--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some folks are wise and some are otherwise." description: "\"Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.\" — Tobias Smollett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg" --- # Some folks are wise and some are otherwise. ![“Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.” quote by Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg) > “Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.” [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that people vary in wisdom, implying that knowledge isn’t uniformly distributed. **In simple terms:** Some people are wise, others not. Key Takeaway Recognize differing levels of insight. Themes wisdom human nature diversity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - team building - mentoring - conflict resolution Key Concepts knowledge distribution judgment learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you value different perspectives? - When do you seek advice from others? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Folks Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks-wise-3149832/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [Some folks are wise and some otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/some-folks-are-wise-and-some-otherwise/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wise-men-profit-more-from-fools-than-fools-from-wise-men-for-the-wise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wise people are able to give themselves gracefully to seemingly contradictory experiences, because they know that they belong to different seasons of life, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/wise-people-are-able-to-give-themselves-gracefully-to-seemingly/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-is-merely-brilliance-in-organization-of-ideas-and-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents that he understands their arguments, and sympathies with their just feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-duty-of-a-wise-advocate-is-to-convince-his-opponents-that/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Life is the school of the wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/life-is-the-school-of-the-wise/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Sum up at night what thou hast done by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/sum-up-at-night-what-thou-hast-done-by-day/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Nature, being a wise and provident lady, governs her parts very wisely, methodically, and orderly: Also, she is very industrious and hates to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/nature-being-a-wise-and-provident-lady-governs-her-parts-very-wisely/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I meet a wise person, I think, 'Yes, tell me more about parenting, about marriage, about how to stay in love. Tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/if-i-meet-a-wise-person-i-think-yes-tell-me-more-about-parenting/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) ## More by Tobias Smollett > [The bread I eat in London, is a deleterious paste, mixed up with chalk, alum, and bone ashes: insipid to the taste, and destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/the-bread-i-eat-in-london-is-a-deleterious-paste-mixed-up-with-chalk/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [One wit, like a knuckle of ham in soup, gives a zest and flavour to the dish, but more than one serves only to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/one-wit-like-a-knuckle-of-ham-in-soup-gives-a-zest-and-flavour-to-the/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [To the valiant actions speak alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/to-the-valiant-actions-speak-alone/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [Opposition is the very spur of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/opposition-is-the-very-spur-of-love/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [Ridiculous modes, invented by ignorance, and adopted by folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/ridiculous-modes-invented-by-ignorance-and-adopted-by-folly/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [Thy spirit, Independence, let me share! Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye thy steps I follow with my bosom bare, nor heed the storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/thy-spirit-independence-let-me-share-lord-of-the-lion-heart-and-eagle/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [There is not room to swing a cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/there-is-not-room-to-swing-a-cat/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [True courage scorns to vent her prowess in a storm of words; and to the valiant action speaks alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/true-courage-scorns-to-vent-her-prowess-in-a-storm-of-words-and-to/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [A man's opinion of danger varies at different times, in consequence of an irregular tide of animal spirits; and he is actuated by considerations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/a-man-s-opinion-of-danger-varies-at-different-times-in-consequence-of/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [“What passes for wine among us, is not the juice of the grape. It is an adulterous mixture, brewed up of nauseous ingredients, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/what-passes-for-wine-among-us-is-not-the-juice-of-the-grape-it-is-an/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [The Highlanders regale themselves with whisky. They find it an excellent preservation against the winter cold. It is given with great success to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/the-highlanders-regale-themselves-with-whisky-they-find-it-an/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [False as the fowler's artful snare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/false-as-the-fowler-s-artful-snare/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [“Woe be to that nation, where the multitude is at liberty to follow their own inclinations!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/woe-be-to-that-nation-where-the-multitude-is-at-liberty-to-follow/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [Writing is all a lottery -- I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/writing-is-all-a-lottery-i-have-been-a-loser-by-the-works-of-the/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [Every shot has its commission, d'ye see? We must all die at one time, as the saying is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/every-shot-has-its-commission-d-ye-see-we-must-all-die-at-one-time-as/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) [Explore all 32 Tobias Smollett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) ## More Folks quotes > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [Sometimes you have to stop telling folks about themselves and leave it up to them to figure out where they went wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-lobbins/sometimes-you-have-to-stop-telling-folks-about-themselves-and-leave/) [Danielle Lobbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-lobbins/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) [Sam Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hinton/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/tis-e-er-the-wont-of-simple-folk-to-prize-the-deed-and-o-erlook-the/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [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/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [I want folks to take horror seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/i-want-folks-to-take-horror-seriously/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) [Browse all 2,417 Folks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tobias Smollett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Folks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/tobias-smollett-18143_folks_some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwi_338357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.” — Tobias Smollett", "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": "Tobias Smollett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some folks are wise and some...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/some-folks-are-wise-and-some-are-otherwise/#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 } } ] } ```