--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I want is information; not useful…" description: "\"“What I want is information; not useful information, of course; useless information.”\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg" --- # What I want is information; not useful information, of… ![“What I want is information; not useful information, of course; useless information.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg) > ““What I want is information; not useful information, of course; useless information.”” [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. The speaker differentiates between useful and useless information, implying a preference for the latter. **In simple terms:** Distinguishes useful from useless info. Key Takeaway Value information that entertains. Themes knowledge uselessness irony Mood witty philosophical Type satirical conversational When to use this quote - daily conversation - media consumption Key Concepts information theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When is useless info valuable? - How do you decide relevance? A Different Perspective May undervalue practicality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Information Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-useful-1022491/) [Useful information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful-information/) [Useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless/) [Useless information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless-information/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-information-1295118/) ## Related quotes > [“My brain is full with useless information, until it becomes useful to others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-lator-murray/my-brain-is-full-with-useless-information-until-it-becomes-useful-to/) [Michele Lator-Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-lator-murray/) > [Assad's mother was a terror. He was terrified of her and she kept saying to him, you're not like your father. That's interesting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/assad-s-mother-was-a-terror-he-was-terrified-of-her-and-she-kept/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-a-very-sad-thing-that-nowadays-there-is-so-little-useless/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [You’re a solid person, Sage. You’re easy on the eyes, if a little skinny, and your ability to memorize useless information is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/you-re-a-solid-person-sage-you-re-easy-on-the-eyes-if-a-little-skinny/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Ms. Wormwood: Calvin, can you tell us what Lewis and Clark did? Calvin: No, but I can recite the secret superhero origin of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/ms-wormwood-calvin-can-you-tell-us-what-lewis-and-clark-did-calvin-no/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I am but too conscious of the fact that we are born in an age when only the dull are treated seriously, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-but-too-conscious-of-the-fact-that-we-are-born-in-an-age-when/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Information is only useful when it can be understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-cooper/information-is-only-useful-when-it-can-be-understood/) [Muriel Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-cooper/) > [For information to be useful, it should be dynamic, searchable, and accessible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/for-information-to-be-useful-it-should-be-dynamic-searchable-and/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [Sometimes they're nothing, sometimes they're something, sometimes there's a connection that years later may show up. All of this information is useful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/sometimes-they-re-nothing-sometimes-they-re-something-sometimes-there/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“A pond full of information can sometimes be less useful than a cup full of insight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyan-nagpal/a-pond-full-of-information-can-sometimes-be-less-useful-than-a-cup/) [Gyan Nagpal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyan-nagpal/) > [You know, when people want to get any information, research information, it will all exist on these Web sites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-de-palma/you-know-when-people-want-to-get-any-information-research-information/) [Brian De Palma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-de-palma/) > [Information can perhaps be useful as a support-stick and help you cross the way... but if you want to find your way in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/information-can-perhaps-be-useful-as-a-support-stick-and-help-you/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Well there are two things: Number one is, make sure you always enjoy yourself, because when you enjoy yourself, you'll learn, you'll want more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-chastain/well-there-are-two-things-number-one-is-make-sure-you-always-enjoy/) [Brandi Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-chastain/) > [“Information that might be useful—or at least good to know before we open the way again. Forewarned is forearmed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/information-that-might-be-useful-or-at-least-good-to-know-before-we/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [“The information you have is not the information you want. The information you want is not the information you need. The information you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/the-information-you-have-is-not-the-information-you-want-the/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) ## 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 Data quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) [Angela Llama-Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-llama-butler/) > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/) [SebastianMax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastianmax/) > [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/) [REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) [Ebbe Skovdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebbe-skovdahl/) > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) [Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What I want is information; not useful information, of course; useless information.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-information-of-course-useless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Data" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-information-of-course-useless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/oscar-wilde-16_data_what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-in_2685180.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I want is information; not useful information, of course; useless information.” — 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": "“What I want is information; not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-information-of-course-useless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-i-want-is-information-not-useful-information-of-course-useless/#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 } } ] } ```