--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My undergraduate degree was in history…" description: "\"My undergraduate degree was in history, and I wish I had been smart enough to really excel at maths, physics, chemistry or biology because... the voyag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png" --- # My undergraduate degree was in history, and I wish I had… ![“My undergraduate degree was in history, and I wish I had been smart enough to really excel at maths, physics, chemistry or biology because... the voyagers and adventurers and real contributors - that's where they come from.” quote by Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png) > “My undergraduate degree was in history, and I wish I had been smart enough to really excel at maths, physics, chemistry or biology because... the voyagers and adventurers and real contributors - that's where they come from.” [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regret over lacking STEM mastery highlights the belief that innovation stems from adventurous, contributing minds, not just technical skill. **In simple terms:** He wishes he’d been better at science to contribute more. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity and interdisciplinary learning. Themes regret learning innovation Mood optimistic reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career pivots - self‑study - mentorship programs - startup culture Key Concepts education interdisciplinary studies entrepreneurship Questions to Reflect On - What non‑technical skill can you develop now? - How can you collaborate with experts to fill gaps? A Different Perspective Technical expertise still matters for many breakthroughs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventurer/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Biology Voyagers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology-voyagers-3533879/) [Chemistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry/) [Degree History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-history-1723497/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-wish-2394587/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Undergraduate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undergraduate/) [Undergraduate Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undergraduate-degree-1513592/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [Well, I have an undergraduate degree, a couple of bachelor's degrees, from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kelly/well-i-have-an-undergraduate-degree-a-couple-of-bachelor-s-degrees/) [Mark Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kelly/) > [My undergraduate degree is in geography and sociology, so I had like no real training with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/my-undergraduate-degree-is-in-geography-and-sociology-so-i-had-like/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [I got my undergraduate degree in chemical engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-chiao/i-got-my-undergraduate-degree-in-chemical-engineering/) [Leroy Chiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-chiao/) > [The environmental issues we face today are complex and span many knowledge domains. This undergraduate degree programme in Environmental Studies will nurture a pool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-chorh-chuan/the-environmental-issues-we-face-today-are-complex-and-span-many/) [Tan Chorh Chuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-chorh-chuan/) > [My undergraduate degree is in business, so I'm trying to get a bit of a background before I go in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-miller/my-undergraduate-degree-is-in-business-so-i-m-trying-to-get-a-bit-of/) [Shannon Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-miller/) > [“But history, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in. Can you?" "Yes, I am fond of history." "I wish I were too. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-history-real-solemn-history-i-cannot-be-interested-in-can-you-yes/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [To those of you who seek lost objects of history, I wish you the best of luck. They're out there, and they're whispering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/to-those-of-you-who-seek-lost-objects-of-history-i-wish-you-the-best/) [Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/) > [No, my degree was history, not the practice of art! I can't draw to save my life you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-anderson/no-my-degree-was-history-not-the-practice-of-art-i-can-t-draw-to-save/) [Emma Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-anderson/) > [“I have a degree in history, which is one of the reasons I’m an auto mechanic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-have-a-degree-in-history-which-is-one-of-the-reasons-i-m-an-auto/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [I have a CS degree and a history that includes working as a software developer and being a computer magazine columnist back during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-a-cs-degree-and-a-history-that-includes-working-as-a-software/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I do have a degree in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-dhupia/i-do-have-a-degree-in-history/) [Neha Dhupia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-dhupia/) > [I was a pretty delinquent little kid. My folks and I didn't get along, so I basically moved out... put myself through high school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jourgensen/i-was-a-pretty-delinquent-little-kid-my-folks-and-i-didn-t-get-along/) [Al Jourgensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jourgensen/) > [In many ways, a degree in the history of ideas is the ideal training for an aspiring writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/in-many-ways-a-degree-in-the-history-of-ideas-is-the-ideal-training/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [My undergraduate studies at Brown and graduate degrees from Harvard prepared me for a multifaceted career as an actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/my-undergraduate-studies-at-brown-and-graduate-degrees-from-harvard/) [Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/) > [As an undergraduate at Amherst College, I was devoted to Dickensian novels and antiestablishment journalism while marginally fulfilling premedical requirements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/as-an-undergraduate-at-amherst-college-i-was-devoted-to-dickensian/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) ## More by Michael Moritz > [History shows that there is no more potent engine for reform than the passion of voters who feel betrayed by the politicians they hoped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/history-shows-that-there-is-no-more-potent-engine-for-reform-than-the/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [My wife calls me the Imelda Marcos of books. As soon as a book enters our home it is guaranteed a permanent place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/my-wife-calls-me-the-imelda-marcos-of-books-as-soon-as-a-book-enters/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [All you need do is listen to very smart people and sift out the ideas that are unworthy or implausible, and I wouldn't pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/all-you-need-do-is-listen-to-very-smart-people-and-sift-out-the-ideas/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [It's obviously unfair to paint with a broad brush here, but the germ of an idea for a breakthrough in technology doesn't come out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/it-s-obviously-unfair-to-paint-with-a-broad-brush-here-but-the-germ/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [I think the notion of retirement is just a dreadful, dreadful idea and I hope I never have to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/i-think-the-notion-of-retirement-is-just-a-dreadful-dreadful-idea-and/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [I think overall it is better for businesses to stay private because you have more latitude, more freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/i-think-overall-it-is-better-for-businesses-to-stay-private-because/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [Israel is the second Silicon Valley, and it is therefore the only other place we have chosen to expand our activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/israel-is-the-second-silicon-valley-and-it-is-therefore-the-only/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) > [There's nothing more invigorating than being deeply involved with a small company and a young team of founders out to do something incredibly special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/there-s-nothing-more-invigorating-than-being-deeply-involved-with-a/) [Michael Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) [Explore all 9 Michael Moritz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/) ## More Adventurer quotes > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“I know I am planning to visit a "land" that is not entirely foreign, only foreign to me. As an adventurer, I am on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-barnicke-belleghem/i-know-i-am-planning-to-visit-a-land-that-is-not-entirely-foreign/) [Marilyn Barnicke Belleghem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-barnicke-belleghem/) > [Every flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer; in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-batten/every-flyer-who-ventures-across-oceans-to-distant-lands-is-a/) [Jean Batten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-batten/) > [Some gifted adventurer is always sailing round the world of art and science, to bring home costly merchandise from every port.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/some-gifted-adventurer-is-always-sailing-round-the-world-of-art-and/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [If we are going to make the change from community to communitas, and not just end up with an unsustainable adrenaline-junkie culture, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/if-we-are-going-to-make-the-change-from-community-to-communitas-and/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [A man's interest in the world is only the overflow from his interest in himself. When you are a child your vessel is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-s-interest-in-the-world-is-only-the-overflow-from-his-interest/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“The mind is a wild thing. An adventurer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-spencer/the-mind-is-a-wild-thing-an-adventurer/) [A. Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-spencer/) > [Oh, children, growing up to be Adventurers into sophistry, Forbear, forbear to be of those That read the rood to learn the rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/oh-children-growing-up-to-be-adventurers-into-sophistry-forbear/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Today we see the steady stream from the countryside to the city, deadly for the Volk. The cities swell ever larger, unnerving the Volk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-rosenberg/today-we-see-the-steady-stream-from-the-countryside-to-the-city/) [Alfred Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-rosenberg/) > [“One man can go where a group cannot, and manage on very little, particularly a rough adventurer such as he. More the point, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-novik/one-man-can-go-where-a-group-cannot-and-manage-on-very-little/) [Naomi Novik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-novik/) > [Adventurer: he that goes to meet whatever may come. Well, that is what we all do in the world one way or another...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/adventurer-he-that-goes-to-meet-whatever-may-come-well-that-is-what/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [“This is what it means to be an adventurer in our day: to give up creature comforts of the mind, to realize the possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hib-chickena/this-is-what-it-means-to-be-an-adventurer-in-our-day-to-give-up/) [Hib Chickena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hib-chickena/) > [The division of the spoils between the victors will also provide employment for a powerful office, whose doorsteps the greedy adventurers and jealous concession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/the-division-of-the-spoils-between-the-victors-will-also-provide/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) [Browse all 184 Adventurer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventurer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My undergraduate degree was in history, and I wish I had been smart enough to really excel at maths, physics, chemistry or biology because... the voyagers and adventurers and real contributors - that's where they come from.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Moritz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-and-i-wish-i-had-been-smart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventurer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-and-i-wish-i-had-been-smart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/michael-moritz-45056_adventurer_my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-a_1190898.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My undergraduate degree was in history, and I wish I had been smart enough to really excel at maths…” — Michael Moritz", "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 Moritz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moritz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My undergraduate degree was in history,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-and-i-wish-i-had-been-smart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moritz/my-undergraduate-degree-was-in-history-and-i-wish-i-had-been-smart/#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 } } ] } ```