--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mind of the thoroughly well-informed…" description: "\"The mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-à-brac shop, all monsters and dust, with everything priced above it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg" --- # The mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful… ![“The mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-à-brac shop, all monsters and dust, with everything priced above its proper value.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg) > “The mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-à-brac shop, all monsters and dust, with everything priced above its proper value.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An overly informed mind becomes cluttered, valuing trivialities over essentials. **In simple terms:** Too much knowledge can overwhelm and misplace value. Key Takeaway Simplify and prioritize essential truths. Themes knowledge overwhelm value prioritization Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic research - personal decision making - media consumption - education - critical thinking Key Concepts philosophy cognitive overload information excess Questions to Reflect On - What essential truths are you overlooking? - How can you filter noise from valuable insight? A Different Perspective Even the well‑informed can be misled by irrelevant details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brics/) [Dreadful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreadful/) [Dreadful Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreadful-thing-1047810/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Informed Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/informed-man-689022/) [Intellectualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectualism/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Man Dreadful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-dreadful-4712470/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Thoroughly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-thoroughly-754530/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Shops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shops/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [“In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with rubbish and facts, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-the-wild-struggle-for-existence-we-want-to-have-something-that-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The thoroughly well-informed man — that is the modern ideal. And the mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-thoroughly-well-informed-man-that-is-the-modern-ideal-and-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“We all take such pains to over-educate ourselves. In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/we-all-take-such-pains-to-over-educate-ourselves-in-the-wild-struggle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/ah-good-taste-what-a-dreadful-thing-taste-is-the-enemy-of-creativeness/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [What a dreadful thing it must be to have a dull father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mapes-dodge/what-a-dreadful-thing-it-must-be-to-have-a-dull-father/) [Mary Mapes Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mapes-dodge/) > [A dreadful thing is the love of money! It disables both eyes and ears, and makes men worse to deal with than a wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chrysostom/a-dreadful-thing-is-the-love-of-money-it-disables-both-eyes-and-ears/) [John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chrysostom/) > [A lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-lion-among-ladies-is-a-most-dreadful-thing/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“God, what a dreadful thing - the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/god-what-a-dreadful-thing-the-truth/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [It is a sad thing to think of, but there is no doubt that genius lasts longer than beauty. That accounts for the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-a-sad-thing-to-think-of-but-there-is-no-doubt-that-genius-lasts/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [No mind is thoroughly well organized that is deficient in a sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/no-mind-is-thoroughly-well-organized-that-is-deficient-in-a-sense-of/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-best-informed-man-is-not-necessarily-the-wisest-indeed-there-is-a/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“Bragg was a remarkably intelligent and well-informed man, professionally and otherwise. He was also thoroughly upright. But he was possessed of an irascible temper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/bragg-was-a-remarkably-intelligent-and-well-informed-man/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-best-informed-man-is-not-necessarily-the-wisest-indeed-there-is-a-2/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Culture is activity of thought, and receptiveness to beauty and humane feeling. Scraps of information have nothing to do with it. A merely well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/culture-is-activity-of-thought-and-receptiveness-to-beauty-and-humane/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [You can always spot a well informed man his views are the same as yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilka-chase/you-can-always-spot-a-well-informed-man-his-views-are-the-same-as/) [Ilka Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilka-chase/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [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 books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Brics quotes > [BRICS should be driven by 'People to People' contact. It should explore developing innovative mechanisms of Youth engagement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/brics-should-be-driven-by-people-to-people-contact-it-should-explore/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [In a sense, Open City is a kind of Wunderkammer, one of those little rooms assembled with bric-a-brac by Renaissance scholars. I don't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/in-a-sense-open-city-is-a-kind-of-wunderkammer-one-of-those-little/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [China is a BRIC country. BRIC country means Brazil, Russia, India and China. This emerging economy really is helping the revival of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-anti/china-is-a-bric-country-bric-country-means-brazil-russia-india-and/) [Michael Anti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-anti/) > [Houses are the abiding joys; they are the most emotion-stirring of all things. An automobile is regarded with fond affection, a typewriter becomes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-wilder-lane/houses-are-the-abiding-joys-they-are-the-most-emotion-stirring-of-all/) [Rose Wilder Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-wilder-lane/) > [For a male person bric-a-brac hunting is about as robust a business as making doll-clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/for-a-male-person-bric-a-brac-hunting-is-about-as-robust-a-business/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The BRIC countries - Brazil, India, China, Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia even, and Russia - are now new actors. Over the last eight years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/the-bric-countries-brazil-india-china-turkey-south-africa-indonesia/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [Venice is a cheek-by-jowl, back-of-the-hand, under-the-counter, higgledy-piggledy, anecdotal city, and she is rich in piquant wrinkled things, like an assortment of bric-a-brac in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-morris/venice-is-a-cheek-by-jowl-back-of-the-hand-under-the-counter-higgledy/) [Jan Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-morris/) > [We have now reached a level where we should be even more ambitious. We should focus on more tangible mechanisms and outcomes. Make BRICS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-have-now-reached-a-level-where-we-should-be-even-more-ambitious-we/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [It took years of wear and tear before idealism crumbled like so much bric-a-brac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-siegel/it-took-years-of-wear-and-tear-before-idealism-crumbled-like-so-much/) [James Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-siegel/) > [South Africa is regarded as being an extraordinarily important country - not just for South Africa, but for Southern Africa, for the BRICS, working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/south-africa-is-regarded-as-being-an-extraordinarily-important/) [Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/) > [Now we characterise Russian-Chinese relations as a strategic partnership, even a special strategic partnership. We have never had such a level of trust with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/now-we-characterise-russian-chinese-relations-as-a-strategic/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [International institutions like the Security Council, the General Assembly, the G20, the BRICs, the IMF, etc., continue to be little more than an extension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/international-institutions-like-the-security-council-the-general/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [Poets suffer occasional delusions of angelhood and find themselves condemned to express it in the bric-a-brac tongues of the human world. Lots of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/poets-suffer-occasional-delusions-of-angelhood-and-find-themselves/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I am content to be a bric-a-bracker and a Ceramiker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-content-to-be-a-bric-a-bracker-and-a-ceramiker/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The fast growing markets - the BRICS and Next Eleven - are the key. The next billion consumers are not going to come from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/the-fast-growing-markets-the-brics-and-next-eleven-are-the-key-the/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) [Browse all 17 Brics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-à-brac shop, all monsters and dust, with everything priced above its proper value.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed-man-is-a-dreadful-thing-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed-man-is-a-dreadful-thing-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/oscar-wilde-16_brics_the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed_1369492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-à-brac shop, all…” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The mind of the thoroughly well-informed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed-man-is-a-dreadful-thing-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-mind-of-the-thoroughly-well-informed-man-is-a-dreadful-thing-it/#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 } } ] } ```