--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People with too much smoke and…" description: "\"“People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and methods in their brains start missing elementary, very elementary things. Persons in the real wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png" --- # People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and… ![“People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and methods in their brains start missing elementary, very elementary things. Persons in the real world can’t afford to miss these things; otherwise they crash the plane. Unlike” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png) > ““People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and methods in their brains start missing elementary, very elementary things. Persons in the real world can’t afford to miss these things; otherwise they crash the plane. Unlike”” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex mental tricks can obscure basic truths, leading to critical failures if ignored. **In simple terms:** Overcomplicating thoughts hides simple facts. Key Takeaway Focus on fundamentals. Themes risk simplicity cognition Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - aviation - engineering - decision making - financial analysis Key Concepts cognitive bias error propagation Questions to Reflect On - What basic elements are you overlooking? - When is complexity justified? A Different Perspective Complexity can be necessary in some contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) ## Related quotes > [In art, you CAN crash your plane and walk away from it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/in-art-you-can-crash-your-plane-and-walk-away-from-it/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things. And here we are with our crash helmets on, with concertina wire all around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/novels-are-such-mysterious-and-amorphous-and-tender-things-and-here/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“So let's say my bad luck did crash the plane. What exactly are were you going to do about it?' 'Why is the plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/so-let-s-say-my-bad-luck-did-crash-the-plane-what-exactly-are-were/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“Maybe if we keep letting things crash and burn, everything else is bound to fall back in place.” Or maybe the fire will grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/maybe-if-we-keep-letting-things-crash-and-burn-everything-else-is/) [Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/) > [When I fly, I'm never afraid the plane is going to crash. But there have often been times when I was afraid it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/when-i-fly-i-m-never-afraid-the-plane-is-going-to-crash-but-there/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Death by plane crash scares me. I travel a lot, and when you hit turbulence, and post 9/11, that's in the back of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/death-by-plane-crash-scares-me-i-travel-a-lot-and-when-you-hit/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) > [My worst flight was flying between Macau and Osaka in 2007. The turbulence was so bad that the cabin crew were assuming their crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-rutherford/my-worst-flight-was-flying-between-macau-and-osaka-in-2007-the/) [Greg Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-rutherford/) > [How come New York gets all the cool plane crashes?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/how-come-new-york-gets-all-the-cool-plane-crashes/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [“Who else had ever met the business-end of a bolt of lightning in mid-flight, as he had just now, flying blind through a storm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/who-else-had-ever-met-the-business-end-of-a-bolt-of-lightning-in-mid/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [Breaking News! Breaking News!!Breaking News!!! There's another plane crash and nobody survived. The plane was carrying all your Problems, Shame, disappointment, discouragement, Sorrows, Failure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newlove/breaking-news-breaking-news-breaking-news-there-s-another-plane-crash/) [Newlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newlove/) > [The pilots I worked with in the aerospace industry were willing to put on almost anything to keep them safe in case of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nils-bohlin/the-pilots-i-worked-with-in-the-aerospace-industry-were-willing-to/) Nils Bohlin > [Law Number XIV: After the year 2015, there will be no airplane crashes. There will be no takeoffs either, because electronics will occupy 100…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-ralph-augustine/law-number-xiv-after-the-year-2015-there-will-be-no-airplane-crashes/) [Norman Ralph Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-ralph-augustine/) > [The more we lose, the more he'll fly in. And the more he flies in, the better the chance there'll be a plane crash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graig-nettles/the-more-we-lose-the-more-he-ll-fly-in-and-the-more-he-flies-in-the/) [Graig Nettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graig-nettles/) > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. Then, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-nightmare-scenario-is-that-the-government-saves-citibank-once/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“One needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket in order to win. Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Crash quotes > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [I had no desire to crash a man's world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-lupino/i-had-no-desire-to-crash-a-man-s-world/) [Ida Lupino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-lupino/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And I always think of life like a giant wave. You know, it rises and it crests and it flies, and it's just magnificent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/and-i-always-think-of-life-like-a-giant-wave-you-know-it-rises-and-it/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) > [Consider developing your whole self with the same raw focus and intensity that you develop a particular skill set. Get focused. Go out, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/consider-developing-your-whole-self-with-the-same-raw-focus-and/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [“A shooting star, a cloud, or some sign from the Goddess…? One second later, the world shattered. Her father's grumbling voice was suddenly cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-shreffler/a-shooting-star-a-cloud-or-some-sign-from-the-goddess-one-second/) [T.L. Shreffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-shreffler/) > [But I am only human and I bleed when I fall down I am only human and I crash and I break down u…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/human/but-i-am-only-human-and-i-bleed-when-i-fall-down-i-am-only-human-and/) Human > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [It's like when we get the transformer movies. It was all a bunch of smaller robot pieces and then you're on set, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-nicotero/it-s-like-when-we-get-the-transformer-movies-it-was-all-a-bunch-of/) [Gregory Nicotero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-nicotero/) > [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We need to take a leaf out of natures book. Any species that clones itself will eventually be attacked by a parasite, leading to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/we-need-to-take-a-leaf-out-of-natures-book-any-species-that-clones/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) Browse all 836 Crash quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and methods in their brains start missing elementary, very elementary things. Persons in the real world can’t afford to miss these things; otherwise they crash the plane. Unlike”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicated-tricks-and-methods-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crash" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicated-tricks-and-methods-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_crash_people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicat_1767717.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People with too much smoke and complicated tricks and methods in their brains start missing elementary, very…” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "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": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“People with too much smoke and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicated-tricks-and-methods-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/people-with-too-much-smoke-and-complicated-tricks-and-methods-in/#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 } } ] } ```