--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can play on their horrible little minds…" description: "\"“I can play on their horrible little minds like a xylophone. It’s amazing, the sheer power of mundanity. Who’d have thought that weakness could be a gr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg" --- # I can play on their horrible little minds like a… ![“I can play on their horrible little minds like a xylophone. It’s amazing, the sheer power of mundanity. Who’d have thought that weakness could be a greater force than strength? But you have to know how to direct it.” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg) > ““I can play on their horrible little minds like a xylophone. It’s amazing, the sheer power of mundanity. Who’d have thought that weakness could be a greater force than strength? But you have to know how to direct it.”” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He likens manipulating simple minds to playing a xylophone, noting mundane power can outweigh strength. **In simple terms:** Manipulating simple minds is like playing a xylophone; mundane power can surpass strength. Key Takeaway Leverage subtle influence over brute force. Themes influence mundanity power creativity Mood witty thought‑provoking Type fiction philosophical When to use this quote - politics - marketing - storytelling Key Concepts psychology strategic thinking Questions to Reflect On - When is subtle influence ethical? - How does mundanity become powerful? A Different Perspective May underestimate ethical concerns of manipulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Little minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-minds/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [No one enjoys feeling weak, whether it is emotionally, spiritually or physically. There is something within the human spirit that wants to resist the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/no-one-enjoys-feeling-weak-whether-it-is-emotionally-spiritually-or/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [“The men who are dropped in a jungle or a desert and expected video games and got mundanity and depravity and friends dying like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-men-who-are-dropped-in-a-jungle-or-a-desert-and-expected-video/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Uncompromising purpose and the search for eternal truth have an unquestionable sex appeal for the young and high-minded; but when a person loses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/uncompromising-purpose-and-the-search-for-eternal-truth-have-an/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“I once asked Arpit Bala, an influencer with a brutally loyal following, about the resentment felt by office-goers against self-employed content creators. He spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-minus-verma/i-once-asked-arpit-bala-an-influencer-with-a-brutally-loyal-following/) Anurag Minus Verma > [I think greatness is found within mundanity, those boring little ticks throughout the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caeleb-dressel/i-think-greatness-is-found-within-mundanity-those-boring-little-ticks/) [Caeleb Dressel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caeleb-dressel/) > [I don’t think it's weak to admit you made a mistake. That takes strength, if you ask me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-don-t-think-it-s-weak-to-admit-you-made-a-mistake-that-takes/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The Libertarians, of whom I'm rather fond, are running Harry Browne. Libertarians are, just as they claim, principled and consistent- they believe in individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-libertarians-of-whom-i-m-rather-fond-are-running-harry-browne/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Little minds find satisfaction for their feelings, good or bad, in little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/little-minds-find-satisfaction-for-their-feelings-good-or-bad-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Who affects useless singularities has surely a little mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/who-affects-useless-singularities-has-surely-a-little-mind/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [The worst of pushing horrible things down into one's subconscious is that when they pop up again they are as fresh as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-tey/the-worst-of-pushing-horrible-things-down-into-one-s-subconscious-is/) [Josephine Tey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-tey/) > [“Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/consistency-is-the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [So you want to be married, oh baby, trying to put me on a chain, ain't that some shame? You must be losing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/so-you-want-to-be-married-oh-baby-trying-to-put-me-on-a-chain-ain-t/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [Give Up To Be Happy From one of my mails I thought it was worth sharing 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-up-to-be-happy-from-one-of-my-mails-i-thought-it-was-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I despise a person of little mind - one might as well not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/i-despise-a-person-of-little-mind-one-might-as-well-not-have-any/) Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins > [“there is a continuity of mind, as the Yogis call it. The mind is universal. Your mind, my mind, all these little minds, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/there-is-a-continuity-of-mind-as-the-yogis-call-it-the-mind-is/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. I am as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-i-did-not-return-until-half-past-four-this-morning-and-i/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Someone broke from the scrum and, punching and kicking, staggered towards the Klatchian goal. "Isn't that man your butler?" said Ahmed. "Yes." "One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/someone-broke-from-the-scrum-and-punching-and-kicking-staggered/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You are not apprehensive, are you? I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Little minds quotes > [“there is a continuity of mind, as the Yogis call it. The mind is universal. Your mind, my mind, all these little minds, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/there-is-a-continuity-of-mind-as-the-yogis-call-it-the-mind-is/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I despise a person of little mind - one might as well not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/i-despise-a-person-of-little-mind-one-might-as-well-not-have-any/) Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins > [Give Up To Be Happy From one of my mails I thought it was worth sharing 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-up-to-be-happy-from-one-of-my-mails-i-thought-it-was-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So you want to be married, oh baby, trying to put me on a chain, ain't that some shame? You must be losing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/so-you-want-to-be-married-oh-baby-trying-to-put-me-on-a-chain-ain-t/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [“Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/consistency-is-the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [The worst of pushing horrible things down into one's subconscious is that when they pop up again they are as fresh as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-tey/the-worst-of-pushing-horrible-things-down-into-one-s-subconscious-is/) [Josephine Tey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-tey/) > [Who affects useless singularities has surely a little mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/who-affects-useless-singularities-has-surely-a-little-mind/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [Little minds find satisfaction for their feelings, good or bad, in little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/little-minds-find-satisfaction-for-their-feelings-good-or-bad-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The Libertarians, of whom I'm rather fond, are running Harry Browne. Libertarians are, just as they claim, principled and consistent- they believe in individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-libertarians-of-whom-i-m-rather-fond-are-running-harry-browne/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Little minds are too much hurt by little things; great minds are quite conscious of them and despise them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-la-rochefoucauld/little-minds-are-too-much-hurt-by-little-things-great-minds-are-quite/) [Francois La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Little minds try to solve the matters through violence and darkness; great minds try to solve the matters through love and light!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/little-minds-try-to-solve-the-matters-through-violence-and-darkness/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Little minds instinctively seek to circumscribe the things around them, to pull in the walls to the size of their own small existence, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amatu-l-bah-r-h-yyih-khanum/little-minds-instinctively-seek-to-circumscribe-the-things-around/) Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum > [“VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/virginia-your-little-friends-are-wrong-they-have-been-affected-by-the/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [If you would stand well with a great mind, leave him with a favorable impression of yourself; if with a little mind, leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/if-you-would-stand-well-with-a-great-mind-leave-him-with-a-favorable/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Man's wobbly little mind isn't equipped for hauling around the great unknowns. Very few people realize, there's no point chasing after answers to life's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/man-s-wobbly-little-mind-isn-t-equipped-for-hauling-around-the-great/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) [Browse all 89 Little minds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-minds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I can play on their horrible little minds like a xylophone. It’s amazing, the sheer power of mundanity. Who’d have thought that weakness could be a greater force than strength? But you have to know how to direct it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Pratchett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-minds-like-a-xylophone-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Little minds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-minds-like-a-xylophone-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57c/terry-pratchett-19_little-minds_i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-mind_2912517.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can play on their horrible little minds like a xylophone. It’s amazing, the sheer power of mundanity…” — Terry Pratchett", "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": "Terry Pratchett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I can play on their horrible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-minds-like-a-xylophone-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-can-play-on-their-horrible-little-minds-like-a-xylophone-it-s/#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 } } ] } ```