--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All abilities are paid for with…" description: "\"All abilities are paid for with disabilities. perfect health may entail the heavy toll of bovine stupidity. insight into one area involves blind spots ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/william-s-burroughs-528_ability_all-abilities-are-paid-for-with-disabili_2975446.png" --- # All abilities are paid for with disabilities. perfect… ![“All abilities are paid for with disabilities. perfect health may entail the heavy toll of bovine stupidity. insight into one area involves blind spots in another.” quote by William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/william-s-burroughs-528_ability_all-abilities-are-paid-for-with-disabili_2975446.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/william-s-burroughs-528_ability_all-abilities-are-paid-for-with-disabili_2975446.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/william-s-burroughs-528_ability_all-abilities-are-paid-for-with-disabili_2975446.png) > “All abilities are paid for with disabilities. perfect health may entail the heavy toll of bovine stupidity. insight into one area involves blind spots in another.” [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abilities come with trade‑offs; health may bring hidden costs, and expertise creates blind spots. **In simple terms:** Abilities have hidden costs and blind spots. Key Takeaway Balance strengths with awareness of limits. Themes trade‑offs health expertise Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - self‑assessment - risk management Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What blind spots do you have? - How can you mitigate hidden costs? A Different Perspective Blind spots can cause critical errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Blind spots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-spots/) [Bovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bovine/) [Disabilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disabilities/) [Disability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disability/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Loud voices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loud-voices/) [Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematician/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“all abilities are paid for with disabilities. perfect health may entail the heavy toll of bovine stupidity. insight into one area involves blind spots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/all-abilities-are-paid-for-with-disabilities-perfect-health-may/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“...a woman of quite bovine stupidity and potato-like contours...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-forsyth/a-woman-of-quite-bovine-stupidity-and-potato-like-contours/) [Frederick Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-forsyth/) > [“It seemed odd no one had thought of it before but in general there is no accounting for the bovine stupidity of mankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-mason/it-seemed-odd-no-one-had-thought-of-it-before-but-in-general-there-is/) [Zachary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-mason/) > [“NO DIVINE BOVINE ! The clumsy creature currently inhabiting the White House is a distinctly dangerous animal. Part boneheaded raging bully, part dastardly coward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morritt/no-divine-bovine-the-clumsy-creature-currently-inhabiting-the-white/) [Alex Morritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morritt/) > [The Lesson You've Got to learn is the someday you'll someday stagger to, blinking in cold light, all tears shed, ready to poke your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/the-lesson-you-ve-got-to-learn-is-the-someday-you-ll-someday-stagger/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [History, in other words, is just a device to be used by well-paid boobherds to drive the American cattle in bovine content to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/revilo-p-oliver/history-in-other-words-is-just-a-device-to-be-used-by-well-paid/) [Revilo P. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/revilo-p-oliver/) > [I'm healthy as an ox. And you?" "To compare myself with a bovine would be both ridiculous and insulting, but I'm fit as ever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/i-m-healthy-as-an-ox-and-you-to-compare-myself-with-a-bovine-would-be/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [The cow is of the bovine ilk: One end is moo, the other, milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-cow-is-of-the-bovine-ilk-one-end-is-moo-the-other-milk/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The proper condition of the human is not bovine placidity... the highest degree of tension that can be creatively borne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-proper-condition-of-the-human-is-not-bovine-placidity-the-highest/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [What happens is all these things we're seeing – campylobacter, E coli, mad cow, listeria, salmonella, that weren't even in the lexicon 30 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/what-happens-is-all-these-things-we-re-seeing-campylobacter-e-coli/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [When you're taxing bovine flatulence emissions, there's nothing left to tax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/when-you-re-taxing-bovine-flatulence-emissions-there-s-nothing-left/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [One reason milk consumption may lead to cancer risk is insulin-like growth factor, IGF-1 (not to be confused with bovine growth hormone, rBGH). Milk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-stewart/one-reason-milk-consumption-may-lead-to-cancer-risk-is-insulin-like/) [Alison Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-stewart/) > [“But the reformers were right: the bovine digestive system is an extraordinarily efficient mechanism for converting grass, fodder, and even forage into fertilizer.15 Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/but-the-reformers-were-right-the-bovine-digestive-system-is-an/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“Nothing was worse than a bovine with a 150 IQ trying to wrap its stunned mollusk tongue around the finely tuned syllables of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-anderson/nothing-was-worse-than-a-bovine-with-a-150-iq-trying-to-wrap-its/) Gary Anderson > [“I figured it out this afternoon, when they let me take a walk around the grounds, that these cows are stupid. Bovine. I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/i-figured-it-out-this-afternoon-when-they-let-me-take-a-walk-around/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) ## More by William S. Burroughs > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Well as, one judge said to the other, 'Be just and if you can't be just be arbitrary.' Regret cannot observe customary obscenities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/well-as-one-judge-said-to-the-other-be-just-and-if-you-can-t-be-just/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-one-look-at-this-planet-any-visitor-from-outer-space-would-say/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-seven-days-she-lay-in-bed-looking-sullenly-at-the-ceiling-as/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When you stop growing you start dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-you-stop-growing-you-start-dying/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Life is a cutup. And to pretend that you write or paint in a timeless vacuum is just simply . . . not .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/life-is-a-cutup-and-to-pretend-that-you-write-or-paint-in-a-timeless/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When all lies, deceit, pretense is stripped away, what remains? The truth of a painting, or a book or a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-all-lies-deceit-pretense-is-stripped-away-what-remains-the-truth/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There is no final enough of wisdom, experience - any fucking thing. No Holy Grail, No Final Satori, no solution. Just conflict. Only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-is-no-final-enough-of-wisdom-experience-any-fucking-thing-no/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-john-dillinger-in-hope-he-is-still-alive-thanksgiving-day/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need a good bedside manner with doctors or you will get nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-need-a-good-bedside-manner-with-doctors-or-you-will-get-nowhere/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-couldn-t-be-a-society-of-people-who-didn-t-dream-they-d-be-dead/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-prefer-cats-to-people-for-the-most-part-most-people-aren-t-cute-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“It is not the intensity but the duration of pain that breaks the will to resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/it-is-not-the-intensity-but-the-duration-of-pain-that-breaks-the-will/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Explore all 484 William S. Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All abilities are paid for with disabilities. perfect health may entail the heavy toll of bovine stupidity. insight into one area involves blind spots in another.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William S. 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