--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hate set dissertations,--and above all…" description: "\"I hate set dissertations,--and above all things in the world, 'tis one of the silliest things in one of them, to darken your hypothesis by placing a nu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/laurence-sterne-1405_all-things_i-hate-set-dissertations-and-above-all-t_3211144.jpg" --- # I hate set dissertations,--and above all things in the… ![“I hate set dissertations,--and above all things in the world, 'tis one of the silliest things in one of them, to darken your hypothesis by placing a number of tall, opake words, one before another, in a right line, betwixt your own and your readers conception.” quote by Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/laurence-sterne-1405_all-things_i-hate-set-dissertations-and-above-all-t_3211144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/laurence-sterne-1405_all-things_i-hate-set-dissertations-and-above-all-t_3211144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/laurence-sterne-1405_all-things_i-hate-set-dissertations-and-above-all-t_3211144.jpg) > “I hate set dissertations,--and above all things in the world, 'tis one of the silliest things in one of them, to darken your hypothesis by placing a number of tall, opake words, one before another, in a right line, betwixt your own and your readers conception.” [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author criticizes overly complex language that obscures meaning, advocating clarity over pretentiousness. **In simple terms:** Avoid unnecessary fancy words. Key Takeaway Write clearly and simply. Themes communication clarity writing style Mood critical analytical Type literary educational When to use this quote - academic papers - technical manuals - creative writing Key Concepts rhetoric literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - When is elaborate language appropriate? - How does clarity affect reader engagement? A Different Perspective Complexity can sometimes enhance nuance; simplicity may oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Not everybody is talented for doing research. I think many women prefer to look for an easier job after their dissertations because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-nusslein-volhard/not-everybody-is-talented-for-doing-research-i-think-many-women/) [Christiane Nusslein-Volhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-nusslein-volhard/) > [Dissertations are not finished; they are abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-brooks/dissertations-are-not-finished-they-are-abandoned/) [Fred Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-brooks/) > [Over the past decade I have watched many friends go through graduate school and write dissertations. Through that process, I have seen how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/over-the-past-decade-i-have-watched-many-friends-go-through-graduate/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [History shows us a lot of things. It shows why the Lord's Prayer includes the supplication: "And lead us not into temptation." In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/history-shows-us-a-lot-of-things-it-shows-why-the-lord-s-prayer/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) > [I actually did work and produced two short dissertations, one on Faulkner and one on the film criticism of the stream-of-consciousness novelist Dorothy Richardson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-actually-did-work-and-produced-two-short-dissertations-one-on/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I learned that people love to be good at things, even the silliest things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-kelman/i-learned-that-people-love-to-be-good-at-things-even-the-silliest/) [Glenn Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-kelman/) > [Memory, in my opinion, is a complete noodle. It hangs on the silliest things but forgets the stuff that really matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-potter/memory-in-my-opinion-is-a-complete-noodle-it-hangs-on-the-silliest/) [Ellen Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-potter/) > [Well the man in there swings while the silliest things, floppin' around in my brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/well-the-man-in-there-swings-while-the-silliest-things-floppin-around/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [“The silliest things shatter you. A T-shirt discovered behind the washing machine. A toy that rolled under a cabinet in the garage, forgotten until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-silliest-things-shatter-you-a-t-shirt-discovered-behind-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Tweeting? It's one of the silliest things ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/tweeting-it-s-one-of-the-silliest-things-ever/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [I'm very aware that when my friends and I sit around over dinner these days, the conversation invariably turns to how crass the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/i-m-very-aware-that-when-my-friends-and-i-sit-around-over-dinner/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [ Your tweet is as important as if you would have written a Ph.D. \[dissertation\] on the subject. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/your-tweet-is-as-important-as-if-you-would-have-written-a-ph-d/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [I didn't pass my degree due to never handing in an acceptable dissertation, and while it didn't harm me in the long run, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-didn-t-pass-my-degree-due-to-never-handing-in-an-acceptable/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [If you don't have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won't have the willpower to do a dissertation. #truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-miller/if-you-don-t-have-the-willpower-to-stop-eating-carbs-you-won-t-have/) [Geoffrey Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-miller/) > [“What's a dissertation?" "If Satan gave you instructions for writing the book report from Hell, it would closely resemble those of a Ph.D. dissertation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/what-s-a-dissertation-if-satan-gave-you-instructions-for-writing-the/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) ## More by Laurence Sterne > [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The world is ashamed of being virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-world-is-ashamed-of-being-virtuous/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Digressions incontestably are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/digressions-incontestably-are-the-sunshine-they-are-the-life-the-soul/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [I was acquainted once with a gallant soldier who assured me that his only measure of courage was this: upon the first fire, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/i-was-acquainted-once-with-a-gallant-soldier-who-assured-me-that-his/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [A man's body and his mind, with the utmost reverence to both I speak it, are exactly like a jerkin and a jerkin's lining;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/a-man-s-body-and-his-mind-with-the-utmost-reverence-to-both-i-speak/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [When the affections so kindly break loose, Joy, is another name for Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/when-the-affections-so-kindly-break-loose-joy-is-another-name-for/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Sweet pliability of man's spirit, that can at once surrender itself to illusions, which cheat expectation and sorrow of their weary moments! - long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/sweet-pliability-of-man-s-spirit-that-can-at-once-surrender-itself-to/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Philosophy has a fine saying for everything.-For Death it has an entire set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/philosophy-has-a-fine-saying-for-everything-for-death-it-has-an/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Dear sensibility! Source inexhausted of all that's precious in our joys, or costly in our sorrows! Eternal fountain of our feelings! 'tis here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/dear-sensibility-source-inexhausted-of-all-that-s-precious-in-our/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best friends in the world may differ sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-friends-in-the-world-may-differ-sometimes/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Beauty has so many charms, one knows not how to speak against it; and when it happens that a graceful figure is the habitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/beauty-has-so-many-charms-one-knows-not-how-to-speak-against-it-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The best hearts are ever the bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-hearts-are-ever-the-bravest/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Hail! the small courtesies of life, for smooth do ye make the road of it, like grace and beauty, which beget inclinations to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/hail-the-small-courtesies-of-life-for-smooth-do-ye-make-the-road-of/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [There are a thousand unnoticed openings, continued my father, which let penetrating eye at once into a man's soul; and I maintain it, added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/there-are-a-thousand-unnoticed-openings-continued-my-father-which-let/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [“Button-holes! there is something lively in the very idea of 'em - and trust me, when I get amongst 'em - you gentry with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/button-holes-there-is-something-lively-in-the-very-idea-of-em-and/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) [Explore all 244 Laurence Sterne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) ## More All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... 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They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. 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