--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So, too, if, to our surprise, we should…" description: "\"So, too, if, to our surprise, we should meet one of these morons whose remarks are so conspicuous a part of the folklore of the world of the radio--rem..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/wallace-stevens-846_brain_so-too-if-to-our-surprise-we-should-meet_2972725.jpg" --- # So, too, if, to our surprise, we should meet one of these… ![“So, too, if, to our surprise, we should meet one of these morons whose remarks are so conspicuous a part of the folklore of the world of the radio--remarks made without using either the tongue or the brain, spouted much like the spoutings of small whales--we should recognize him as below the level…” quote by Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/wallace-stevens-846_brain_so-too-if-to-our-surprise-we-should-meet_2972725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/wallace-stevens-846_brain_so-too-if-to-our-surprise-we-should-meet_2972725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/wallace-stevens-846_brain_so-too-if-to-our-surprise-we-should-meet_2972725.jpg) > “So, too, if, to our surprise, we should meet one of these morons whose remarks are so conspicuous a part of the folklore of the world of the radio--remarks made without using either the tongue or the brain, spouted much like the spoutings of small whales--we should recognize him as below the level of nature but not as below the level of the imagination.” [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satirizes people who speak nonsense without thought, likening them to mindless creatures, yet acknowledges they still possess imagination beyond pure instinct. **In simple terms:** Mocks thoughtless talkers, but notes they still imagine. Key Takeaway Recognize empty without intellect, but value imagination. Themes satire communication imagination human nature Mood wry critical reflective Type literary satirical philosophical When to use this quote - radio commentary - social media - public speaking - education - literary analysis Key Concepts critical thinking creativity media criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance critique of mindless speech with appreciation of imagination? - What role does imagination play when intellect fails? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of instinctual insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brain Spouted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-spouted-4585129/) [Folklore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folklore/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Meet Morons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meet-morons-4585128/) [Moron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moron/) [Morons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morons/) [Morons Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morons-remarks-4585127/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) [Radio Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio-remarks-4585130/) [Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarks/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Whales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whales/) [Without u](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-u/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Men think that not being able to wire a plug somehow makes them more creative or intellectual. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-macbride/finnie-kicked-a-packet-of-washing-powder-why-am-i-surrounded-by/) [Stuart MacBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-macbride/) > [We've all heard stories of lottery winners, rock stars, heirs and heiresses, and professional athletes becoming millionaire morons who wake up rich but are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/we-ve-all-heard-stories-of-lottery-winners-rock-stars-heirs-and/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Its hard to decide if TV makes morons out of everyone, or if it mirrors Americans who really are morons to begin with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mull/its-hard-to-decide-if-tv-makes-morons-out-of-everyone-or-if-it/) [Martin Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mull/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“There are few things he can stand less than a bunch of morons standing around looking at something that doesn't work and wondering who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/there-are-few-things-he-can-stand-less-than-a-bunch-of-morons/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) ## More by Wallace Stevens > [Poet, patting more nonsense foamed From the sea, conceive for thecourts Of these academies, the diviner health Disclosed in common forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poet-patting-more-nonsense-foamed-from-the-sea-conceive-for-thecourts/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-way-through-the-world-is-more-difficult-to-find-than-the-way/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Music falls on the silence like a sense / A passion that we feel, not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/music-falls-on-the-silence-like-a-sense-a-passion-that-we-feel-not/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The life of the city never lets you go, nor do you ever want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-life-of-the-city-never-lets-you-go-nor-do-you-ever-want-it-to/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I am what is around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/i-am-what-is-around-me/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/we-live-in-an-old-chaos-of-the-sun-or-old-dependency-of-day-and-night/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. 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