--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did ... learn an important distinction…" description: "\"I did ... learn an important distinction in graduate school: a speculation about who had syphilis when is gossip if it's about your friends, a plot ele..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/margaret-atwood-40_character_i-did-learn-an-important-distinction-in_2592700.jpg" --- # I did ... learn an important distinction in graduate… ![“I did ... learn an important distinction in graduate school: a speculation about who had syphilis when is gossip if it's about your friends, a plot element if it's about a character in a novel, and scholarship if it's about John Keats.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/margaret-atwood-40_character_i-did-learn-an-important-distinction-in_2592700.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/margaret-atwood-40_character_i-did-learn-an-important-distinction-in_2592700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/margaret-atwood-40_character_i-did-learn-an-important-distinction-in_2592700.jpg) > “I did ... learn an important distinction in graduate school: a speculation about who had syphilis when is gossip if it's about your friends, a plot element if it's about a character in a novel, and scholarship if it's about John Keats.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Distinguishes gossip, plot, and scholarship based on subject and context. **In simple terms:** Different contexts demand different labels. Key Takeaway Label information appropriately. Themes communication ethics literature Mood thoughtful analytical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - academic discussions - creative writing - media analysis Key Concepts social dynamics knowledge classification Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what category a claim belongs to? - When does gossip become scholarship? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex social interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) [Graduate school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-school/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-distinction-1051215/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-keats/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-scholarship-1875125/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Speculation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speculation/) [Speculation Syphilis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speculation-syphilis-1875124/) [Syphilis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/syphilis/) [Syphilis Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/syphilis-gossip-1875123/) ## Related quotes > [“The most important distinction anyone can ever make in their life is between who they are as an individual and their connection with others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-linden/the-most-important-distinction-anyone-can-ever-make-in-their-life-is/) [Anné Linden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-linden/) > [“There is an important distinction between what is necessary to the being of a church, and what is necessary to its well-being” (55).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-m-mcgraw/there-is-an-important-distinction-between-what-is-necessary-to-the/) [Ryan M. McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-m-mcgraw/) > [There is a very important distinction between a critical attitude of mind (or critical faculty) and a sceptical attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beveridge/there-is-a-very-important-distinction-between-a-critical-attitude-of/) [William Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beveridge/) > [The one important distinction between the two factors of production is that in a free society, ownership of the human factor, labor, cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-o-kelso/the-one-important-distinction-between-the-two-factors-of-production/) [Louis O. 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That's how to study writing, or Faulkner, or D.H. Lawrence, or John Keats. They can teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/if-you-want-to-study-writing-read-dickens-that-s-how-to-study-writing/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [I don't know if I call myself a poet or not. I would like to, but I'm not really qualified to make that decision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-know-if-i-call-myself-a-poet-or-not-i-would-like-to-but-i-m/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [My hobbies are playing piano and guitar, pining for girls, worrying about climate change, pining for girls, and the poetry of John Keats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-veitch/my-hobbies-are-playing-piano-and-guitar-pining-for-girls-worrying/) [James Veitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-veitch/) > [We have to find a way to not refuse to see where we are, what we are doing, and yet we must still live.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorie-graham/we-have-to-find-a-way-to-not-refuse-to-see-where-we-are-what-we-are/) [Jorie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorie-graham/) > [I believe strongly in what John Keats called negative capability: the trait or practice that allows a poet to remain in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-believe-strongly-in-what-john-keats-called-negative-capability-the/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [“A fact is not a truth until you love it. —John Keats”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-james-brown/a-fact-is-not-a-truth-until-you-love-it-john-keats/) [Daniel James Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-james-brown/) > [“Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep, He hath awaken’d from the dream of life; ’Tis we, who lost in stormy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/peace-peace-he-is-not-dead-he-doth-not-sleep-he-hath-awaken-d-from/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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