--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Exclamation points are the most…" description: "\"Exclamation points are the most irritating of all. Look! they say, look at what I just said! How amazing is my thought! It is like being forced to watc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg" --- # Exclamation points are the most irritating of all. Look!… ![“Exclamation points are the most irritating of all. Look! they say, look at what I just said! How amazing is my thought! It is like being forced to watch someone else's small child jumping up and down crazily in the center of the living room shouting to attract attention. If a sentence really has…” quote by Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg) > “Exclamation points are the most irritating of all. Look! they say, look at what I just said! How amazing is my thought! It is like being forced to watch someone else's small child jumping up and down crazily in the center of the living room shouting to attract attention. If a sentence really has something of importance to say, something quite remarkable, it doesn't need a mark to point it out. And if it is really, after all, a banal sentence needing more zing, the exclamation point simply emphasizes its banality!” [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exclamation marks are overused for emphasis, turning even mundane statements into exaggerated drama. **In simple terms:** Exclamation points overstate simple ideas. Key Takeaway Use punctuation deliberately, not for hype. Themes communication punctuation expression Mood irritated critical Type observational critical When to use this quote - writing - editing - public speaking - social media posts - teaching grammar Key Concepts Rhetoric tone semantic overload Questions to Reflect On - When does emphasis become noise? - How does punctuation affect perceived sincerity? A Different Perspective Excessive exclamation can undermine credibility and dilute genuine excitement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Exclamation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclamation/) [Exclamation points](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclamation-points/) [Living room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-room/) [Small child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-child/) [Up and down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up-and-down/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Zing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zing/) ## Related quotes > [“F. Scott Fitzgerald believed inserting exclamation points was the literary equivalent of an author laughing at his own jokes, but that's not the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/f-scott-fitzgerald-believed-inserting-exclamation-points-was-the/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I bet when all the punctuation marks have a party, they quietly look at exclamation point's wife and think, that poor woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/i-bet-when-all-the-punctuation-marks-have-a-party-they-quietly-look/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/cut-out-all-these-exclamation-points-an-exclamation-point-is-like/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Changing the world, one exclamation point at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-glaser/changing-the-world-one-exclamation-point-at-a-time/) [Jon Glaser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-glaser/) > [People complain about my exclamation points, but I honestly think that's the way people think. I don't think people think in essays; it's one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/people-complain-about-my-exclamation-points-but-i-honestly-think-that/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [When you see the veins popping out of my neck, that's an exclamation point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/when-you-see-the-veins-popping-out-of-my-neck-that-s-an-exclamation/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [“If you've spent any time trolling the blogosphere, you've probably noticed a peculiar literary trend: the pervasive habit of writers inexplicably placing exclamation points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/if-you-ve-spent-any-time-trolling-the-blogosphere-you-ve-probably/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“Note: When reading dry political theory, such as the texts you will find on the following pages, it may be useful to apply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crimethinc/note-when-reading-dry-political-theory-such-as-the-texts-you-will/) [CrimethInc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crimethinc/) > [Fundamentalist s live life with an exclamation point. I prefer to live my life with a question mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/fundamentalist-s-live-life-with-an-exclamation-point-i-prefer-to-live/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Human relationships didn't work anyhow. Only the first two weeks had any zing, then the participants lost their interest. Masks dropped away and real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/human-relationships-didn-t-work-anyhow-only-the-first-two-weeks-had/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [True = zing , zing = true love , true love comes from the the heart. people who don't have true love that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kandii/true-zing-zing-true-love-true-love-comes-from-the-the-heart-people/) Kandii > [“I want to read every book that’s written hear every song that was sung I want to gaze at every cloud and hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/i-want-to-read-every-book-that-s-written-hear-every-song-that-was/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [These are things I love, things I've worn. I get more compliments on accessories than anything else. I think they're kind of like herbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/these-are-things-i-love-things-i-ve-worn-i-get-more-compliments-on/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [I don't enjoy any of the process of writing. I enjoy it when it goes on if it zings and it has great warmth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-don-t-enjoy-any-of-the-process-of-writing-i-enjoy-it-when-it-goes/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [You only zing once. Cherish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotel-transylvania/you-only-zing-once-cherish-it/) Hotel Transylvania ## More by Lewis Thomas > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It is in our genes to understand the universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-in-our-genes-to-understand-the-universe-if-we-can-to-keep/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [If an idea cannot move on its own, pushing it doesn't help; best to let it lie there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-an-idea-cannot-move-on-its-own-pushing-it-doesn-t-help-best-to-let/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Left to ourselves, mechanistic and autonomic, we hanker for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/left-to-ourselves-mechanistic-and-autonomic-we-hanker-for-friends/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I do not agree with this century's fashion of running down the human species as a failed try, a doomed sport. At our worst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-do-not-agree-with-this-century-s-fashion-of-running-down-the-human/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It would seem to me... an offense against nature, for us to come on the same scene endowed as we are with the curiosity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-would-seem-to-me-an-offense-against-nature-for-us-to-come-on-the/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-drive-to-be-useful-is-encoded-in-our-genes-but-when-we-gather-in/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Nature abhors a long silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/nature-abhors-a-long-silence/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The future is too interesting and dangerous to be entrusted to any predictable, reliable agency. We need all the fallibility we can get. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-future-is-too-interesting-and-dangerous-to-be-entrusted-to-any/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-pass-the-word-around-we-ponder-how-the-case-is-put-by-different/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-uniformity-of-the-earth-s-life-more-astonishing-than-its/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Having long suspected that there was something alive in there, running the place, separate from everything else, absolutely individual and independent, we've celebrated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/having-long-suspected-that-there-was-something-alive-in-there-running/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) [Explore all 173 Lewis Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Exclamation points are the most irritating of all. Look! they say, look at what I just said! How amazing is my thought! It is like being forced to watch someone else's small child jumping up and down crazily in the center of the living room shouting to attract attention. If a sentence really has something of importance to say, something quite remarkable, it doesn't need a mark to point it out. And if it is really, after all, a banal sentence needing more zing, the exclamation point simply emphasizes its banality!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritating-of-all-look-they-say-look/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritating-of-all-look-they-say-look/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/lewis-thomas-2299_attention_exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritati_2425539.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Exclamation points are the most irritating of all. Look! they say, look at what I just said! How amazing is…” — Lewis Thomas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lewis Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Exclamation points are the most irritating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritating-of-all-look-they-say-look/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/exclamation-points-are-the-most-irritating-of-all-look-they-say-look/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```