawadi. That the beneficiaries were horses was a source of bemusement to Sunil and the road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/the-forces-of-justice-had-finally-come-to-annawadi-that-the/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“For years, Asha had hoped that her daughter wouldn’t guess about the men. Now she wished she had raised Manju to be worldly enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/for-years-asha-had-hoped-that-her-daughter-wouldn-t-guess-about-the/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“What was unfolding in Mumbai was unfolding elsewhere, too. In the age of global market capitalism, hopes and grievances were narrowly conceived, which blunted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/what-was-unfolding-in-mumbai-was-unfolding-elsewhere-too-in-the-age/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [I was spending a lot of time in Mumbai after I met my husband, who is Indian, and while parts of the city were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/i-was-spending-a-lot-of-time-in-mumbai-after-i-met-my-husband-who-is/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [One thing that was very clear to me is that the young people in a place like Annawadi aren't tripping on caste the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/one-thing-that-was-very-clear-to-me-is-that-the-young-people-in-a/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“that the only Indians who went on trial were”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/that-the-only-indians-who-went-on-trial-were/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Besides, this was the gentle-going hour in which he hated Annawadi least. The pale sun lent the sewage lake a sparkling silver cast, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/besides-this-was-the-gentle-going-hour-in-which-he-hated-annawadi/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“No onlooker asked, Why fix a house when the airport authority might demolish it? Almost everyone here improved his hut when he was able,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/no-onlooker-asked-why-fix-a-house-when-the-airport-authority-might/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [Everyone in Annawadi talks like this: 'Oh, I will make my child a doctor, a lawyer, and he will make us rich'. It's vanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/everyone-in-annawadi-talks-like-this-oh-i-will-make-my-child-a-doctor/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Like most scavengers, Sunil knew how he appeared to the people who frequented the airport: shoeless, unclean, pathetic. By winter’s end, he had defended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/like-most-scavengers-sunil-knew-how-he-appeared-to-the-people-who/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Though Abdul had been afraid of ghosts as most Annawadi boys, these reports did no disturb him. Being terrorized by living people seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/though-abdul-had-been-afraid-of-ghosts-as-most-annawadi-boys-these/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [But if writing about people who are not yourself is illegitimate, then the only legitimate work is autobiography; and as a reader and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/but-if-writing-about-people-who-are-not-yourself-is-illegitimate-then/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [I'm not squeamish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/i-m-not-squeamish/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Abdul hadn’t previously thought of policemen as people with hearts and lungs who worried about money or their health. The world seemed replete with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/abdul-hadn-t-previously-thought-of-policemen-as-people-with-hearts/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) [Explore all 90 Katherine Boo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) ## More Abject quotes > [ “‎"The only abject failure my mind can think of is ones failure to spend Eternity in God's Heaven" ~R. Alan Woods \[2012\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/the-only-abject-failure-my-mind-can-think-of-is-ones-failure-to-spend/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/i-came-from-abject-poverty-there-was-nowhere-to-go-but-up/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [“That was a day that taught me the meaning of abject failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/that-was-a-day-that-taught-me-the-meaning-of-abject-failure/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [“Do you not realize that your kids are going to make mistakes, and a lot of them? Do you not realize the damage you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/do-you-not-realize-that-your-kids-are-going-to-make-mistakes-and-a/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [I had been an abject fan of Robert Stone since the early eighties, when I borrowed a copy of 'A Flag for Sunrise' to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/i-had-been-an-abject-fan-of-robert-stone-since-the-early-eighties/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) > [Politicians - power itself - are abject because they merely embody the profound contempt people have for their own lives. One should be grateful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/politicians-power-itself-are-abject-because-they-merely-embody-the/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [He who knows himself well is mean and abject in his own sight, and takes no delight in the vain praise of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-who-knows-himself-well-is-mean-and-abject-in-his-own-sight-and/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [The U.S. has a law on the books called the debt limit, but the name is misleading. The debt limit started in 1917 for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malpass/the-u-s-has-a-law-on-the-books-called-the-debt-limit-but-the-name-is/) [David Malpass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malpass/) > [“Louis-Ferdinand Céline, a great writer and son of a bitch. Just an abject human being. It’s incredible that the coldest moments of his abjection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/louis-ferdinand-c-line-a-great-writer-and-son-of-a-bitch-just-an/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Revenge, we find, the abject pleasure of an abject mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/revenge-we-find-the-abject-pleasure-of-an-abject-mind/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-mecilessness-toward-herself/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Memphis is the place where rock was born and Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. It's full of contradictions, abject poverty, and riches that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/memphis-is-the-place-where-rock-was-born-and-martin-luther-king-jr/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [With everything that is complex, we learn. If you don't learn, then it's an utter and abject failure. If you do learn, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/with-everything-that-is-complex-we-learn-if-you-don-t-learn-then-it-s/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Good diet and exercise are key, but abject fear has its own rewards. And arriving on the first day for rehearsals for 'Spamalot' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeev-bhaskar/good-diet-and-exercise-are-key-but-abject-fear-has-its-own-rewards/) [Sanjeev Bhaskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeev-bhaskar/) > [One is guilty of all abjection that one does not help to relieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/one-is-guilty-of-all-abjection-that-one-does-not-help-to-relieve/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) [Browse all 23 Abject quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abject/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who live in our most abject conditions. 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