--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I'm choosing things, there's a level…" description: "\"When I'm choosing things, there's a level of intelligence I want to peel off, whether it's written in terribly simple sentences, whether it's from the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/lynne-tillman-5609_boys_when-i-m-choosing-things-there-s-a-level_1613599.png" --- # When I'm choosing things, there's a level of intelligence… ![“When I'm choosing things, there's a level of intelligence I want to peel off, whether it's written in terribly simple sentences, whether it's from the point of view of a dog, or a 15-year-old boy.” quote by Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/lynne-tillman-5609_boys_when-i-m-choosing-things-there-s-a-level_1613599.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/lynne-tillman-5609_boys_when-i-m-choosing-things-there-s-a-level_1613599.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fe/lynne-tillman-5609_boys_when-i-m-choosing-things-there-s-a-level_1613599.png) > “When I'm choosing things, there's a level of intelligence I want to peel off, whether it's written in terribly simple sentences, whether it's from the point of view of a dog, or a 15-year-old boy.” [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing narratives involves stripping away excess to reveal core intelligence, whether in simple prose or youthful perspectives. **In simple terms:** Seek simplicity to uncover deeper insight. Key Takeaway Look for clarity in simple expressions. Themes literature creativity perspective Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reading - writing - teaching - storytelling Key Concepts minimalism narrative voice cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What does “peel off” intelligence mean to you? - How does a child’s view reveal truth? A Different Perspective Simple language can oversimplify complex ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) ## Related quotes > [When people talk about careers, I always feel like the connotation of a career is that you're actually choosing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ross/when-people-talk-about-careers-i-always-feel-like-the-connotation-of/) [Matt Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ross/) > [I feel like I've always wanted to live in one place and stay in one place, but I always end up choosing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitski/i-feel-like-i-ve-always-wanted-to-live-in-one-place-and-stay-in-one/) [Mitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitski/) > [“Aomame said, “It’s the same with menus and men and just about anything else: we think we’re choosing things for ourselves, but in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/aomame-said-it-s-the-same-with-menus-and-men-and-just-about-anything/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [It's the same with menus and men and just about anything else: we think we're choosing things for ourselves, but in fact we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-s-the-same-with-menus-and-men-and-just-about-anything-else-we/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“...in life you have to take lots of decisions and if you don't make decisions you would never do anything because you waste all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gaddon-the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/in-life-you-have-to-take-lots-of-decisions-and-if-you-don-t-make/) Mark Gaddon The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time > [People have only as much liberty as they have the intelligence to want and the courage to take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/people-have-only-as-much-liberty-as-they-have-the-intelligence-to/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [We want the National Intelligence, we want the Police, we want the Scorpions, any other institutions, the tax people, and so on, the totality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-want-the-national-intelligence-we-want-the-police-we-want-the/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“It was because she was drinking a lot, choosing to do these things to be happy but never seeming all that happy the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-heaney/it-was-because-she-was-drinking-a-lot-choosing-to-do-these-things-to/) [Katie Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-heaney/) > [Frugality, quite simply, is about choosing the things you love enough to spend extravagantly on—and then cutting costs mercilessly on the things you don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramit-sethi/frugality-quite-simply-is-about-choosing-the-things-you-love-enough/) [Ramit Sethi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramit-sethi/) > [“But in life you have to take lots of decisions and if you don't take decisions you would never do anything because you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-in-life-you-have-to-take-lots-of-decisions-and-if-you-don-t-take/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Mrs. Forbes said that hating yellow and brown is just being silly. 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You have to turn your brain on to the circuits that are used at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/at-every-level-there-are-eight-stages-of-intelligence-you-have-to/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [The key then to attaining this higher level of intelligence is to make our years of study qualitatively rich. We don't simply absorb information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-key-then-to-attaining-this-higher-level-of-intelligence-is-to/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More by Lynne Tillman > [There may be an art to conversation, and some are better at it than others, but conversation's virtue lies in randomness and possibility: people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/there-may-be-an-art-to-conversation-and-some-are-better-at-it-than/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [I'd studied English literature and American history, but the English literature, which I thought was going to be helpful to me in an immediate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-d-studied-english-literature-and-american-history-but-the-english/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [I subject my sentences and the words to a kind of Grand Inquisition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-subject-my-sentences-and-the-words-to-a-kind-of-grand-inquisition/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [Laughing and crying are very similar. 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Not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/in-a-practical-sense-pain-kept-me-from-sitting-down-as-much-so-that/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [I'm bothered, as a reader, when I feel the writer is filling in too much. Again, whether it's nonfiction or fiction, I think writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-m-bothered-as-a-reader-when-i-feel-the-writer-is-filling-in-too/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [It wasn't that I wanted to be an artist. But when I took my first drawing class with the painter Doug Ohlson, I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/it-wasn-t-that-i-wanted-to-be-an-artist-but-when-i-took-my-first/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [I'm interested in reality but I'm not interested in realism at all. I'm interested in the ways that I think people want to relate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-m-interested-in-reality-but-i-m-not-interested-in-realism-at-all-i/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [It's true you have to screen out a lot living in the city. I stayed away from New York for a long time after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/it-s-true-you-have-to-screen-out-a-lot-living-in-the-city-i-stayed/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [Kafka wrote the great line: "my education has damaged me in ways I do not even know." And that's always been a signature motto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/kafka-wrote-the-great-line-my-education-has-damaged-me-in-ways-i-do/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [There are lots of unlikable characters in literature. It doesn't mean they're not fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/there-are-lots-of-unlikable-characters-in-literature-it-doesn-t-mean/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) [Explore all 100 Lynne Tillman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) ## More Boys quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [Lets face it this world is ruled by girls that why we must away pleases our girls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrawesome/lets-face-it-this-world-is-ruled-by-girls-that-why-we-must-away/) MrAwesome > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. 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