Celebrating the Power of Intelligence: 200 Quotes, Sayings, Statuses, and Captions

What is Intelligence?

Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information and to retain it as knowledge to be applied toward adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.

Intelligence is most often studied in humans but has also been observed in both non-human animals and plants despite controversy as to whether some of these forms of life exhibit intelligence. Intelligence in computers or other machines is called artificial intelligence.

**“Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore.”**

“Intelligence Quotes”

“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
“The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.”
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
“You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”
“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
“People demand freedom of speech as compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”
“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”
“As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.”
“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.”
“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”
“A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions–as attempts to find out something.” Success and failure are for him answers above all.”
“The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.”
“I’d take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day.”
“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
“It is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.”
“I not only use all the brains that I have but all I can borrow.”
“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
“I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being–forgive me–rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.”
“Reason is intelligence-taking exercise.” Imagination is intelligence with an erection.”
“Belief is the death of intelligence.’
“He had just about enough intelligence to open his mouth when he wanted to eat, but certainly no more.”
“It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.”
“The intelligence of that creature known as a crowd is the square root of the number of people in it.
“Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.”
“I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will”.
“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.”
“Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs.”
“Beauty fades, dumb is forever.”
“A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.
“Interpretation is the revenge of the intellectual upon art.
“Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need for change.”
“Eleanor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition.”
“I would prefer an intelligent hell to a stupid paradise.”
“Intelligence is an accident of evolution, and not necessarily an advantage.”
“The advancement of science and the diffusion of information [is] the best aliment to true liberty.”
“I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am.”
“It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”
“Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.”
“Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.”
‘People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.”
“I imagine that the intelligent people are the ones so intelligent that they don’t even need or want to look ‘intelligent’ anymore.”
“I think a lot of psychopaths are just geniuses who drove so fast that they lost control.”
“Controversial’ as we all know, is often a euphemism for ‘interesting and intelligent.”
“Madness is the acme of intelligence.”
“What I learned on my own I still remember
“The weak are dominated by their ego, the wise dominate their ego, and the intelligent are in a constant struggle against their ego.”
“Man is a genius when he is dreaming.”
“You put too much stock in human intelligence, it doesn’t annihilate human nature.”
“I don’t fancy colors of the face; I’m always attracted to colors of the brain.”
“I think I only appear smart by staying quiet as often as possible.”
“Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding…”
“Intelligence is not measured by how much you know, but by how much you have the capacity to learn.”
“Many much-learned men have no intelligence.
“Why do I do anything?’ she says. ‘I’m educated enough to talk myself out of any plan. To deconstruct any fantasy. Explain away any goal. I’m so smart I can negate any dream.”
“A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool.”
“I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.”
“It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.”
“They will envy you for your success, your wealth, for your intelligence, for your looks, for your status – but rarely for your wisdom.”
“I couldn’t claim that I was smarter than sixty-five other guys–but the average of sixty-five other guys, certainly!”
“Genius is the ability to independently arrive at and understand concepts that would normally have to be taught by another person.”
“I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.”
“Always be smarter than the people who hire you.”
“The inhabitants of the earth are of two sorts: those with brains, but no religion, and those with religion, but no brains.”
“Absurdity is the ecstasy of intellectualism.”
“A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it an apostle is hardly likely to look out.”
“The powers of a man’s mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks.”
“Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.”
“If reason ruled the world would history even exist?”
“The man of thought who will not act is ineffective; the man of action who will not think is dangerous.”
“The moon is the reflection of your heart and moonlight is the twinkle of your love.”
“Intelligent life on other planets? I’m not even sure there is on earth!”
“The intelligent desire self-control; children want candy.”
“Intelligence is not a competition.”
“Ideas and not battles mark the forward progress of mankind.”
“A marriage of two independent and equally irritable intelligence seems to me reckless to the point of insanity.”
“The habits of a vigorous mind are born in contending with difficulties.”
“Being able to embrace contradictions is a sign of intelligence or insanity.”
“Emotion often outwits intelligence, while intuition renders life surprisingly fluent and enjoyable.”
“Intelligence is more important than strength that is why the earth is ruled by men and not by animals.”
“Mental acuity of any kind comes from solving problems yourself, not from being told how to solve them.”
“I drink a cup of sunlight every morning to brighten myself.”
“The thing that’s important to know is that you never know. You’re always sort of feeling your way.”
“Not stupid. Overly trusting, maybe, but that reflects on his lack of trustworthiness, not on your intelligence.”
“A knavish speech sleeps in a fool’s ear.”
“An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.”
“No matter how tiny you look, you can lead huge men if you have what the huge men don’t have.”
“Intelligence minus purpose equals stupidity.”
“Intelligence alone is not nearly enough when it comes to acting wisely.”
“Intelligence entails a strong mind, but genius entails a heart of a lion in tune with a strong mind.”
“Armed neutrality makes it much easier to detect hypocrisy.”
“In pursuit of happiness, smart people often end up dumping down themselves.”
“Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.”
“Imagination is but another name for super intelligence.”
“Happiness will grow if you plant the seeds of love in the garden of hope with compassion and care
“In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous.”
“The role of genius is not to complicate the simple, but to simplify the complicated.”
“Wisdom is nothing more than confirmed imagination: just because one did not study for his exam does not mean that he should leave it blank.”
“The willingness to change one’s mind in the light of new evidence is a sign of rationality, not weakness.”
“The best people are always the worst. They drive everyone mad by being so good at second-guessing everything bad.”
“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
“You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”
“It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.”
“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”
“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”
“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.”
“A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions–as attempts to find out something. Success and failure are for him answers above all
“It is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.”
“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”
“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”
“I not only use all the brains that I have but all I can borrow.”
“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
“He had just about enough intelligence to open his mouth when he wanted to eat, but certainly no more.”
“Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs.”
“The intelligence of that creature known as a crowd is the square root of the number of people in it.”
“I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.”
“I don’t know what good it is to know so much and be smart as whips and all if it doesn’t make you happy.”
“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.”
“Education is no substitute for intelligence.”
“Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of society only because their intelligence isn’t understood.”
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
“Intelligence is the quickness in seeing things as they are.”
“Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.”
“Action is the real measure of intelligence.”
“The intellect is not a serious thing, and never has been. It is an instrument on which one plays, that is all.”
“We need only travel enough to give our intellects an airing.”
“It is the mind that makes the body rich; and as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, so honor peered in the meanest habit.”
“An intellectual is someone whose mind watches it.”
“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”
“For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.”
“He who knows best knows how little he knows.”
“I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos.”
“I don’t consider myself an intellectual. And this is not one of my aims. But I admire intellectual people.”
“It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics.”
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.”
“Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of intelligence.”
“The human mind has first to construct forms, independently, before we can find them in things.”
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
“There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits to human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.”
“There is no method but to be very intelligent.”
“To perceive things in the germ is intelligence”
“I’m going to, not I’m going to. Talk intelligently.”
“One definition of man is ”an intelligence served by organs.”
“Intellect annuls Fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.”
“We lie in the lap of immense intelligence.”
“If a man’s eye is on the Eternal, his intellect will grow.”
“A sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.”
“An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.”
“Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.”
“Genius always finds itself a century too early.”
“I don’t think the intelligence reports are all that hot. Some days I get more out of the New York Times.”
“I’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.”
“It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backward.”
“Man is the most intelligent of the animals – and the silliest.”
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.”
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
“You don’t need intelligence to have luck, but you do need luck to have intelligence.”
“It’s good to be clever, but not to show it.”
“Advice others not what you can’t advice yourself.”
“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.”
“The difference between intelligence and education is this: intelligence will make you a good living.”
“Intelligence is not to make any mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.”
“Be smarter than other people, just don’t tell them so.”
“It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.”
“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
“What we learn with pleasure we never forget.”
“Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating.
“Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.
“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
“The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.”
“Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.”
“Like a flower, be soft, loving, kind, and beautiful, but never lose the courage to bloom.”
“It is never too late to begin again. It is never too late to change and live again.”
“Dickey was intelligent but he ended up selling tea because he was socially retarded.”
“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.”
“Follow your heart, listen to your inner voice, and stop caring about what others think.”
“I know you’re clever, but do you really think you’re going to outsmart the ocean?”
“Independent inquiry is need in your search for truth, not dependence on anyone else’s view or a mere book”
“Confusing religion with spirituality is like confusing education with intelligence.”
“The definition of ‘murky intelligence’ is murkier intelligence.”
“In the word question, there is a beautiful word-quest. I love that word.”
“Intelligence is to be sweet inside and out always while ensuring success.”
“When you are empowered by facts, you are no longer limited by opinions.”
“Though a man is wise and intelligent, he is a fool in the eyes of the ignorant.”
“Listen to the fool’s reproach! It is a kingly title!”
“Intelligent people have a strong objection to things that mean nothing at all.”
“Intelligence may not be as loud as ignorance, but it can be heard more clearly and is far more effective.
“If common sense is so rare, isn’t it ‘common sense’ to start calling it rare sense?”
“Debate, just not to show your intelligence, but to find out a better solution.”

Share your Favorites short quotes in comments:

I hope you enjoyed my collection of short quotes and captions! I’m certain you discovered something you enjoyed however in the event that there is a truly wonderful short quote I missed if it’s not too much trouble; try to share it below in the comments! We should attempt to make this post an ultimate collection of short quotes on the Internet.

What is Intelligence?

“Intelligence Quotes”

Related Posts