"Stupidity combined with arrogance and a huge ego will get you a long way"
About this Quote
“Stupidity combined with arrogance and a huge ego will get you a long way” lands because it’s both a joke and a little bruise of recognition. Chris Lowe isn’t offering a self-help maxim; he’s mocking the way modern success can reward the loudest, least self-aware person in the room. The line is engineered like a good pop lyric: blunt, rhythmic, and instantly repeatable, with a hook built out of ugliness.
The intent feels less like moral condemnation than a sideways, musician’s-eye view of the culture industry. In pop, confidence sells; in media, certainty travels faster than nuance; in business, audacity often reads as competence. Lowe stitches those realities into a dark compliment: if you can’t be brilliant, be unembarrassable. “Stupidity” isn’t just lack of intelligence; it’s a refusal to learn. “Arrogance” and “huge ego” aren’t merely personality flaws; they’re strategies that create momentum, drown out criticism, and intimidate gatekeepers who mistake force for value.
The subtext is also a defensive wink from an artist who’s watched reputation get built on posture as much as craft. There’s an implied second line: and it shouldn’t. By framing the trifecta as a ticket “a long way,” he critiques the scoreboard, not just the players. It’s cynicism with a dance beat: funny enough to quote at a party, sharp enough to make you reconsider who keeps getting promoted, booked, platformed, and believed.
The intent feels less like moral condemnation than a sideways, musician’s-eye view of the culture industry. In pop, confidence sells; in media, certainty travels faster than nuance; in business, audacity often reads as competence. Lowe stitches those realities into a dark compliment: if you can’t be brilliant, be unembarrassable. “Stupidity” isn’t just lack of intelligence; it’s a refusal to learn. “Arrogance” and “huge ego” aren’t merely personality flaws; they’re strategies that create momentum, drown out criticism, and intimidate gatekeepers who mistake force for value.
The subtext is also a defensive wink from an artist who’s watched reputation get built on posture as much as craft. There’s an implied second line: and it shouldn’t. By framing the trifecta as a ticket “a long way,” he critiques the scoreboard, not just the players. It’s cynicism with a dance beat: funny enough to quote at a party, sharp enough to make you reconsider who keeps getting promoted, booked, platformed, and believed.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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