--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are stupider than anybody." description: "\"People are stupider than anybody.\" — Tom Lehrer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg" --- # People are stupider than anybody. ![“People are stupider than anybody.” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg) > “People are stupider than anybody.” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are generally less intelligent than expected, highlighting widespread lack of common sense. **In simple terms:** People are often less intelligent than assumed. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical thinking and question assumptions. Themes intelligence common sense human behavior Mood wry critical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - media literacy - debate - science communication - policy making Key Concepts cognitive bias education Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports this claim? - How can we improve collective reasoning? A Different Perspective Intelligence varies, and blanket statements can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) ## Related quotes > [I have a theory that the Internet makes people stupider. And Also FOX News makes people stupider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-have-a-theory-that-the-internet-makes-people-stupider-and-also-fox/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/i-love-to-engage-in-repartee-with-people-who-are-stupider-than-i-am/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Only it’s just the same. In fact, do you know, because of all that pressure, and worry, and fear, it’s worse. There aren’t many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/only-it-s-just-the-same-in-fact-do-you-know-because-of-all-that/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [It's amazing how dumb people can impress you with how much stupider they can be when they really assert themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/it-s-amazing-how-dumb-people-can-impress-you-with-how-much-stupider/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > ['Stupidity' defines the mental state wherein we acknowledge that we've never been smarter as individuals and yet somehow we've never felt stupider. We now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/stupidity-defines-the-mental-state-wherein-we-acknowledge-that-we-ve/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-the-trouble-about-trying-to-make-yourself-stupider-than-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's dishonourable to stay stupider than you need to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-s-dishonourable-to-stay-stupider-than-you-need-to-be/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“It really takes an effort to appear stupider than you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/it-really-takes-an-effort-to-appear-stupider-than-you-are/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I'm never interested in movies where you don't care about the people you're watching, and that's my biggest quibble about horror, that kids have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-m-never-interested-in-movies-where-you-don-t-care-about-the-people/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [The longer it takes them to text back, the stupider your text feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-longer-it-takes-them-to-text-back-the-stupider-your-text-feels/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The stupider the regime the more intelligent the people get and the more humorous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-stupider-the-regime-the-more-intelligent-the-people-get-and-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [How does it come about that what an intelligent man expresses is much stupider than what remains inside him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/how-does-it-come-about-that-what-an-intelligent-man-expresses-is-much/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Тhere isnʹt much I wouldnʹt do for you. Тhe stupider, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/here-isn-t-much-i-wouldn-t-do-for-you-he-stupider-the-better/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [If I were still stupider than I am, I should think myself at the apex of my career; yet I know how much I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/if-i-were-still-stupider-than-i-am-i-should-think-myself-at-the-apex/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [I made a pact with myself a long time ago: Never watch anything stupider than you. It's helped me a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-made-a-pact-with-myself-a-long-time-ago-never-watch-anything/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? U.N. and O.A.S., They have their place, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/when-someone-makes-a-move-of-which-we-don-t-approve-who-is-it-that/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-m-not-tempted-to-write-a-song-about-george-w-bush-i-couldn-t-figure/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't solicit for your sister, it's not nice. Unless you get a good percentage of her price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-solicit-for-your-sister-it-s-not-nice-unless-you-get-a-good/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-a-sobering-thought-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-been-dead/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [“I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More People quotes > [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) [Browse all 211,607 People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People are stupider than anybody.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Lehrer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/people-are-stupider-than-anybody/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/people-are-stupider-than-anybody/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/tom-lehrer-3442_people_people-are-stupider-than-anybody-2344842_2344842.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People are stupider than anybody.” — Tom Lehrer", "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": "Tom Lehrer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People are stupider than anybody.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/people-are-stupider-than-anybody/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/people-are-stupider-than-anybody/#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 } } ] } ```