--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Excel spreadsheets might as well be one…" description: "\"Excel spreadsheets might as well be one of the most dangerous recent inventions.\" — Rolf Dobelli" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/rolf-dobelli-11723_dangerous_excel-spreadsheets-might-as-well-be-one_1516951.png" --- # Excel spreadsheets might as well be one of the most… ![“Excel spreadsheets might as well be one of the most dangerous recent inventions.” quote by Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/rolf-dobelli-11723_dangerous_excel-spreadsheets-might-as-well-be-one_1516951.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/rolf-dobelli-11723_dangerous_excel-spreadsheets-might-as-well-be-one_1516951.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/rolf-dobelli-11723_dangerous_excel-spreadsheets-might-as-well-be-one_1516951.png) > “Excel spreadsheets might as well be one of the most dangerous recent inventions.” [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that spreadsheets, while useful, can become dangerously misleading if misused. **In simple terms:** Spreadsheets can mislead. Key Takeaway Use spreadsheets critically and verify data. Themes technology decisionmaking risk Mood cautious analytical Type business technical When to use this quote - business analysis - financial planning - research - personal budgeting Key Concepts cognitive bias data integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you validate spreadsheet outputs? - What checks prevent misuse? A Different Perspective Overreliance may cause errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Recent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-recent-5598205/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Recent Inventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recent-inventions-5598206/) [Spreadsheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spreadsheets-351318/) [Spreadsheets Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spreadsheets-dangerous-5598204/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [For every one of our failures, we had spreadsheets that looked awesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-cook/for-every-one-of-our-failures-we-had-spreadsheets-that-looked-awesome/) [Scott D. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-cook/) > [“I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I was only terrible at spreadsheets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-but-it-turns-out-i-was-only/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [There's a small part of me that loves filing, organizing and spreadsheets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-fischer/there-s-a-small-part-of-me-that-loves-filing-organizing-and/) [Jenna Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-fischer/) > [I would have gone crazy in a cubicle looking at spreadsheets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-gatto/i-would-have-gone-crazy-in-a-cubicle-looking-at-spreadsheets/) [Joe Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-gatto/) > [I'm a lover of lists and five-year plans and Excel spreadsheets. Any way that I can have any control over the direction my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-fischer/i-m-a-lover-of-lists-and-five-year-plans-and-excel-spreadsheets-any/) [Jenna Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-fischer/) > [I am a businessman at the end of the day. I have grown up with Excel sheets. 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I pay the publicists. I have to compartmentalize the creative and the business, so there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verite/i-love-spreadsheets-i-do-all-the-finances-i-pay-the-publicists-i-have/) [Verite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verite/) > [Trust your gut instinct over spreadsheets. There are too many variables in the real world that you simply can't put into a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/trust-your-gut-instinct-over-spreadsheets-there-are-too-many/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [I come from Wall Street, and you'll never see me do a PowerPoint because I'm all about Excel spreadsheets. If it's not in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/safra-a-catz/i-come-from-wall-street-and-you-ll-never-see-me-do-a-powerpoint/) [Safra A. Catz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/safra-a-catz/) ## More by Rolf Dobelli > [News is to the mind what sugar is to the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/news-is-to-the-mind-what-sugar-is-to-the-body/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“A second, parallel explanation of why our mistakes are so persistent took shape in the late 1990s: Our brains are designed to reproduce rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/a-second-parallel-explanation-of-why-our-mistakes-are-so-persistent/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“A mathematician is afraid of flying due to the small risk of a terrorist attack. So, on every flight he takes a bomb with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/a-mathematician-is-afraid-of-flying-due-to-the-small-risk-of-a/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Trust your internal observations too much and too long, and you might be in for a very rude awakening. Second, we believe that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/trust-your-internal-observations-too-much-and-too-long-and-you-might/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“the typical response to scarcity is a lapse in clear thinking. Assess products and services solely on the basis of their price and benefits.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-typical-response-to-scarcity-is-a-lapse-in-clear-thinking-assess/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“The confirmation bias is alive and well in the business world. One example: An executive team decides on a new strategy. The team enthusiastically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-confirmation-bias-is-alive-and-well-in-the-business-world-one/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“An unrealized loss isn't as painful as realized one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/an-unrealized-loss-isn-t-as-painful-as-realized-one/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [If you spend fifteen minutes in a shopping mall, you will pass more people than our ancestors saw during their entire lifetimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/if-you-spend-fifteen-minutes-in-a-shopping-mall-you-will-pass-more/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“In conclusion: Don’t cling to things. Consider your property something that the “universe” (whatever you believe this to be) has bestowed to you temporarily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/in-conclusion-don-t-cling-to-things-consider-your-property-something/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“The sunk cost fallacy is most dangerous when we have invested a lot of time, money, energy, or love in something. This investment becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-sunk-cost-fallacy-is-most-dangerous-when-we-have-invested-a-lot/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Our school system is largely geared toward the set-up: the emphasis on factual knowledge and certifications makes it seem like life is primarily about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/our-school-system-is-largely-geared-toward-the-set-up-the-emphasis-on/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Wir sollten darauf achten, einer Erfahrung nur so viel Weisheit zu entnehmen, wie in ihr steckt - mehr nicht.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/wir-sollten-darauf-achten-einer-erfahrung-nur-so-viel-weisheit-zu/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [It's okay to be envious - but only of the person you aspire to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/it-s-okay-to-be-envious-but-only-of-the-person-you-aspire-to-become/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“After receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918, Max Planck went on tour across Germany. Wherever he was invited, he delivered the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/after-receiving-the-nobel-prize-in-physics-in-1918-max-planck-went-on/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“The inept are gifted at overlooking the extent of their incompetence. They suffer from illusory superiority, which leads them to make even more thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-inept-are-gifted-at-overlooking-the-extent-of-their-incompetence/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) [Explore all 50 Rolf Dobelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) ## More Dangerous quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/in-my-youth-team-days-i-was-always-a-left-winger-who-would-stay-close/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [The temptations of God were always more dangerous for mankind than those of Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-temptations-of-god-were-always-more-dangerous-for-mankind-than/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-you-start-talking-about-elections-being-rigged-you-re-pushing/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Die gefährlichste Weltanschauung ist die Weltanschauung derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben. (The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/die-gef-hrlichste-weltanschauung-ist-die-weltanschauung-derer-die-die/) [Alexander von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. 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