--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At some point you have to set aside…" description: "\"“At some point you have to set aside snobbery and what you think is culture and recognize that any random episode of Friends is probably better, more u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/nicholson-baker-3405_history_at-some-point-you-have-to-set-aside-snob_3010709.png" --- # At some point you have to set aside snobbery and what you… ![“At some point you have to set aside snobbery and what you think is culture and recognize that any random episode of Friends is probably better, more uplifting for the human spirit, than ninety-nine percent of the poetry or drama or fiction or history every published. Think of that. Of course yes…” quote by Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/nicholson-baker-3405_history_at-some-point-you-have-to-set-aside-snob_3010709.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/nicholson-baker-3405_history_at-some-point-you-have-to-set-aside-snob_3010709.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/nicholson-baker-3405_history_at-some-point-you-have-to-set-aside-snob_3010709.png) > ““At some point you have to set aside snobbery and what you think is culture and recognize that any random episode of Friends is probably better, more uplifting for the human spirit, than ninety-nine percent of the poetry or drama or fiction or history every published. Think of that. Of course yes, Tolstoy and of course yes Keats and blah blah and yes indeed of course yes. But we're living in an age that has a tremendous richness of invention. And some of the most inventive people get no recognition at all. They get tons of money but not recognition as artists. Which is probably much healthier for them and better for their art.”” [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Popular media like sitcoms can uplift the human spirit more than high‑brow art, while many innovative creators remain unrecognized despite financial success. **In simple terms:** Simple entertainment can be deeply uplifting. Key Takeaway Value everyday joy. Themes culture media recognition Mood contemplative balanced Type analytical observational When to use this quote - watching sitcoms - supporting indie creators - balancing high and low art Key Concepts mass culture artistic value economic disparity Questions to Reflect On - What makes simple media uplifting? - How can we recognize hidden innovators? A Different Perspective May undervalue the depth of classic literature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-art-722101/) [Blah Blah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blah-blah/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-spirit/) [Inventive People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventive-people-4826017/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Recognition Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition-artists-4826016/) [Snobbery Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snobbery-think-1373904/) [Think Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-culture-338239/) ## Related quotes > [The derision comes from snobbery, which I think is the worst thing for art and music. I don't think there's any place for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-hutchcraft/the-derision-comes-from-snobbery-which-i-think-is-the-worst-thing-for/) [Theo Hutchcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-hutchcraft/) > [The biggest myth I'd like to bust isn't about me - it's about musicals. So many people dismiss the entire art form through highbrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ball/the-biggest-myth-i-d-like-to-bust-isn-t-about-me-it-s-about-musicals/) [Michael Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ball/) > [“All human societies contain inventive people. It’s just that some environments provide more starting materials, and more favorable conditions for utilizing inventions, than do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/all-human-societies-contain-inventive-people-it-s-just-that-some/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [People with a lot of money don't dress as well as people who have to make do, who have to be inventive. Those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/people-with-a-lot-of-money-don-t-dress-as-well-as-people-who-have-to/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [Life is a beautiful thing. But you're always striving to be better in your art, striving to be heard. And obviously in a movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/life-is-a-beautiful-thing-but-you-re-always-striving-to-be-better-in/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [I wish I was better at art. I love some of the great artists of the 19th century and, compared to them, I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/i-wish-i-was-better-at-art-i-love-some-of-the-great-artists-of-the/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [I couldn’t decide whether it was better to be the art, or the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-campanioni/i-couldn-t-decide-whether-it-was-better-to-be-the-art-or-the-artist/) [Chris Campanioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-campanioni/) > [“Art that is based on scenes from the Bible is not better than art that is based on scenes from, say, Shakespeare or Homer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-walton/art-that-is-based-on-scenes-from-the-bible-is-not-better-than-art/) [John H. Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-walton/) > [And I do think that good art - the art that tends to last - is that art that hits human beings on several…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-belem/and-i-do-think-that-good-art-the-art-that-tends-to-last-is-that-art/) [Laura Belem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-belem/) > [When your art fails, make better art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/when-your-art-fails-make-better-art/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Photography is better than art. It is a solar phenomenon in which the artist collaborates with the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/photography-is-better-than-art-it-is-a-solar-phenomenon-in-which-the/) [Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/) > [He that would be a painter must have a natural turn thereto. Love and delight therein are better of the Art of Painting than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albrecht-durer/he-that-would-be-a-painter-must-have-a-natural-turn-thereto-love-and/) [Albrecht Durer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albrecht-durer/) > [“All this talk about what a marvelous future science'll bring us? Art can change things just as much.' She stubbed out her cigarette. 'Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-klages/all-this-talk-about-what-a-marvelous-future-science-ll-bring-us-art/) [Ellen Klages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-klages/) > [Nature is the most beautiful thing we have. It's better than art because it's from the creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/nature-is-the-most-beautiful-thing-we-have-it-s-better-than-art/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [I realize that I live in the same environment that I did when I was a kid, but with less junk and better art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narciso-rodriguez/i-realize-that-i-live-in-the-same-environment-that-i-did-when-i-was-a/) [Narciso Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narciso-rodriguez/) ## More by Nicholson Baker > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Just as the people who lived through the Second World War thought different things on different days, I think everybody who goes through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/just-as-the-people-who-lived-through-the-second-world-war-thought/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I’ve always thought of myself as shy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-shy/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [There's something paralyzing about being a writer that you have to escape. I don't want to think of myself as a guy who's written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/there-s-something-paralyzing-about-being-a-writer-that-you-have-to/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The great thing about novels is that you can be as unshy as you want to be. I'm very polite in person. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-great-thing-about-novels-is-that-you-can-be-as-unshy-as-you-want/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“Why are things beautiful? I don´t know. That´s a good question. Isn´t it pleasing when you ask a question of a person, a teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/why-are-things-beautiful-i-don-t-know-that-s-a-good-question-isn-t-it/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I'm suspicious of full-replacement programs - that is, pronouncements that one way of doing something will entirely supplant another, and that in fact we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-m-suspicious-of-full-replacement-programs-that-is-pronouncements/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Printed books usually outlive bookstores and the publishers who brought them out. They sit around, demanding nothing, for decades. That's one of their nicest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/printed-books-usually-outlive-bookstores-and-the-publishers-who/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The neurons that do expire are the ones that made imitation possible. When you are capable of skillful imitation, the sweep of choices before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-neurons-that-do-expire-are-the-ones-that-made-imitation-possible/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [What's somewhat puzzling is that Churchill himself knew what the reaction would be to any sort of aerial attack on cities, because in 1938…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/what-s-somewhat-puzzling-is-that-churchill-himself-knew-what-the/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Shoes are the first adult machines we are given to master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/shoes-are-the-first-adult-machines-we-are-given-to-master/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [As soon as you start doing that - changing things - it seems self-evident to me that you've entered the world of make-believe. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/as-soon-as-you-start-doing-that-changing-things-it-seems-self-evident/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I don't do all that well in the writerly world. I'm happier being outside the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-don-t-do-all-that-well-in-the-writerly-world-i-m-happier-being/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [E.B. White's essays are the best things I've read about Maine - especially the one in which he's not sure if he can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/e-b-white-s-essays-are-the-best-things-i-ve-read-about-maine/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The fact that we had independently decided to sweep our apartments on that Sunday afternoon after spending the weekend together, I took as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-fact-that-we-had-independently-decided-to-sweep-our-apartments-on/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Explore all 131 Nicholson Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At some point you have to set aside snobbery and what you think is culture and recognize that any random episode of Friends is probably better, more uplifting for the human spirit, than ninety-nine percent of the poetry or drama or fiction or history every published. Think of that. Of course yes, Tolstoy and of course yes Keats and blah blah and yes indeed of course yes. But we're living in an age that has a tremendous richness of invention. And some of the most inventive people get no recognition at all. They get tons of money but not recognition as artists. 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