--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I said that I wasn’t clever. I was just…" description: "\"“I said that I wasn’t clever. I was just noticing how things were, and that wasn’t clever. That was just being observant.”\" — Mark Haddon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/mark-haddon-1056_noticing-things_i-said-that-i-wasn-t-clever-i-was-just-n_1037220.png" --- # I said that I wasn’t clever. I was just noticing how… ![“I said that I wasn’t clever. I was just noticing how things were, and that wasn’t clever. That was just being observant.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/mark-haddon-1056_noticing-things_i-said-that-i-wasn-t-clever-i-was-just-n_1037220.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/mark-haddon-1056_noticing-things_i-said-that-i-wasn-t-clever-i-was-just-n_1037220.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/mark-haddon-1056_noticing-things_i-said-that-i-wasn-t-clever-i-was-just-n_1037220.png) > ““I said that I wasn’t clever. I was just noticing how things were, and that wasn’t clever. That was just being observant.”” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing reality without over‑interpreting is not cleverness but simple attentiveness. **In simple terms:** Seeing things plainly is not cleverness. Key Takeaway Practice plain observation. Themes observation humility clarity Mood thoughtful introspective Type advice reflective When to use this quote - everyday conversation - research - creative writing - problem solving Key Concepts cognitive bias mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you tell when observation is enough? - When does deeper analysis become necessary? 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You either see or you don't see.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/good-photography-is-not-about-zone-printing-or-any-other-ansel-adams/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [It's about reacting to what you see, hopefully without preconception. You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/it-s-about-reacting-to-what-you-see-hopefully-without-preconception/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. 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This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. 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All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Noticing things quotes > [It's about reacting to what you see, hopefully without preconception. You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/it-s-about-reacting-to-what-you-see-hopefully-without-preconception/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [Good photography is not about Zone Printing or any other Ansel Adams nonsense. It's just about seeing. You either see or you don't see.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/good-photography-is-not-about-zone-printing-or-any-other-ansel-adams/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [“So much of life was about noticing things, he thought. It was about observation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-runcie/so-much-of-life-was-about-noticing-things-he-thought-it-was-about/) [James Runcie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-runcie/) > [You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. You just have to care about what's around you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/you-can-find-pictures-anywhere-it-s-simply-a-matter-of-noticing/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-real-heroes-anyway-aren-t-the-people-doing-things-the-real-heroes/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“not knowing what kind of drugs you’re on and thus not knowing what to expect as effects or side effects, is that you start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-parke/not-knowing-what-kind-of-drugs-you-re-on-and-thus-not-knowing-what-to/) [Graham Parke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-parke/) > [You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/you-can-find-pictures-anywhere-it-s-simply-a-matter-of-noticing-2/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [Photography is simply a function of noticing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/photography-is-simply-a-function-of-noticing-things/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [I just want the pleasure of noticing these things at a safe distance...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-the-pleasure-of-noticing-these-things-at-a-safe-distance/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Those three chords were part of my life - G, F, Bb - yeh, it is, it is, and I can't help noticing it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/those-three-chords-were-part-of-my-life-g-f-bb-yeh-it-is-it-is-and-i/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) > [I’m not sure a lot of other people would walk up to the same artwork and see the shadow on the person’s face from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-owens/i-m-not-sure-a-lot-of-other-people-would-walk-up-to-the-same-artwork/) [Laura Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-owens/) > [The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention. The guy who invented the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-real-heroes-anyway-aren-t-the-people-doing-things-the-real-heroes-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [They think that intelligence is about noticing things are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/they-think-that-intelligence-is-about-noticing-things-are-relevant/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Making art depends upon noticing things — things about yourself, your methods, your subject matter. Sooner or later, for instance, every visual artist notices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/making-art-depends-upon-noticing-things-things-about-yourself-your/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [One gets into a strange psychological, almost hypnotic, state of mind while on the firing line which probably prevents the mind's eye from observing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-kreisler/one-gets-into-a-strange-psychological-almost-hypnotic-state-of-mind/) [Fritz Kreisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-kreisler/) [Browse all 17 Noticing things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticing-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I said that I wasn’t clever. I was just noticing how things were, and that wasn’t clever. 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