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About this quote

What does it mean?
Knowing trivial things is better than knowing nothing at all.
In plain terms
Even useless facts are good to have compared to having no knowledge.
What can you take from it?
Value all learning even if it seems unimportant.

Where it applies

  • education
  • conversation
  • self improvement

Putting it to work

  • reading
  • research
  • hobbies

Questions to consider

  • What useless thing do you know?
  • Does all knowledge have value?

Another view

Some useless knowledge can distract from what really matters.

More from Tom Stoppard

  1. It's better to be quotable than to be honest.

    Permalink to quote #64
  2. My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful.

    Permalink to quote #66
  3. Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.

    Permalink to quote #67

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