--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who know don't tell and those who…" description: "\"Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.\" — Michael Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png" --- # Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know. ![“Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.” quote by Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png) > “Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.” [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who possess knowledge often stay silent, while those who speak lack true understanding. **In simple terms:** Knowledge hides, ignorance shouts. Key Takeaway Value humility and verify expertise. Themes knowledge communication humility Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - team meetings - educational settings - media interviews Key Concepts expertise misinformation learning Questions to Reflect On - When should you speak up? - How to recognize true expertise? A Different Perspective May dismiss useful insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-know/) [Don Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-tell/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) [Tell Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-tell-600478/) ## Related quotes > [“You don’t have to tell me why, if you tell me why you won’t tell me why. Or at the very least tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/you-don-t-have-to-tell-me-why-if-you-tell-me-why-you-won-t-tell-me/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Don't tell me what you're not, or what you're against! Tell me who you are and what you stand for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cortes/don-t-tell-me-what-you-re-not-or-what-you-re-against-tell-me-who-you/) [Mario Cortes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cortes/) > [“Tell me again. Tell me you'll marry me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/tell-me-again-tell-me-you-ll-marry-me/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [Everyone has a story to tell. Some of us tell them so much we get better at it. Eventually we get really good...and published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-a-story-to-tell-some-of-us-tell-them-so-much-we-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'd like to say a few words about one of the most popular concepts in the modern education--show and tell. Show and Tell is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/i-d-like-to-say-a-few-words-about-one-of-the-most-popular-concepts-in/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. It's funny - people ask me that, and I don't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-rosman/i-don-t-know-what-i-want-to-be-when-i-grow-up-it-s-funny-people-ask/) [Mackenzie Rosman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-rosman/) > [Do not tell me what to do and do not tell me what I can't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/do-not-tell-me-what-to-do-and-do-not-tell-me-what-i-can-t-do/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [If someone tells you something and you know you should tell, tell the person, you know you would want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-tells-you-something-and-you-know-you-should-tell-tell-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever story you want to tell, tell it at the right size.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/whatever-story-you-want-to-tell-tell-it-at-the-right-size/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [“To tell or not to tell?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/to-tell-or-not-to-tell/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“Don't let people tell you who you are. You tell them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/don-t-let-people-tell-you-who-you-are-you-tell-them/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) > [Tell me Tell me that I am your girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/infinite/tell-me-tell-me-that-i-am-your-girl/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/infinite/) > [What you don’t know, you can’t tell. Or made to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/what-you-don-t-know-you-can-t-tell-or-made-to-tell/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. I can't tell him to do that to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/what-do-you-want-me-to-tell-romney-i-can-t-tell-him-to-do-that-i-can/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [I tell you once, I tell you twice, but third time is the last time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teady/i-tell-you-once-i-tell-you-twice-but-third-time-is-the-last-time/) [$Teady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teady/) ## More by Michael Lewis > [“Crucial decisions are made, today as thousands of years ago, in terms of the intuitive guesses and preferences of a few men in positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/crucial-decisions-are-made-today-as-thousands-of-years-ago-in-terms/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“You saw someone who reminded you of you, and then you looked for the reasons why you liked him. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/you-saw-someone-who-reminded-you-of-you-and-then-you-looked-for-the/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“At other places management says, ‘Well, gee, fellas, do we really want to bet the ranch on this deal?’ Lewie was not only willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/at-other-places-management-says-well-gee-fellas-do-we-really-want-to/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“BILLY WOULD SAY later that his wife left him because she was unnerved by his intensity—that she could even see it in his hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/billy-would-say-later-that-his-wife-left-him-because-she-was-unnerved/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The great thing about baseball players, from the point of view of personal hygiene, is how seldom they break a sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-great-thing-about-baseball-players-from-the-point-of-view-of/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [There was but one question he left unasked, and it vibrated between his lines: if gross miscalculations of a person's value could occur on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/there-was-but-one-question-he-left-unasked-and-it-vibrated-between/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The author refers to a player's affected nonchalance and comments he is, "too young to realize you are what you pretend to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-author-refers-to-a-player-s-affected-nonchalance-and-comments-he/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [A banking system is an act of faith: it survives only for as long as people believe it will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/a-banking-system-is-an-act-of-faith-it-survives-only-for-as-long-as/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“No longer were the prices of ordinary mortgage bonds allowed to roam inefficiently, for they were now linked to the CMO market, in much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/no-longer-were-the-prices-of-ordinary-mortgage-bonds-allowed-to-roam/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The difference between Strauss and Ranieri?” says one trader still at Salomon. “That’s easy. Strauss wouldn’t stoop to use the men’s room on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-difference-between-strauss-and-ranieri-says-one-trader-still-at/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“The only inexplicable aspect of the process was that economic theory (which is, after all, what economics students were supposed to know) served almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-only-inexplicable-aspect-of-the-process-was-that-economic-theory/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“It's not easy to stand apart from mass hysteria - to believe that most of what's in the financial news is wrong, to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/it-s-not-easy-to-stand-apart-from-mass-hysteria-to-believe-that-most/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“Dont worry about where i am , i'll let you know when i get there .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/dont-worry-about-where-i-am-i-ll-let-you-know-when-i-get-there/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“Someone out there was using the fact that stock market orders arrived at different times at different exchanges to front-run orders from one market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/someone-out-there-was-using-the-fact-that-stock-market-orders-arrived/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) [Explore all 398 Michael Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) ## More Know quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [“To know someone, to be known. That matters more than he'd ever thought it would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/to-know-someone-to-be-known-that-matters-more-than-he-d-ever-thought/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [Don't get too attached to someone you know you can't be together with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-get-too-attached-to-someone-you-know-you-can-t-be-together-with/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/) [Robert Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-preston/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [“Take your time to find and understand what you don’t know and in the end, you shall know that it is not all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/take-your-time-to-find-and-understand-what-you-don-t-know-and-in-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) [Browse all 22,299 Know quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who-tell-don-t-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Know" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who-tell-don-t-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/michael-lewis-705_know_those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who_2166261.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.” — Michael Lewis", "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": "Michael Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who know don't tell and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who-tell-don-t-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/those-who-know-don-t-tell-and-those-who-tell-don-t-know/#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 } } ] } ```