--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I had thought were signs of a broken…" description: "\"What I had thought were signs of a broken educational system - the seemingly random placement of commas, the spastic syntax, the obnoxious overuse of q..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg" --- # What I had thought were signs of a broken educational… ![“What I had thought were signs of a broken educational system - the seemingly random placement of commas, the spastic syntax, the obnoxious overuse of quotation marks, the goofy misspelling of 'Jouralism' - were actually signs of the New Instantaneousness. 'Instant Jouralists' cannot be concerned…” quote by Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg) > “What I had thought were signs of a broken educational system - the seemingly random placement of commas, the spastic syntax, the obnoxious overuse of quotation marks, the goofy misspelling of 'Jouralism' - were actually signs of the New Instantaneousness. 'Instant Jouralists' cannot be concerned with punctuation and grammar and spelling. That stuff just 'slows you down.' To be an 'Instant Jouralist,' you have to write as if you were being pursued by a cheetah across the Serengeti.” [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Instantaneous writers prioritize speed over grammatical precision, treating rules as obstacles to rapid expression. **In simple terms:** Speed can sacrifice clarity. Key Takeaway Write quickly but mindfully. Themes technology writing speed communication grammar Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical informative When to use this quote - social media posts - live blogging - breaking news - real‑time reporting Key Concepts media studies cognitive load Questions to Reflect On - How does speed affect message quality? - When is rapid writing appropriate? A Different Perspective Fast writing may reduce credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Cheetahs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheetahs/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Educational system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational-system/) [Goofy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goofy/) [Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Instant Jouralists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant-jouralists-5636804/) [Jouralism Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jouralism-actually-5636802/) [Jouralist Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jouralist-write-5636803/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Misspelling Jouralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misspelling-jouralism-5636801/) [Obnoxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obnoxious/) [Placement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/placement/) [Punctuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punctuation/) [Pursued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued/) [Quotation marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quotation-marks/) [Quotations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quotations/) [Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spelling/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Syntax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/syntax/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I used to always say, 'Cheetahs don't stretch.' And I look at myself as a cheetah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/i-used-to-always-say-cheetahs-don-t-stretch-and-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [The more I think about it, the more there is to be said for the sloth. He sleeps fifteen to eighteen hours a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-more-i-think-about-it-the-more-there-is-to-be-said-for-the-sloth/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The 'Cheetah Generation' refers to the new and angry generation of young African graduates and professionals, who look at African issues and problems from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ayittey/the-cheetah-generation-refers-to-the-new-and-angry-generation-of/) [George Ayittey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ayittey/) > [“Fred Astaire. Not a handsome man. He said himself he couldn’t sing. He was balding his whole life. He danced like a cheetah runs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/fred-astaire-not-a-handsome-man-he-said-himself-he-couldn-t-sing-he/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [I bet when cheetahs race and one of them cheats, the other one goes, Bro, you're such a cheetah! And they laugh & eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-bhat/i-bet-when-cheetahs-race-and-one-of-them-cheats-the-other-one-goes/) [Mohammed Bhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-bhat/) > [Cheetah genes cooperate with cheetah genes but not with camel genes, and vice versa. This is not because cheetah genes, even in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/cheetah-genes-cooperate-with-cheetah-genes-but-not-with-camel-genes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [In the year 2007, seals, otters, lions, turtles, frogs, apes, snakes, butterflies, polar bears, cheetahs, whales are disappearing along with their variously furnished homes:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eban-goodstein/in-the-year-2007-seals-otters-lions-turtles-frogs-apes-snakes/) [Eban Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eban-goodstein/) > [I think we have got to start again and go right back to first principles. The argument I shall advance, surprising as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-we-have-got-to-start-again-and-go-right-back-to-first/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I'm a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-m-a-street-walking-cheetah-with-a-heart-full-of-napalm/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [I ran like a cheetah - well, like a cheetah that smoked too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-ran-like-a-cheetah-well-like-a-cheetah-that-smoked-too-much/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Every culture from the Egyptians to the Mayans to the American Indians to the Bedouins created bestiaries that enabled them to express their relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-colbert/every-culture-from-the-egyptians-to-the-mayans-to-the-american/) [Gregory Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-colbert/) > [There are some girls who are turned on by my body, and some others who are turned off. but for the majority i just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/there-are-some-girls-who-are-turned-on-by-my-body-and-some-others-who/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [These magnificent species of Africa - elephants, rhino, lions, leopards, cheetah, the great apes (Africa has four of the world's five great apes) -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/these-magnificent-species-of-africa-elephants-rhino-lions-leopards/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [Filming in India was one big adventure. For 'The Cheetah Girls', we were in Mumbai for two weeks, then Rajasthan for six weeks. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-steger/filming-in-india-was-one-big-adventure-for-the-cheetah-girls-we-were/) [Michael Steger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-steger/) > [Take, for example, the African jungle, the home of the cheetah. On whom does the cheetah prey? The old, the sick, the wounded, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-gordon-liddy/take-for-example-the-african-jungle-the-home-of-the-cheetah-on-whom/) [G. Gordon Liddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-gordon-liddy/) ## More by Nicholas G. Carr > [A lot of your mental energy goes to figuring out where does one word end and the next begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/a-lot-of-your-mental-energy-goes-to-figuring-out-where-does-one-word/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [There are a whole lot of reasons to be very happy that our brains are able to adapt and adapt so readily because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/there-are-a-whole-lot-of-reasons-to-be-very-happy-that-our-brains-are/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [By putting the means of production into the hands of the masses but withholding from those same masses any ownership over the product of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/by-putting-the-means-of-production-into-the-hands-of-the-masses-but/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [We become, after the arrival of the printing press in general, more attentive more attuned to contemplative ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/we-become-after-the-arrival-of-the-printing-press-in-general-more/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [It's interesting to think about how the book changed us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/it-s-interesting-to-think-about-how-the-book-changed-us/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I think if you look back through the intellectual history of human beings you can trace the way that intellectual technologies influence the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/i-think-if-you-look-back-through-the-intellectual-history-of-human/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [One of the fascinating things about early writing on slates, on papyrus, even on early handwritten books, is for instance, there were no space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/one-of-the-fascinating-things-about-early-writing-on-slates-on/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [Culture is sustained in our synapses...It's more than what can be reduced to binary code and uploaded onto the Net. To remain vital, culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/culture-is-sustained-in-our-synapses-it-s-more-than-what-can-be/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [What the book does as a technology is shield us from distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/what-the-book-does-as-a-technology-is-shield-us-from-distraction/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [In popular books and articles, information technology writer Carr has worried over the ways that algorithms like those employed by Google are reshaping the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/in-popular-books-and-articles-information-technology-writer-carr-has/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [The brain likes to be efficient and so even as its strengthening the pathways you're exercising, it's pulling - it's weakening the connections in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/the-brain-likes-to-be-efficient-and-so-even-as-its-strengthening-the/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I think we begin to lose the ability to read in the deepest, most interpretive ways because were not kind of calming our mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/i-think-we-begin-to-lose-the-ability-to-read-in-the-deepest-most/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [You can take a book to the beach without worrying about sand getting in its works. You can take it to bed without being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/you-can-take-a-book-to-the-beach-without-worrying-about-sand-getting/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [The practicality of technology may distinguish it from art, but both spring from a similar, distinctly human yearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/the-practicality-of-technology-may-distinguish-it-from-art-but-both/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I think what the book did in addition to its practical uses, is it gave us a more attentive way of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/i-think-what-the-book-did-in-addition-to-its-practical-uses-is-it/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) [Explore all 34 Nicholas G. Carr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) ## More Broken quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [You don't want to fix things that aren't broken, so that kind of stops you from make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/you-don-t-want-to-fix-things-that-aren-t-broken-so-that-kind-of-stops/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [There is no pain like the first time you get your heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/there-is-no-pain-like-the-first-time-you-get-your-heart-broken/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [Broken china lasts longer than unbroken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/broken-china-lasts-longer-than-unbroken/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Don't fix what's not broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atkins/don-t-fix-what-s-not-broken/) [Robert Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-atkins/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Rome, believe me, my friend, is like its own Monte Testaceo, Merelya marvellous mass of broken and castaway wine-pots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/rome-believe-me-my-friend-is-like-its-own-monte-testaceo-merelya/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [Its funny how someone breaks your heart but you still love them with all those broken pieces..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-funny-how-someone-breaks-your-heart-but-you-still-love-them-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Browse all 5,851 Broken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I had thought were signs of a broken educational system - the seemingly random placement of commas, the spastic syntax, the obnoxious overuse of quotation marks, the goofy misspelling of 'Jouralism' - were actually signs of the New Instantaneousness. 'Instant Jouralists' cannot be concerned with punctuation and grammar and spelling. That stuff just 'slows you down.' To be an 'Instant Jouralist,' you have to write as if you were being pursued by a cheetah across the Serengeti.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas G. Carr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broken-educational-system-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broken" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broken-educational-system-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/nicholas-g-carr-18458_broken_what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broke_3147737.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I had thought were signs of a broken educational system - the seemingly random placement of commas, the…” — Nicholas G. Carr", "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": "Nicholas G. Carr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What I had thought were signs...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broken-educational-system-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/what-i-had-thought-were-signs-of-a-broken-educational-system-the/#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 } } ] } ```