--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let's face it, most of us are not half as…" description: "\"Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are-- and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as smart.\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg" --- # Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may… ![“Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are-- and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as smart.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg) > “Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are-- and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as smart.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues most people overestimate their intelligence, especially intellectuals **In simple terms:** People tend to think they’re smarter than they are Key Takeaway Recognize and humility in self‑assessment Themes intelligence self‑awareness humility Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debates - personal reflection - policy discussions Key Concepts education cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can we better gauge our own knowledge? - What mechanisms prevent intellectual arrogance? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may lead to poor decisions ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I wish I were half as smart as I think I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-michael/i-wish-i-were-half-as-smart-as-i-think-i-am/) [Jeffrey Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-michael/) > [I believe that everybody has the right to view his or her own body as a palette. However, I think intellectuals should at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-everybody-has-the-right-to-view-his-or-her-own-body-as/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I think that intellectuals who end up in hell will have to read page proofs and check indexes there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/i-think-that-intellectuals-who-end-up-in-hell-will-have-to-read-page/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [I've always thought Anne-Marie Slaughter would make a fantastic United States Senator or something. She's a real intellectual, but she's got enormous communicative skills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-ve-always-thought-anne-marie-slaughter-would-make-a-fantastic/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Why do I think that we, the intellectuals, are able to help? 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Hard work can be done by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-j-zelinski/people-who-observe-no-limits-in-attempting-to-get-work-done-aren-t/) [Ernie J Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-j-zelinski/) > [It's hard work that makes the difference. I don't care how smart you are or how smart you think you are. 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But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Faces quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. 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And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine, here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time. 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Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 13,128 Faces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are-- and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as smart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as-smart-as-we-may-sometimes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faces" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as-smart-as-we-may-sometimes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/thomas-sowell-247_faces_let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as_911315.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are-- and for intellectuals…” — Thomas Sowell", "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": "Thomas Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let's face it, most of us...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as-smart-as-we-may-sometimes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as-smart-as-we-may-sometimes/#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 } } ] } ```