--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the…" description: "\"Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so damn certain. Brevity doesn't allow for nuance, and it's a nice complement to confidence.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg" --- # Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so… ![“Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so damn certain. Brevity doesn't allow for nuance, and it's a nice complement to confidence.” quote by Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg) > “Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so damn certain. Brevity doesn't allow for nuance, and it's a nice complement to confidence.” [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement critiques how brevity on platforms like Twitter forces certainty, limiting nuance and making confidence appear more appealing than it may be. **In simple terms:** Short messages make people seem overly sure. Key Takeaway Seek depth beyond brief statements. Themes social media confidence communication Mood critical contemplative Type observational analytical When to use this quote - online debates - public speaking - writing - critical thinking Key Concepts psychology media studies Questions to Reflect On - How does brevity affect truth? - Can confidence be genuine without nuance? A Different Perspective Nuance can be lost in fast-paced discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brevity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) [Brevity Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity-doesn-4484829/) [Complement Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complement-confidence-4484827/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Damn Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damn-certain-3916235/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) [Twitter Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter-internet-4484828/) ## Related quotes > [It feels like every day or two, people on Twitter and the Internet are outraged about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/it-feels-like-every-day-or-two-people-on-twitter-and-the-internet-are/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [That is for damn certain. -Tej](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fast-five/that-is-for-damn-certain-tej/) [Fast Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fast-five/) > [“But he was damn certain he was going to be her last, best, and only from now on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-scott/but-he-was-damn-certain-he-was-going-to-be-her-last-best-and-only/) [J.S. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-scott/) > [You have to be damn certain you're putting something better in its place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/you-have-to-be-damn-certain-you-re-putting-something-better-in-its/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [Not to discriminate every moment some passionate attitude in those about us, and in the very brilliancy of their gifts some tragic dividing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/not-to-discriminate-every-moment-some-passionate-attitude-in-those/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-strunk-jr/a-drawing-should-have-no-unnecessary-lines-and-a-machine-no/) [William Strunk, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-strunk-jr/) > [It is excellent discipline for an author to feel that he must say all that he has to say in the fewest possible words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-excellent-discipline-for-an-author-to-feel-that-he-must-say-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/our-senses-will-not-admit-anything-extreme-too-much-noise-confuses-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [If, in the very intense electric field in the neighbourhood of the cathode, the molecules of the gas are dissociated and are split up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/if-in-the-very-intense-electric-field-in-the-neighbourhood-of-the/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [This is going to take a while. I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/this-is-going-to-take-a-while-i-m-a-fantasy-author-we-have-trouble/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) ## More by Rumaan Alam > [When you are what we call a 'minority writer,' a writer of color, a writer of any kind of difference, there is some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/when-you-are-what-we-call-a-minority-writer-a-writer-of-color-a/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Fashion has underscored the interchangeability of men for a long time, maybe from the outset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/fashion-has-underscored-the-interchangeability-of-men-for-a-long-time/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [I've spent many hours of my life browsing in stores. At 21, I admired clothes I couldn't afford. At 30, I bought them. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/i-ve-spent-many-hours-of-my-life-browsing-in-stores-at-21-i-admired/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [With respect to parenting, biological age is not, for men, the concern it is for women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/with-respect-to-parenting-biological-age-is-not-for-men-the-concern/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Every Christmas, I cook an elaborate Mexican dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/every-christmas-i-cook-an-elaborate-mexican-dinner/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [That's part of fashion's promise: that a girlfriend or boyfriend or a promotion are just one tie or sweater or pair of shoes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/that-s-part-of-fashion-s-promise-that-a-girlfriend-or-boyfriend-or-a/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [I do think that I have a sensitivity to the depictions of maybe all minorities in literature. And I think that the experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/i-do-think-that-i-have-a-sensitivity-to-the-depictions-of-maybe-all/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [When you are young, it's deeply annoying to be told that certain things are a condition of your youth. There's almost always some condescension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/when-you-are-young-it-s-deeply-annoying-to-be-told-that-certain/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Children's literature - the product of adult guesswork - often fails to account for its audience's slippery grasp on the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/children-s-literature-the-product-of-adult-guesswork-often-fails-to/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [“One of her most reached-for truisms was that some percentage of jobs were indistinguishable from one another, as they all involved the sending of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/one-of-her-most-reached-for-truisms-was-that-some-percentage-of-jobs/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Writing takes gall. I like to think that's true even for writers with several books under their belt, writers who have been doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/writing-takes-gall-i-like-to-think-that-s-true-even-for-writers-with/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Genre is a useful thing when organizing texts in a bookshop but immaterial to the particular exchange between writer and reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/genre-is-a-useful-thing-when-organizing-texts-in-a-bookshop-but/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Subtlety doesn't work with kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/subtlety-doesn-t-work-with-kids/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Instead of a passion for the Yankees or fly-fishing or birding, I want to pass on to my sons a love of books, music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/instead-of-a-passion-for-the-yankees-or-fly-fishing-or-birding-i-want/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Before the arrival of my first son, I gave up on the moribund business of magazine publishing, where I had long dreamed of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/before-the-arrival-of-my-first-son-i-gave-up-on-the-moribund-business/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) [Explore all 101 Rumaan Alam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) ## More Brevity quotes > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [This is going to take a while. I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/this-is-going-to-take-a-while-i-m-a-fantasy-author-we-have-trouble/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If, in the very intense electric field in the neighbourhood of the cathode, the molecules of the gas are dissociated and are split up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/if-in-the-very-intense-electric-field-in-the-neighbourhood-of-the/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/our-senses-will-not-admit-anything-extreme-too-much-noise-confuses-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [It is excellent discipline for an author to feel that he must say all that he has to say in the fewest possible words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-excellent-discipline-for-an-author-to-feel-that-he-must-say-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-strunk-jr/a-drawing-should-have-no-unnecessary-lines-and-a-machine-no/) [William Strunk, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-strunk-jr/) > [Not to discriminate every moment some passionate attitude in those about us, and in the very brilliancy of their gifts some tragic dividing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/not-to-discriminate-every-moment-some-passionate-attitude-in-those/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/he-will-see-himself-and-life-and-the-world-as-truly-as-our-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/as-a-writer-i-m-too-busy-and-worried-to-experience-the-delight-while/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [Aiming at brevity, I become obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/aiming-at-brevity-i-become-obscure/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Browse all 192 Brevity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so damn certain. Brevity doesn't allow for nuance, and it's a nice complement to confidence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rumaan Alam" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-internet-seems-so-damn-certain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brevity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-internet-seems-so-damn-certain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/900/rumaan-alam-5326_brevity_everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-inte_1333724.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so damn certain. Brevity doesn't allow for nuance…” — Rumaan Alam", "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": "Rumaan Alam", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everyone on Twitter - everyone on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-internet-seems-so-damn-certain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/everyone-on-twitter-everyone-on-the-internet-seems-so-damn-certain/#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 } } ] } ```