--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The human race does not have a very good…" description: "\"The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.\" — Stephen Hawking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/stephen-hawking-389_behavior_the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good_33885.jpg" --- # The human race does not have a very good record of… ![“The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/stephen-hawking-389_behavior_the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good_33885.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/stephen-hawking-389_behavior_the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good_33885.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/stephen-hawking-389_behavior_the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good_33885.jpg) > “The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes that humanity often fails to act wisely despite its intellectual capacity. **In simple terms:** Humanity's poor track record of wisdom. Key Takeaway Intelligence alone doesn't guarantee good decisions. Themes human nature wisdom irrationality history collective behavior Mood reflective cautious Type observation cautionary When to use this quote - policy making - environmental stewardship - technological development - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive bias short-term thinking social dynamics Practical Applications - ethics education - long-term planning Questions to Reflect On - How can societies translate intelligence into wise action? - What mechanisms can curb collective irrationality? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Good records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-records/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-behavior-435074/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Very good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-good/) ## Related quotes > [Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple stupid behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/simple-clear-purpose-and-principles-give-rise-to-complex-intelligent/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [We have to be able to adapt to new situation. It's another form of the definition of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasso-plattner/we-have-to-be-able-to-adapt-to-new-situation-it-s-another-form-of-the/) [Hasso Plattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasso-plattner/) > [Inactivity strikes us as intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/inactivity-strikes-us-as-intelligent-behavior/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [The human race may be the only intelligent beings in the galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-may-be-the-only-intelligent-beings-in-the-galaxy/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Having solidarity is important and having conviction and sticking with it and also consistency. You can't just have one good record, or a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-jarman/having-solidarity-is-important-and-having-conviction-and-sticking/) [Ryan Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-jarman/) > [I don't believe in good music and bad music anymore. I'm through with that phase of my life. Sometimes I just wanna feel good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/i-don-t-believe-in-good-music-and-bad-music-anymore-i-m-through-with/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) > [Of course you want to keep making good records, but I think there were certain aspects to the indie rock situation at that point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/of-course-you-want-to-keep-making-good-records-but-i-think-there-were/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [If it's a good record or a good recording, then word of mouth will build for that reason, not before the fact, not before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-krug/if-it-s-a-good-record-or-a-good-recording-then-word-of-mouth-will/) [Spencer Krug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-krug/) > [I've always felt that maybe one of the reasons that I did well as a student and made such good grades was because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denton-cooley/i-ve-always-felt-that-maybe-one-of-the-reasons-that-i-did-well-as-a/) [Denton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denton-cooley/) > [40% of homicides go unsolved. You know, it's not a very good record. And, also, 95% of convictions in America come from plea bargaining,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/40-of-homicides-go-unsolved-you-know-it-s-not-a-very-good-record-and/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I'm just trying to make a good record that my fans will dig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-fowler/i-m-just-trying-to-make-a-good-record-that-my-fans-will-dig/) [Kevin Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-fowler/) > [“If history records good things of good men, the thoughtful hearer is encouraged to imitate what is good: or if it records evil of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede/if-history-records-good-things-of-good-men-the-thoughtful-hearer-is/) [Bede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede/) > [Oh God almighty, another Detroit monster is Chad Smith of the Chili Peppers. Their music is intoxicating between Flea and Chad Smith. They're contemporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/oh-god-almighty-another-detroit-monster-is-chad-smith-of-the-chili/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Good records - from my point of view, where I grew up which was Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull... bands that were pushing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-winger/good-records-from-my-point-of-view-where-i-grew-up-which-was-led/) [Kip Winger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-winger/) > [Well, that's going to be up to the pundits and the people to make up their mind. I'll tell you what is a president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/well-that-s-going-to-be-up-to-the-pundits-and-the-people-to-make-up/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## More by Stephen Hawking > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. For me this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-have-finally-found-something-that-doesn-t-have-a-cause-because/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. 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Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. He reasoned that something invisible must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/empedocles-noticed-that-if-you-cover-the-neck-before-you-immerse-it-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-shouldn-t-have-all-its-eggs-in-one-basket-or-on-one/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [It is impossible to imagine a four-dimensional space. I personally find it hard enough to visualize a three-dimensional space!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/it-is-impossible-to-imagine-a-four-dimensional-space-i-personally/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) [Explore all 601 Stephen Hawking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. 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Our judges aren't paid so much a case. 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