John Hodgman Quotes

Powerful John Hodgman for Daily Growth

About John Hodgman

John Hodgman is an American author, comedian, and actor, best known for his role as the "Resident Expert" in the Mac vs. PC commercials for Apple Inc. Born on February 3, 1971, in Brookline, Massachusetts, Hodgman was raised in a family that encouraged intellectual pursuits. He attended Tufts University and later graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Hodgman's career in humor began in earnest when he became a regular on public radio's This American Life. His deadpan delivery and distinctive voice quickly endeared him to audiences. In 2005, Hodgman gained widespread recognition as the "Resident Expert" in a series of Apple commercials, where he satirically portrayed the stereotype of a PC user in contrast to Justin Long's Mac character. In terms of literature, Hodgman's first book, "The Area: My Life in Television and Radio," was published in 2005, followed by "More Information Than You Require" in 2011. These works combine humor, cultural commentary, and a healthy dose of self-deprecation. Hodgman's third book, "Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches," published in 2017, delves deeper into his personal life, particularly his relationship with his family's summer home in Maine. In addition to writing and acting, Hodgman is also a regular panelist on the NPR quiz show "The Judge John Hodgman Podcast." His unique blend of humor, intelligence, and storytelling has earned him a dedicated fanbase and critical acclaim. Despite his success, Hodgman remains humble and self-effacing, often joking about his role as the 'Resident Expert' and embracing the absurdity of his public persona.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I'm the desk, and you are the PC."

In this quote by John Hodgman, he presents himself as a sturdy, reliable, and immovable entity (the desk), while the listener is compared to a Personal Computer (PC). The implication here is that he is providing a stable base of knowledge or support, while the other person is dynamic, adaptable, and versatile. This could suggest a power dynamic in their relationship, with Hodgman taking on a more authoritative role, offering guidance and wisdom, and the listener being open to learning and growing. However, it also highlights the importance of both entities as the desk (knowledge/support) is useless without the PC (active engagement or application).

"I'm here to be the smartest person in the room, but not so smart that I can't admit when I've made a mistake."

This quote highlights John Hodgman's unique blend of intelligence, humility, and self-awareness. He acknowledges that it's important to strive for intellectual superiority but also recognizes the value in admitting mistakes. It conveys a message about striking a balance between confidence and humility, reminding us that even the smartest individuals can err and that acknowledging mistakes is not a sign of weakness, but rather a mark of maturity and integrity.

"Everything is worse news than we think it is, but not as bad as we fear it will be."

This quote suggests that our perception of problems or situations often exceeds their actual severity, while at the same time, our fears about them can be even more exaggerated. In essence, John Hodgman is saying that while things may seem dire or catastrophic, they are usually not as bad as we initially assume they will be when we first encounter them. This can serve as a reminder to approach problems with a balanced perspective and avoid being overwhelmed by pessimism or fear.

"I am 75 percent certain that I am right about this fact."

This quote by John Hodgman reflects a sense of self-confidence, yet with an acknowledgement of uncertainty. The statement "I am 75 percent certain" indicates that while the speaker is quite confident in their belief or fact, they are not absolutely sure, leaving room for potential error or contradiction. This can be interpreted as a humble and rational approach to asserting one's beliefs. It suggests an openness to other perspectives and willingness to reconsider opinions based on new information.

"It's a disaster wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, smothered in onions."

The quote suggests that the situation being described is complex and confusing (a disaster), yet intriguing due to its mysterious nature (wrapped in a mystery). The "enigma" indicates something puzzling or enigmatic, while the "smothered in onions" might symbolize layers of additional complexity or complications. Overall, it implies that the situation is challenging and frustrating due to its complex and confounding nature.

Comics have a problem, and that is continuity - the obsession with placing the characters in an existing world, where every event is marked in canon. You're supposed to believe that these weepy star boys of now are the same gung-ho super teens fighting space monsters in the '60s, and they've only aged perhaps five years.

- John Hodgman

Believe, Comics, Teens, Continuity

I feel that there is a decision people make to either engage in a legitimately ridiculous process to get your kid into school, or choose not to engage in that so much, and end up finding a nice local school that fits.

- John Hodgman

Kid, Choose, Feel, Local School

Here's the thing: I am not only a creature of civilization, I'm an asthmatic person. I will only live so long as I have stockpiled the proper inhalers. I'm effectively a cyborg. You know how in Jurassic Park, they bred those dinosaurs with the lysine deficiencies, so if they ever got off the island, they'd die? That's me.

- John Hodgman

Die, Here, Bred, Park

I think that obviously, there is a perverse attraction to a fundamentally changed world or the end of the world. There is a death wish, a perverse death wish. Not just for ourselves, not just for the movie 'Death Wish,' but for the end of all human life.

- John Hodgman

Death, Think, I Think, Attraction

Creating fake facts does require a measure of haphazard research, insofar as they need to not just be possible, but also interesting.

- John Hodgman

Interesting, Need, Haphazard, Fake

Most people presume my mustache is not real because it's much darker than my regular hair.

- John Hodgman

People, Real, Most, Mustache

More people have more access to more readers for less money than ever before in history. It means a lot of dross; but it means a lot of very talented people can find and nurture a readership in ways that were not possible twenty years ago. From a creative perspective, that is all that writing is about.

- John Hodgman

Access, Before, Very, Nurture

Publishers, editors, agents all have one thing in common, aside from their love of cocktail parties. It's an incredible taste and an ability to find and nurture authors.

- John Hodgman

Love, Taste, One Thing, Nurture

In the '80s and '90s, I was really interested in, moved by, exhilarated by, and troubled by rap in all the ways a white person from Brookline, Massachusetts should be. That was music that was making trouble, and it was interesting and provocative trouble.

- John Hodgman

Making, Provocative, Rap, Massachusetts

As a freelance writer, I'd be asked to become an expert for various magazines on any subject, whether food or wine or history or the life span of veterinarians. I was completely unschooled in any of these things.

- John Hodgman

History, Expert, Subject, Freelance

People forget how outcast 'They Might Be Giants' can be. They have a reputation for writing really deft, funny, clever melodies, and they also make a lot of music for kids, which is terrific, but when you see them in concert, they can rock the house.

- John Hodgman

Concert, Melodies, Outcast, Giants

It seems that every generation needs its public, tweedy, literary personality to sell its consumer electronics. To whatever degree I can live up to the Plimptonian legacy, I am humble and proud.

- John Hodgman

Humble, Generation, Needs, Consumer

Hosting a TV show is a full-time job in which success is defined by it never ending.

- John Hodgman

Full-Time, TV, Which, Defined

When I listen to music - I don't particularly do it for fun all that much. It's not a big part of my life, and I'm not really on top of what's happening in the world of music in the way I was when I was a teenager.

- John Hodgman

My Life, Big, Big Part, Teenager

What would I put in a museum? Probably a museum! That's an amusing relic of our past.

- John Hodgman

Museum, Would, Relic, Amusing

One can always come up with funny lists and jokes. You know what? I take it back. Not everyone can always come up with funny lists and some jokes. I'm very lucky to have a gift where I can do that pretty ably.

- John Hodgman

Gift, Lucky, Always, Jokes

For a long time, I would write without music, because I thought it was distracting until I appreciated that it actually unlocks a certain unconscious productivity vault in my mind.

- John Hodgman

Mind, Thought, Unconscious, Distracting

First of all, I wish I could grow a beard.

- John Hodgman

Wish, Grow, I Wish, First Of All

I know electric knives are excellent for carving turkeys that have had their bones removed and been forced into a mold to shape them. Please note that those turkeys are called hams.

- John Hodgman

Been, Shape, Note, Turkeys

My type of humor is me not caring whether people know what I'm talking about or not.

- John Hodgman

Humor, Caring, Whether, Not Caring

While I understand that all things must come to an end, whether it's a television advertisement or one's life or the world itself, it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

- John Hodgman

Television, Understand, Deal, All Things

It would be rather naive to imagine that Oprah doesn't have an Earth Evacuation Plan. You know Richard Branson does - his is in plain sight.

- John Hodgman

Imagine, Evacuation, Richard, Naive

I do not think that a museum needs to engage with pop culture in order to make itself interesting to museumgoers. Museums are already interesting and engaging with pop culture for its own sake is just a quick way to seem and become dated.

- John Hodgman

Own, Seem, Quick, Dated

There's a tradition in American fiction that is deadly serious and earnest - like the Steinbeckian social novel.

- John Hodgman

Fiction, Like, Deadly, Earnest

I am not an Internet superstar.

- John Hodgman

I Am, Internet, Am, Superstar

I would be good for maybe not the center square but an upper square on 'Hollywood Squares.'

- John Hodgman

Hollywood, Square, Would, Squares

Not as many people watch 'Doctor Who' as watch the Super Bowl, obviously, but the tropes that attract nerds are no longer a secret cult. It's a much larger culture, in the specific sense.

- John Hodgman

Attract, Larger, Super Bowl, Nerds

I am amused by cricket because it seems to take longer than baseball and I like that. It seems like a sport I could have made up it - it takes several days to play and everyone wears sweaters. I can't confess to knowing what's going on at all.

- John Hodgman

Play, Several, Confess, Amused

I'm a personality - like a George Plimpton who effectively plays himself in a bunch of different roles, or a Paul Lynde-type character.

- John Hodgman

Like, Plays, Effectively, Paul

If you look in the dictionary under 'perfectionist,' you see Henry Selick correcting the definition of perfectionist in the dictionary. I mean, he is so meticulous.

- John Hodgman

Look, Meticulous, Henry, Perfectionist

People who run for president seriously and people who become president enter a bizarre secret society in which they have had an experience that none of us will ever have.

- John Hodgman

Will, Which, Bizarre, Enter

My biggest superhero of writing is Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentine fabulist. He's an amazingly perceptive writer, but also willing to make a joke.

- John Hodgman

Superhero, Willing, Also, Joke

A lot of my time is spent reading antique or out-of-print books of reference.

- John Hodgman

Reference, My Time, Lot, Antique

As you know, the thing that I know the least about is the topic of sports.

- John Hodgman

Sports, About, Least, Topic

My career as a magazine writer was largely prefaced on the idea of curiosity, to go on adventures and weasel my way into the lives of people that I admire.

- John Hodgman

Curiosity, Career, Lives, Magazine

The most important book on the Internet is, essentially, the Internet.

- John Hodgman

Book, Important, Most, Essentially

Generally speaking, I, like anyone else who does anything publicly, like it when people like what I do, and would like to hear as much.

- John Hodgman

People, Like, Generally, Publicly

The few people who ask to have their photographs with me, I almost always say yes, except for a few circumstances, like when my family is around.

- John Hodgman

Circumstances, Always, Like, Photographs

Comedy does offer an avenue to television and film careers for untelegenic people that great drama does not.

- John Hodgman

Drama, Offer, Careers, Avenue

Any time you try to create an Internet meme, automatic fail. That's like the worst thing you can do.

- John Hodgman

Meme, Worst Thing, Like, Automatic

I actually own a copy of my own book; that's how dedicated I am as an author.

- John Hodgman

My Own, Dedicated, Author, Copy

I have a lot of cultural references that have amassed in my brain like shrapnel over the years that are meaningful to me.

- John Hodgman

Over, References, Like, Meaningful

Everyone wants to write a book. Very few people are able to do it.

- John Hodgman

Book, Everyone, Very, Few People

My fame is due to broadcast television.

- John Hodgman

Fame, Television, Broadcast, Due

When you think about it, the end of the world is a little bit like death: We all know it's going to come eventually, and as we get older, we feel we see the signs more and more distinctly.

- John Hodgman

Death, Feel, About, End Of The World

A lot of media that that I want to consume, I don't want to have to own forever and ever. It's not like real estate.

- John Hodgman

Want, Own, Like, Estate

I know nothing about letting go.

- John Hodgman

Nothing, Go, About, Letting

All I can ask from society is that it please stop telling me why I should like sports.

- John Hodgman

Sports, Like, Telling, Please

Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the pleasure of building a community and encouraging people to play along.

- John Hodgman

Play, Along, Reader, Encouraging

I am someone who values truth - actual truth as opposed to 'truthiness.'

- John Hodgman

Truth, I Am, Opposed, Actual

All books should be trilogies; I mean I think we all agree on that.

- John Hodgman

Think, I Think, Books, Agree

Well, I always had this desire to celebrate and somehow be a part of things that I thought were really great.

- John Hodgman

Thought, Desire, Always, Somehow

The villain of any story is often the most compelling character.

- John Hodgman

Character, Villain, Most, Compelling

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