--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I once spoke to a human geneticist who…" description: "\"I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the notion of intelligence was quite meaningless, so I tried calling him unintelligent. He was ann..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/peter-medawar-9996_annoyed_i-once-spoke-to-a-human-geneticist-who-d_647324.jpg" --- # I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the… ![“I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the notion of intelligence was quite meaningless, so I tried calling him unintelligent. He was annoyed, and it did not appease him when I went on to ask how he came to attach such a clear meaning to the notion of lack of intelligence. We never…” quote by Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/peter-medawar-9996_annoyed_i-once-spoke-to-a-human-geneticist-who-d_647324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/peter-medawar-9996_annoyed_i-once-spoke-to-a-human-geneticist-who-d_647324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/peter-medawar-9996_annoyed_i-once-spoke-to-a-human-geneticist-who-d_647324.jpg) > “I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the notion of intelligence was quite meaningless, so I tried calling him unintelligent. He was annoyed, and it did not appease him when I went on to ask how he came to attach such a clear meaning to the notion of lack of intelligence. We never spoke again.” [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The anecdote shows that dismissing someone’s expertise with sarcasm can shut down dialogue and hinder understanding. **In simple terms:** Sarcasm blocks constructive discussion about intelligence. Key Takeaway Engage respectfully with experts to learn. Themes communication intelligence respect dialogue misunderstanding Mood reflective thoughtful constructive Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - academic debates - personal conversations - public lectures Key Concepts epistemology social interaction humility Questions to Reflect On - How can you ask challenging questions without offending? - What strategies foster productive debate? A Different Perspective Sarcasm may alienate and prevent knowledge exchange. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/to-begin-by-bluster-but-afterwards-to-take-fright-at-the-enemy-s/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Lack of decisiveness has caused more failures than lack of intelligence or ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lack-of-decisiveness-has-caused-more-failures-than-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not depravity that afflicts the human race so much as a general lack of intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/it-is-not-depravity-that-afflicts-the-human-race-so-much-as-a-general/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [“I thought about the hours we spent practicing increasingly complex math problems. He taught me that lack of knowledge and lack of intelligence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/i-thought-about-the-hours-we-spent-practicing-increasingly-complex/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“I worry sometimes that our world actually values a lack of intelligence. Like we are considered normal if we spend our time thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-konigsberg/i-worry-sometimes-that-our-world-actually-values-a-lack-of/) [Bill Konigsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-konigsberg/) > [If poverty is the mother of all crimes, lack of intelligence is the father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/if-poverty-is-the-mother-of-all-crimes-lack-of-intelligence-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Lack of will power has caused more failure than lack of intelligence or ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lack-of-will-power-has-caused-more-failure-than-lack-of-intelligence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dyslexia is not due to a lack of intelligence, it's a lack of access. It's like, if you're dyslexic, you have all the information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/dyslexia-is-not-due-to-a-lack-of-intelligence-it-s-a-lack-of-access/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [To lack intelligence is to be in the ring blindfolded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/to-lack-intelligence-is-to-be-in-the-ring-blindfolded/) [David M. Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-shoup/) > [Foolishness is rarely a matter of lack of intelligence or even lack of information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccarthy/foolishness-is-rarely-a-matter-of-lack-of-intelligence-or-even-lack/) [John McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccarthy/) > [Fertility of mind does not furnish us with so many resources on the same matter, as the lack of intelligence makes us hesitate at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-la-rochefoucauld/fertility-of-mind-does-not-furnish-us-with-so-many-resources-on-the/) [Francois La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-la-rochefoucauld/) > [When someone isn’t smart enough to express their frustration, they use dirty words. Those are words that describe a lack of intelligence. Smart people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-someone-isn-t-smart-enough-to-express-their-frustration-they-use/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [“I have always believed that anyone who must violate the law to achieve his purposes must lack either intelligence or imagination, probably both.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/i-have-always-believed-that-anyone-who-must-violate-the-law-to/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [The lack of intelligence, narrow minded views and pure ignorance I see on twitter sometimes is a joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-lack-of-intelligence-narrow-minded-views-and-pure-ignorance-i-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most people feel they lack the intelligence to find the right way for them, but this is merely misunderstanding. Intelligence has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anthony/most-people-feel-they-lack-the-intelligence-to-find-the-right-way-for/) [Robert Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anthony/) ## More by Peter Medawar > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/innocent-unbiased-observation-is-a-myth/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/an-experiment-not-worth-doing-is-not-worth-doing-well/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Science is the art of the solvable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/science-is-the-art-of-the-solvable/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [ \[A certain class of explanations in science are\] analgesics that dull the ache of incomprehension without removing the cause. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/a-certain-class-of-explanations-in-science-are-analgesics-that-dull/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Twice in my life I have spent two weary and scientifically profitless years seeking evidence to corroborate dearly loved hypotheses that later proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/twice-in-my-life-i-have-spent-two-weary-and-scientifically-profitless/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If politics is the art of the possible, research is surely the art of the soluble. Both are immensely practical-minded affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/if-politics-is-the-art-of-the-possible-research-is-surely-the-art-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Ask a scientist what he conceives the scientific method to be and he will adopt an expression that is at once solemn and shifty-eyed:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/ask-a-scientist-what-he-conceives-the-scientific-method-to-be-and-he/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-human-mind-treats-a-new-idea-the-way-the-body-treats-a-strange/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [I reckon that for all the use it has been to science about four-fifths of my time has been wasted, and I believe this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/i-reckon-that-for-all-the-use-it-has-been-to-science-about-four/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [We shall not read it for its sociological insights, which are non-existent, nor as science fiction, because it has a general air of implausibility;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/we-shall-not-read-it-for-its-sociological-insights-which-are-non/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The Phenomenon of Man stands square in the tradition of Naturphilosophie, a philosophical indoor pastime of German origin which does not seem even by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-phenomenon-of-man-stands-square-in-the-tradition-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended to make him better, and C) gets better, then no power of reasoning known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treatment-intended-to-make-him/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [We cannot point to a single definitive solution of any one of the problems that confront us — political, economic, social or moral, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/we-cannot-point-to-a-single-definitive-solution-of-any-one-of-the/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [It is high time that laymen abandoned the misleading belief that scientific enquiry is a cold dispassionate enterprise, bleached of imaginative qualities, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/it-is-high-time-that-laymen-abandoned-the-misleading-belief-that/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) [Explore all 68 Peter Medawar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## More Annoyed quotes > [“He remained annoyed with himself until he realized that not knowing what he wanted was actually quite natural. We can never know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/he-remained-annoyed-with-himself-until-he-realized-that-not-knowing/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I think everyone has been annoyed at school or in their life, that's a type of bullying. So, you can take those feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/i-think-everyone-has-been-annoyed-at-school-or-in-their-life-that-s-a/) [Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Each email contains an unsubscribe link. We will NEVER sell, rent, loan, or abuse your email address in ANY way. Writing has been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/each-email-contains-an-unsubscribe-link-we-will-never-sell-rent-loan/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [One of the first things we did was to find role models or mentors at companies that had achieved what we wanted to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-harper/one-of-the-first-things-we-did-was-to-find-role-models-or-mentors-at/) Mitch Harper > [We were only there for five days and during that time Tom was a bit annoyed that the French were more interested in me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalla-ward/we-were-only-there-for-five-days-and-during-that-time-tom-was-a-bit/) [Lalla Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalla-ward/) > [There are two types of people in the world: the ones that piss me off and the ones that don't. Decide which one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-types-of-people-in-the-world-the-ones-that-piss-me-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a huge 'Breaking Bad' fan; I would be really annoyed if anyone told me anything about what was going to happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolaj-coster-waldau/i-m-a-huge-breaking-bad-fan-i-would-be-really-annoyed-if-anyone-told/) [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolaj-coster-waldau/) > [There's always male roles I want to play. I'm so annoyed when I watch movies and go, "That could have been played by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/there-s-always-male-roles-i-want-to-play-i-m-so-annoyed-when-i-watch/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [ “Be annoyed and sin not" ~R. Alan Woods \[2012\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/be-annoyed-and-sin-not-r-alan-woods-2012/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [“Jen, get a clue and read Wadim's shirt." Jacque told her dryly. Jen looked over at Wadim who, oh so helpfully, pulled his shirt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/jen-get-a-clue-and-read-wadim-s-shirt-jacque-told-her-dryly-jen/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) > [From the exterior face of the wall towers must be projected, from which an approaching enemy may be annoyed by weapons, from the embrasures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-the-exterior-face-of-the-wall-towers-must-be-projected-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [- "Women should all move to Amazonia, or at least vacation there four times a year." - "Amazonia?" - "It's the girl world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/women-should-all-move-to-amazonia-or-at-least-vacation-there-four/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I was annoyed from the start by the attitude of doubt by the spectators that I would never really make the flight. This attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-quimby/i-was-annoyed-from-the-start-by-the-attitude-of-doubt-by-the/) [Harriet Quimby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-quimby/) Browse all 446 Annoyed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the notion of intelligence was quite meaningless, so I tried calling him unintelligent. He was annoyed, and it did not appease him when I went on to ask how he came to attach such a clear meaning to the notion of lack of intelligence. 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