--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The biologist and intellectual E. O…" description: "\"“The biologist and intellectual E. O. Wilson was once asked what represented the most hindrance to the development of children; his answer was the socc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png" --- # The biologist and intellectual E. O. Wilson was once asked… ![“The biologist and intellectual E. O. Wilson was once asked what represented the most hindrance to the development of children; his answer was the soccer mom. He did not use the notion of the Procrustean bed, but he outlined it perfectly. His argument is that they repress children's natural…” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png) > ““The biologist and intellectual E. O. Wilson was once asked what represented the most hindrance to the development of children; his answer was the soccer mom. He did not use the notion of the Procrustean bed, but he outlined it perfectly. His argument is that they repress children's natural biophilia, their love of living things. But the problem is more general; soccer moms try to eliminate the trial and error, the antifragility, from children's lives, move them away from the ecological and transform them into nerds working on preexisting (soccer-mom-compatible) maps of reality. Good students, but nerds--that is, they are like computers except slower. Further, they are now totally untrained to handle ambiguity. As a child of civil war, I disbelieve in structured learning . . . . Provided we have the right type of rigor, we need randomness, mess, adventures, uncertainty, self-discovery, near-traumatic episodes, all those things that make life worth living, compared to the structured, fake, and ineffective life of an empty-suit CEO with a preset schedule and an alarm clock.”” [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. Overprotective parenting stifles children's natural curiosity and ability to handle uncertainty, leading to fragile adults. **In simple terms:** Overprotective parents hinder resilience. Key Takeaway Encourage risk and exploration. Themes education parenting resilience Mood critical provocative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - childhood learning - parenting styles - school curricula - innovation - personal growth Key Concepts biophilia antifragility uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance safety with necessary challenges? - What experiences foster healthy adaptability? A Different Perspective Too much chaos can be harmful without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alarm clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alarm-clock/) [Biologist Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biologist-intellectual-4683358/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Life worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-worth-living/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Natural Biophilia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-biophilia-4683357/) [Repress Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repress-children-4683359/) [Soccer mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soccer-mom/) [Soccer Moms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soccer-moms-520562/) [Trial and error](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trial-and-error/) [Worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-living/) ## Related quotes > [Liberal soccer moms are precisely as likely to receive anthrax in the mail as to develop a capacity for linear thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberal-soccer-moms-are-precisely-as-likely-to-receive-anthrax-in-the/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I've had soccer moms come up and tell me they can relate when I say that I want to throw my baby in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-ve-had-soccer-moms-come-up-and-tell-me-they-can-relate-when-i-say/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [“Soccer moms are the enemy of natural history and the full development of a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson-2/soccer-moms-are-the-enemy-of-natural-history-and-the-full-development/) [E.O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson-2/) > [Rap is supposed to scare soccer moms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/rap-is-supposed-to-scare-soccer-moms/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [Think: who has vans, huh? Soccer moms and serial killers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/think-who-has-vans-huh-soccer-moms-and-serial-killers/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [I don't like writing straight-up thrillers. I like writing about families hurled into crisis and danger - soccer moms and regular dads and husbands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gross/i-don-t-like-writing-straight-up-thrillers-i-like-writing-about/) [Andrew Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gross/) > [I think that women are often lumped into categories - single gals, or soccer moms, or career women, or women of a certain age.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-heyert/i-think-that-women-are-often-lumped-into-categories-single-gals-or/) [Elizabeth Heyert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-heyert/) > [“But I don’t wanna go to the grocery store!” Her forehead connected with the table’s surface. “It’s a mean nasty place with soccer moms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-wisdom/but-i-don-t-wanna-go-to-the-grocery-store-her-forehead-connected-with/) [Linda Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-wisdom/) > [“From gun shows, where they openly promote their product by imploring customers to buy “while you still can,” to homegrown militias who apparently believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trae-crowder/from-gun-shows-where-they-openly-promote-their-product-by-imploring/) [Trae Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trae-crowder/) > [I decided to have a life: to become - pardon the expression - a soccer mom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-clark/i-decided-to-have-a-life-to-become-pardon-the-expression-a-soccer-mom/) [Marcia Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-clark/) > [“Killer yuppies in a soccer-mom car. It did have that certain je ne said quois.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-fally/killer-yuppies-in-a-soccer-mom-car-it-did-have-that-certain-je-ne/) [J. Fally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-fally/) > [“Every new generation of women, it seems, feminist and housewife alike, is encouraged by popular culture to disavow its forebears and rebrand itself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carina-chocano/every-new-generation-of-women-it-seems-feminist-and-housewife-alike/) [Carina Chocano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carina-chocano/) > [I have a very broad demographic, from the 8-year-old who knows every word to 'Ice Ice Baby' and the college kid who grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/i-have-a-very-broad-demographic-from-the-8-year-old-who-knows-every/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [I would love being the soccer mom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lynn-spears/i-would-love-being-the-soccer-mom/) [Jamie Lynn Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lynn-spears/) > [“If there was a bad guy we could appeal to the people because, like it or not, we, the huddled masses, want our public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-carter/if-there-was-a-bad-guy-we-could-appeal-to-the-people-because-like-it/) [Bill Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-carter/) ## 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 Alarm clock quotes > [“answer. Donald’s dysfunctional belief was related to Janine’s, but he’d held on to it for much longer—a life of responsible and successful work should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burnett/answer-donald-s-dysfunctional-belief-was-related-to-janine-s-but-he-d/) [Bill Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burnett/) > [My phone is an alarm clock, a flashlight, a music player and a digital camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-phone-is-an-alarm-clock-a-flashlight-a-music-player-and-a-digital/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Something, which the police called a bomb, had exploded in his shed. Investigations were begun, and the efforts of the authorities were soon to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-von-salomon/something-which-the-police-called-a-bomb-had-exploded-in-his-shed/) [Ernst von Salomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-von-salomon/) > [Here in the UK the audience immediately reacts and they get the fact that: "What would be the most annoying thing in the world?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-jones/here-in-the-uk-the-audience-immediately-reacts-and-they-get-the-fact/) [Duncan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-jones/) > [We've already seen digital picture frames pre-loaded with viruses; I'm not eager to have my refrigerator hacked or my alarm clock turned against me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/we-ve-already-seen-digital-picture-frames-pre-loaded-with-viruses-i-m/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“I have a dream. And in this dream I’m under the covers in bed, just a few scant inches away from Carter’s body. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-sivec/i-have-a-dream-and-in-this-dream-i-m-under-the-covers-in-bed-just-a/) [Tara Sivec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-sivec/) > [“Men know what they want. Men make concrete plans. Men own alarm clocks. Men sleep on a mattress that isn’t on the floor. Men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/men-know-what-they-want-men-make-concrete-plans-men-own-alarm-clocks/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [Sleeping is my drug, my bed is the dealer, and my alarm clock is the police..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-sakundiak/sleeping-is-my-drug-my-bed-is-the-dealer-and-my-alarm-clock-is-the/) [Mitchell Sakundiak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-sakundiak/) > [“Tip #2: No more alarm clocks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-helen-conroy/tip-2-no-more-alarm-clocks/) [Mary Helen Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-helen-conroy/) > [“(On differences between men and boys) Men know what they want. Men make concrete plans. Men own alarm clocks. Men sleep on a mattress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/on-differences-between-men-and-boys-men-know-what-they-want-men-make/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [As a performer, I wanted to be the loudest, most persistent alarm clock I could be, because there didn’t seem like any other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/as-a-performer-i-wanted-to-be-the-loudest-most-persistent-alarm-clock/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [Stress is an alarm clock that lets you know you're attached to something not true for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/stress-is-an-alarm-clock-that-lets-you-know-you-re-attached-to/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“You know the horrible life of the alarm clock – it’s a monster that has always appalled me because of the number of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-vache/you-know-the-horrible-life-of-the-alarm-clock-it-s-a-monster-that-has/) [Jacques Vache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-vache/) > [I could barely function as an adult; I slept through alarm clocks and lost train tickets mid-journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/i-could-barely-function-as-an-adult-i-slept-through-alarm-clocks-and/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) [Browse all 255 Alarm clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alarm-clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The biologist and intellectual E. O. Wilson was once asked what represented the most hindrance to the development of children; his answer was the soccer mom. He did not use the notion of the Procrustean bed, but he outlined it perfectly. His argument is that they repress children's natural biophilia, their love of living things. But the problem is more general; soccer moms try to eliminate the trial and error, the antifragility, from children's lives, move them away from the ecological and transform them into nerds working on preexisting (soccer-mom-compatible) maps of reality. Good students, but nerds--that is, they are like computers except slower. Further, they are now totally untrained to handle ambiguity. As a child of civil war, I disbelieve in structured learning . . . . Provided we have the right type of rigor, we need randomness, mess, adventures, uncertainty, self-discovery, near-traumatic episodes, all those things that make life worth living, compared to the structured, fake, and ineffective life of an empty-suit CEO with a preset schedule and an alarm clock.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilson-was-once-asked-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alarm clock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilson-was-once-asked-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_alarm-clock_the-biologist-and-intellectual-e-o-wilso_2176648.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The biologist and intellectual E. 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