--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I just went along with political…" description: "\"I just went along with political activists and interested in other intellectual interests which I pursued kind of at random. I never had a real college..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/noam-chomsky-42_activist_i-just-went-along-with-political-activis_2303470.jpg" --- # I just went along with political activists and interested… ![“I just went along with political activists and interested in other intellectual interests which I pursued kind of at random. I never had a real college education. I got a degree, but it was just patching together courses here and there.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/noam-chomsky-42_activist_i-just-went-along-with-political-activis_2303470.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/noam-chomsky-42_activist_i-just-went-along-with-political-activis_2303470.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/noam-chomsky-42_activist_i-just-went-along-with-political-activis_2303470.jpg) > “I just went along with political activists and interested in other intellectual interests which I pursued kind of at random. I never had a real college education. I got a degree, but it was just patching together courses here and there.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores a non‑traditional, self‑directed learning path shaped by activism and curiosity. **In simple terms:** Learning can be informal and driven by personal interests. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity over formal credentials. Themes education activism self‑direction Mood reflective introspective Type personal educational When to use this quote - activist organizing - personal research - career pivots - lifelong learning Key Concepts autodidactism interdisciplinary learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance activism with structured learning? - What gaps have you identified in your self‑education? A Different Perspective May lack depth of systematic knowledge without formal study. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activist/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-education/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [I never got a degree; I just started writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-never-got-a-degree-i-just-started-writing/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I've always been interested in intellectual history and in psychology, and anxiety is obviously something that's been a big part of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-intellectual-history-and-in-psychology/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [Even though basketball takes up most of my time, I try to pursue intellectual interests whenever I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-barnes/even-though-basketball-takes-up-most-of-my-time-i-try-to-pursue/) [Harrison Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-barnes/) > [Men are not narrow in their intellectual interests by nature; it takes special and rigorous training to accomplish that end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-viner/men-are-not-narrow-in-their-intellectual-interests-by-nature-it-takes/) Jacob Viner > [Philistine - a word which I understand properly to denote indifference to the higher intellectual interests. The word may also be defined, however, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/philistine-a-word-which-i-understand-properly-to-denote-indifference/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I went through a political shift when I was nineteen or twenty. I felt a certain way, and after the shift, I felt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-went-through-a-political-shift-when-i-was-nineteen-or-twenty-i-felt/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [My father was a professor of political science and also a young politician fighting for democracy in Kenya, and when things got ugly, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/my-father-was-a-professor-of-political-science-and-also-a-young/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [Why, to hear Betsy Bobbet talk about wimmin's throwin' their modesty away, you would think if they ever went to the political pole, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marietta-holley/why-to-hear-betsy-bobbet-talk-about-wimmin-s-throwin-their-modesty/) [Marietta Holley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marietta-holley/) > [My father was a professor of political science and also a young politician fighting for democracy in Kenya, and when things got ugly, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/my-father-was-a-professor-of-political-science-and-also-a-young-2/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [A degree which is just the paper and does not have the sanctity of law is not the one you want the students chasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smriti-irani/a-degree-which-is-just-the-paper-and-does-not-have-the-sanctity-of/) [Smriti Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smriti-irani/) > [You know, you don't have to have money to be a successful businessperson. 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I'm just a philosophy major who eats people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/i-m-not-the-one-going-for-a-biology-degree-i-m-just-a-philosophy/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [No girl who is going to marry need bother to win a college degree; she just naturally becomes a "Master of Arts" and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/no-girl-who-is-going-to-marry-need-bother-to-win-a-college-degree-she/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [If you say "I'm going to be an actor, but I'll get a teaching degree just in case," when things get hard, you'll just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ian-black/if-you-say-i-m-going-to-be-an-actor-but-i-ll-get-a-teaching-degree/) [Michael Ian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ian-black/) > [For me, the desire exists less to get myself a degree than to just go and have the whole college experience, and throw myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-jackson/for-me-the-desire-exists-less-to-get-myself-a-degree-than-to-just-go/) [Joshua Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-jackson/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. 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Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. 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You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Activist quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. 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