--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Objects are relatively stupid. They do a…" description: "\"“Objects are relatively stupid. They do a few things well, as do lobsters.”\" — Leland Wilkinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/leland-wilkinson-109742_objects_objects-are-relatively-stupid-they-do-a_2860740.jpg" --- # Objects are relatively stupid. They do a few things well… ![“Objects are relatively stupid. They do a few things well, as do lobsters.” quote by Leland Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/leland-wilkinson-109742_objects_objects-are-relatively-stupid-they-do-a_2860740.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/leland-wilkinson-109742_objects_objects-are-relatively-stupid-they-do-a_2860740.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/leland-wilkinson-109742_objects_objects-are-relatively-stupid-they-do-a_2860740.jpg) > ““Objects are relatively stupid. They do a few things well, as do lobsters.”” [Leland Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-wilkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Objects are limited in function, unlike lobsters that excel at specific tasks; a metaphor for recognizing specialized strengths. **In simple terms:** Objects have limited abilities; lobsters excel. Key Takeaway Recognize specialized strengths. Themes Specialization Limitations Nature Metaphor Mood analytical thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - Product design - Education - Ecology Key Concepts Biology Design Engineering Questions to Reflect On - What are the unique strengths of your tools? - How can you leverage specialization? A Different Perspective Oversimplification may ignore complexity of systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lobsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lobsters-1183440/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Relatively Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatively-stupid-764818/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Stupid things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid-things/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Things Lobsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-lobsters-3859593/) ## Related quotes > [I've actually seen guys who I considered relatively stupid college coaches, then go to the NFL, and sanctimoniously think they understand that something the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-leach/i-ve-actually-seen-guys-who-i-considered-relatively-stupid-college/) [Mike Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-leach/) > [I consider the 3 most cruelly produced foods to be from lobsters, dropped alive into boiling water, veal from calves separated from their mothers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleveland-amory/i-consider-the-3-most-cruelly-produced-foods-to-be-from-lobsters/) [Cleveland Amory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleveland-amory/) > [“I'm horrified of lobsters and shrimp they are the cockroaches of the ocean”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-burke/i-m-horrified-of-lobsters-and-shrimp-they-are-the-cockroaches-of-the/) [Brooke Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-burke/) > [A man that'd expict to thrain lobsters to fly in a year is called a loonytic; but a man that thinks men can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/a-man-that-d-expict-to-thrain-lobsters-to-fly-in-a-year-is-called-a/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [“Part of the reason people could eat so well was that many foods that we now think of as delicacies were plenteous then. Lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/part-of-the-reason-people-could-eat-so-well-was-that-many-foods-that/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [The thing that has been weighing on my mind this week is that I wanted to go and save all the little live lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/the-thing-that-has-been-weighing-on-my-mind-this-week-is-that-i/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [I went into a restaurant one night and ordered lobster, and the waiter brought me one with a claw missing. I called him over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-mcguire/i-went-into-a-restaurant-one-night-and-ordered-lobster-and-the-waiter/) [Al McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-mcguire/) > [“...Bugs are just lobsters that have learned to fly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-eugenides/bugs-are-just-lobsters-that-have-learned-to-fly/) [Jeffery Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-eugenides/) > [“Lobsters," Aithinne says again, just in case I misheard her, and I rather hoped I had. "I hear they're biologically immortal," she explains, "and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/lobsters-aithinne-says-again-just-in-case-i-misheard-her-and-i-rather/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [“Lobsters bred in such abundance around Britain’s coastline that they were fed to prisoners and orphans or ground up for fertilizer; servants sought written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/lobsters-bred-in-such-abundance-around-britain-s-coastline-that-they/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I'm horrified of lobsters. And shrimp and lobsters are the cockroaches of the ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-burke/i-m-horrified-of-lobsters-and-shrimp-and-lobsters-are-the-cockroaches/) [Brooke Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-burke/) > [A friend called me up the other day and talked about investing in a dot-com that sells lobsters. Internet lobsters. Where will this end?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/a-friend-called-me-up-the-other-day-and-talked-about-investing-in-a/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Lobsters one of the only animals that have to put up with being alive in the restaurant. If you go to a steakhouse, folks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jeni/lobsters-one-of-the-only-animals-that-have-to-put-up-with-being-alive/) [Richard Jeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jeni/) > [Lobsters displays all three of the classic biological characteristics of an insect, namely: 1. It has way more legs than necessary. 2. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/lobsters-displays-all-three-of-the-classic-biological-characteristics/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Their steaks are often good, but the lobsters-with claws the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger's forearms-are as glazed and tough as most of the customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-s-forbes/their-steaks-are-often-good-but-the-lobsters-with-claws-the-size-of/) [Malcolm S Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-s-forbes/) ## More by Leland Wilkinson > [“Models are the mothers of invention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-wilkinson/models-are-the-mothers-of-invention/) [Leland Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-wilkinson/) [Explore all 2 Leland Wilkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-wilkinson/) ## More Objects quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [How do you, on the one hand, not object to Hillary Clinton being elected, and then, on the other hand, tell people, "Elect me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/how-do-you-on-the-one-hand-not-object-to-hillary-clinton-being/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [A lot of my work involves instilling objects with the power of touch - a transference of soul, spirit, energy through actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-involves-instilling-objects-with-the-power-of-touch/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [God is a reality of spirit He cannot be conceived as an object, not even as the very highest object. God is not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/god-is-a-reality-of-spirit-he-cannot-be-conceived-as-an-object-not/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [The things of the world are ever rising and falling, and in perpetual change; and this change must be according to the will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/the-things-of-the-world-are-ever-rising-and-falling-and-in-perpetual/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [... the happiness of a people is the only rational object of government, and the only object for which a people, free to choose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/the-happiness-of-a-people-is-the-only-rational-object-of-government/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I think dressing up or down should be a creative experience. Exciting. Fun. For me the key to personal style lies in accessories. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/i-think-dressing-up-or-down-should-be-a-creative-experience-exciting/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) [Browse all 3,786 Objects quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Objects are relatively stupid. 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