--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great talents encourage great…" description: "\"“Great talents encourage great incapacities, but maintaining an inability to cook an egg or drive a car won't make you into a genius.”\" — Sarah Manguso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/sarah-manguso-11172_intelligence_great-talents-encourage-great-incapaciti_1904819.jpg" --- # Great talents encourage great incapacities, but… ![“Great talents encourage great incapacities, but maintaining an inability to cook an egg or drive a car won't make you into a genius.” quote by Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/sarah-manguso-11172_intelligence_great-talents-encourage-great-incapaciti_1904819.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/sarah-manguso-11172_intelligence_great-talents-encourage-great-incapaciti_1904819.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/sarah-manguso-11172_intelligence_great-talents-encourage-great-incapaciti_1904819.jpg) > ““Great talents encourage great incapacities, but maintaining an inability to cook an egg or drive a car won't make you into a genius.”” [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Talent often coexists with flaws; lacking basic skills doesn't equate to brilliance. **In simple terms:** Great talent doesn't excuse basic incompetence. Key Takeaway Focus on foundational skills before seeking greatness. Themes talent skill humility Mood reflective critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career development - personal hobbies - daily chores Key Concepts self‑improvement competence growth Questions to Reflect On - Which basic skill could you improve now? - How does humility affect your growth? A Different Perspective Skill gaps can undermine perceived talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Talents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talents/) ## Related quotes > [If you have great talents, industry will improve them: if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/if-you-have-great-talents-industry-will-improve-them-if-you-have-but/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [It is not so much great talents that God blesses, as great likeness to Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-murray-m-cheyne/it-is-not-so-much-great-talents-that-god-blesses-as-great-likeness-to/) [Robert Murray M'Cheyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-murray-m-cheyne/) > [Great talents are the most lovely and often the most dangerous fruits on the tree of humanity. They hang upon the most slender twigs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/great-talents-are-the-most-lovely-and-often-the-most-dangerous-fruits/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [We all prosper when folks are more appraised of how great those matches were and how great those talents were from all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cornette/we-all-prosper-when-folks-are-more-appraised-of-how-great-those/) [Jim Cornette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cornette/) > [Great offices will have great talents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/great-offices-will-have-great-talents/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Great talents have some admirers, but few friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/great-talents-have-some-admirers-but-few-friends/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Capital will follow where great talents go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-tewari/capital-will-follow-where-great-talents-go/) [Naveen Tewari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-tewari/) > [Great offices will have great talents, and God gives to every man the virtue, temper, understanding, taste, that lifts him into life, and lets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/great-offices-will-have-great-talents-and-god-gives-to-every-man-the/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [I played in garage bands and rock and roll bands when I was in junior high and high school and saw some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cassidy/i-played-in-garage-bands-and-rock-and-roll-bands-when-i-was-in-junior/) [David Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cassidy/) > [As a director, you're given a tremendous apparatus to work with, and very great talents are available to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/as-a-director-you-re-given-a-tremendous-apparatus-to-work-with-and/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Berbatov is a great talent, there is no question about that, and as coaches and managers we demand more from great talents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-phelan/berbatov-is-a-great-talent-there-is-no-question-about-that-and-as/) [Mike Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-phelan/) > [I know there are many great talents, much more talented than I am, but they haven't been able to achieve what I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himesh-reshammiya/i-know-there-are-many-great-talents-much-more-talented-than-i-am-but/) [Himesh Reshammiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himesh-reshammiya/) > [Great talents ripen late; the highest notes are hard to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/great-talents-ripen-late-the-highest-notes-are-hard-to-hear/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I always wish to find great virtues where there are great talents, and to love what I admire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-montagu/i-always-wish-to-find-great-virtues-where-there-are-great-talents-and/) [Elizabeth Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-montagu/) > [We can console ourselves for not having great talents as we console ourselves for not having great places. We can be above both in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/we-can-console-ourselves-for-not-having-great-talents-as-we-console/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) ## More by Sarah Manguso > [I like people who possess either deep mastery or deep empathy, but not as much as I like those who possess both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/i-like-people-who-possess-either-deep-mastery-or-deep-empathy-but-not/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [The best thing about time passing is the privilege of running out of it, of watching the wave of mortality break over me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-best-thing-about-time-passing-is-the-privilege-of-running-out-of/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“The trouble with comparing yourself to others is that there are too many others. 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But it’s possible to enjoy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/it-s-impossible-to-fail-if-one-doesn-t-know-how-the-end-should-look/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“I tend to forget that my measurement of time is designed to distract me from what's really happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/i-tend-to-forget-that-my-measurement-of-time-is-designed-to-distract/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [My existence shrank from an arrow of light pointing into the future forever to a speck of light that was the present moment. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/my-existence-shrank-from-an-arrow-of-light-pointing-into-the-future/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“Whatever you're feeling, billions already have. Feel for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/whatever-you-re-feeling-billions-already-have-feel-for-them/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“ My friend Isabel says, When you’re writing even a short novel, with at least a couple of subplots, and God only knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/my-friend-isabel-says-when-you-re-writing-even-a-short-novel-with-at/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [The only thing I've consistently been interested in in the last twenty-five years is writing very short texts. That continues to interest me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-only-thing-i-ve-consistently-been-interested-in-in-the-last/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“Like a vase, a heart breaks once. 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I found the notes for a book a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/death-will-reveal-what-you-otherwise-would-have-finished-also-what/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [Those who claim to write about something larger and more significant than the self sometimes fail to comprehend the dimensions of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/those-who-claim-to-write-about-something-larger-and-more-significant/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [Look at me, dancing my little dance for a few moments against the background of eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/look-at-me-dancing-my-little-dance-for-a-few-moments-against-the/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [Chair or no chair: a binary relation. But the vicissitudes of moving the body around are infinite. You never know what a person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/chair-or-no-chair-a-binary-relation-but-the-vicissitudes-of-moving/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) [Explore all 61 Sarah Manguso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) ## More Intelligence quotes > [If you can do anything for love there's no reason you can't do everything to someone you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayjay-guillermo/if-you-can-do-anything-for-love-there-s-no-reason-you-can-t-do/) [Jayjay Guillermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayjay-guillermo/) > [Long before the 2016 presidential campaign, confidential sources had alerted me to longstanding misuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court system and the erosion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyl-attkisson/long-before-the-2016-presidential-campaign-confidential-sources-had/) [Sharyl Attkisson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyl-attkisson/) > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. 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What they lack, however, are some of the brain-based skills that we all need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-guare/when-it-comes-to-smarts-adolescents-like-jesse-have-plenty-what-they/) [Richard Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-guare/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“A smart person learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-schramm/a-smart-person-learns-from-his-mistakes-but-a-truly-wise-person/) Ken Schramm > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. 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