--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hive Queen: They never know anything…" description: "\"“Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all. And yet they ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/orson-scott-card-134_buggers_hive-queen-they-never-know-anything-they_437138.jpg" --- # Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have… ![“Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all. And yet they think they understand. From earliest childhood, they delude themselves into thinking they comprehend the world, while all that's really going on is…” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/orson-scott-card-134_buggers_hive-queen-they-never-know-anything-they_437138.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/orson-scott-card-134_buggers_hive-queen-they-never-know-anything-they_437138.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/orson-scott-card-134_buggers_hive-queen-they-never-know-anything-they_437138.jpg) > ““Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all. And yet they think they understand. From earliest childhood, they delude themselves into thinking they comprehend the world, while all that's really going on is that they've got some primitive assumptions and prejudices. As they get older they learn a more elevated vocabulary in which to express their mindless pseudo- knowledge and bully other people into accepting their prejudices as if they were truth, but it all amounts to the same thing. Individually, human beings are all dolts. Pequenino: While collectively... Hive Queen: Collectively, they're a collection of dolts. But in all their scurrying around and pretending to be wise, throwing out idiotic half-understood theories about this and that, one or two of them will come up with some idea that is just a little bit closer to the truth than what was already known. And in a sort of fumbling trial and error, about half the time the truth actually rises to the top and becomes accepted by people who still don't understand it, who simply adopt it as a new prejudice to be trusted blindly until the next dolt accidentally comes up with an improvement.> Pequenino: So you're saying that no one is ever individually intelligent, and groups are even stupider than individuals-- and yet by keeping so many fools engaged in pretending to be intelligent, they still come up with some of the same results that an intelligent species would come up with. Hive Queen: Exactly.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual knowledge is limited and biased; collective progress emerges from many imperfect ideas, with truth eventually surfacing through trial and error. **In simple terms:** People are flawed, but groups can inch toward truth over time. Key Takeaway Value diverse input and tolerate mistakes. Themes knowledge bias collective intelligence Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - team brainstorming - scientific research - policy making - education reform Key Concepts Epistemology group dynamics error correction Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance dissent with consensus? - What mechanisms ensure valuable ideas rise above prejudice? A Different Perspective Overreliance on consensus can suppress novel insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Trial and error](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trial-and-error/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“And always Ender carried with him a dry white cocoon, looking for a place where the hive-queen could awaken and thrive in peace. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/and-always-ender-carried-with-him-a-dry-white-cocoon-looking-for-a/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“When it comes down to it, though, the real decision is inevitable: If one of us has to be destroyed, let's make damn sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/when-it-comes-down-to-it-though-the-real-decision-is-inevitable-if/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Mass democracy guarantees stupidity. Masses of people, even if they're individually intelligent, can only act stupidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/mass-democracy-guarantees-stupidity-masses-of-people-even-if-they-re/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [“It would be such a good thing, if the Hive Queen could speak to another human. She claimed to be able to do it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-be-such-a-good-thing-if-the-hive-queen-could-speak-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are being trained to be a Queen, but you do not have to act like one until y ou get your own hive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hawes/you-are-being-trained-to-be-a-queen-but-you-do-not-have-to-act-like/) [Elizabeth Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hawes/) > [“Being a Falconer is about saving the buggers even if they don't deserve it." - Farlan MacNeil”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-mcrae/being-a-falconer-is-about-saving-the-buggers-even-if-they-don-t/) Edwin McRae > [“We are tiny, little buggers,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-chase/we-are-tiny-little-buggers/) [B.C. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-chase/) > [All men love to talk about themselves, even the ones who are completely buggers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/all-men-love-to-talk-about-themselves-even-the-ones-who-are/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Sinn Fein say, "The British government are buggers".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-mair/sinn-fein-say-the-british-government-are-buggers/) [Eddie Mair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-mair/) > [Humanity actually has the gall to feel they are more advanced than they were; technology somehow defines intelligence. If technology enables you to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/humanity-actually-has-the-gall-to-feel-they-are-more-advanced-than/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“We became an intelligent species by solving problems, and now that we are entering a technological era where we no longer need to solve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/we-became-an-intelligent-species-by-solving-problems-and-now-that-we/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-intelligent-species-on-this/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [“I firmly disagree with anyone who says humans are the most advanced, or the most intelligent species on the planet. In fact, only three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-morrow/i-firmly-disagree-with-anyone-who-says-humans-are-the-most-advanced/) Israel Morrow > [I think that space flight is a condition of Nature that comes into effect when an intelligent species reaches the saturation point of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-wollheim/i-think-that-space-flight-is-a-condition-of-nature-that-comes-into/) [Donald A. Wollheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-wollheim/) > [We have intelligent species on our planet that we are not even trying to communicate with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/we-have-intelligent-species-on-our-planet-that-we-are-not-even-trying/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? 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There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Buggers quotes > [“When it comes down to it, though, the real decision is inevitable: If one of us has to be destroyed, let's make damn sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/when-it-comes-down-to-it-though-the-real-decision-is-inevitable-if/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [All men love to talk about themselves, even the ones who are completely buggers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/all-men-love-to-talk-about-themselves-even-the-ones-who-are/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“We are tiny, little buggers,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-chase/we-are-tiny-little-buggers/) [B.C. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-chase/) > [“Being a Falconer is about saving the buggers even if they don't deserve it." - Farlan MacNeil”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-mcrae/being-a-falconer-is-about-saving-the-buggers-even-if-they-don-t/) Edwin McRae > [Sinn Fein say, "The British government are buggers".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-mair/sinn-fein-say-the-british-government-are-buggers/) [Eddie Mair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-mair/) Browse all 6 Buggers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all. And yet they think they understand. 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