If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them." - Meaning and context.">
Attributed to Orwell by John H. Bunzel, president of San Jose State University, as reported in Phyllis Schlafly, The Power of the Positive Woman (1977), p. 151; but not found in Orwell's works or in reports contemporaneous with his life. Possibly a paraphrase of Orwell's description of the rationale behind Newspeak in 1984.

If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.

— George Orwell

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them." in the context of "Attributed to Orwell by John H. Bunzel, president of San Jose State University, as reported in Phyllis Schlafly, The Power of the Positive Woman (1977), p. 151; but not found in Orwell's works or in reports contemporaneous with his life. Possibly a paraphrase of Orwell's description of the rationale behind Newspeak in 1984." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "George Orwell" (Disputed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 28, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
George Orwell

About George Orwell

George Orwell (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was the pen name of British novelist, essayist, and journalist Eric Arthur Blair, whose work is characterised by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and strong support of democratic socialism.