You must never underestimate the power of the eyebrow.JACK BLACK
Never underestimate what it takes to watch someone you love in pain.ERMA BOMBECK
Bombeck is best known for her wit and humor, but she could also write with great sensitivity about the pathos of life. This observation came from “The Heroism of Care-Givers,” a column that paid tribute to the millions of anonymous people who minister to the needs of the ill, the elderly, and the infirm. Bombeck wrote that every day, the nurturer is confronted by pain that must be faced squarely and “without benefit of numbing painkillers or anesthetics.”
Never underestimate our ability to ignore the obvious.PO BRONSON, in What Should I Do With My Life? (2002)
Bronson, an anthropologist, profiled the lives of fifty people searching for “their true calling.” Many of Bronson’s subjects worked for many years at unsatisfying careers —all the while ignoring deep inner voices urging them to walk down another life path.
Never underestimate the power of words
to heal and reconcile relationships.H. JACKSON BROWN JR., in Life’s Little Instruction Book (1991)
Never underestimate the power of self-absorption,
including your parents’ self-absorption.RITA MAE BROWN
Never underestimate the role pretension plays
when it comes to creating euphemistic language.GEORGE CARLIN
Never underestimate the effectiveness of a straight cash bribe.CLAUD COCKBURN, from In Time of Trouble (1956)
In 1993, Edward E. Sanders gave his book on buying with cash a similar title: Never Underestimate the Power of Cash Deals.
Never underestimate the emotional impact you have as a leader.LEE COCKERELL, former Disney Executive
Vice President, in Creating Magic (2008)
Never overestimate the literacy or the attention span
of people who are terribly, terribly busy.JOHN COWAN
Never underestimate the quality of state schools.
By far they are the most economical and wisest choice
when pursuing an undergraduate degree.ANTHONY J. D’ANGELO, in The College Blue Book (1995)
Never underestimate the ability of a teenager.KEN DAVIS
Davis offered this in a 1988 guide for teens titled How to Live with Your Parents Without Losing Your Mind. Alluding to the biblical figure who slayed Goliath, he wrote: “From the time of David up to now, teenagers like you have distinguished themselves in history by proving that when they put their minds to something, they can frequently do it better and with more conviction than most adults.”
Never underestimate an adversary.DANNY DE VITO, to Michael Douglas,
in the 1989 film The War of the Roses
De Vito, in the role of divorce attorney Gavin D’Amato, is referring to Barbara Rose (Kathleen Turner) as he offers this advice to client Oliver Rose (played by Douglas). Oliver ignores the advice, a decision he will ultimately regret.
Never underestimate the powers of a librarian in the age of the Internet.ANITA DIAMANT, from a character
in her 2001 novel Good Harbor
Never overestimate the competence of those around you.CHARLES HARRINGTON ELSTER & JOSEPH ELLIOT
This appeared in Tooth and Naiclass="underline" A Novel Approach to the New SAT (1994), an SAT preparation book in the form of a mystery novel.
Never underestimate a parent’s ability to mortify his child.PETER GALLAGHER, as Sanford “Sandy” Cohen
in a 2004 episode of The O.C.
Never underestimate the effect
being confronted by the FBI will have on a suspect.THOMAS GIBSON, as Special Agent Aaron Hotchner in a
2007 episode of the CBS-TV series Criminal Minds
Never underestimate the insecurity of a star.WILLIAM GOLDMAN, in Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983)
Never overestimate the depth of anti-intellectual traditions.STEPHEN JAY GOULD, in Bully For Brontosaurus (1991)
In a chapter on “The Dinosaur Rip-off,” Gould reported on a survey in which 30 percent of American adults believed that dinosaurs and human beings inhabited the Earth at the same time—a view rejected by all respected scientists. Gould wrote the book three decades ago, and I can only imagine what he might have to say today about the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, which presents an account of man’s early history according to a literal reading of the Book of Genesis. The museum, which opened in 2007, portrays human beings and dinosaurs as coexisting in a world created over a six-day period approximately six thousand years ago.
Never underestimate the effect a mother’s love has on a child,
even when that child becomes an adult.ANDREW M. GREELEY & MARY G. DURKIN,
in The Book of Love (2002)
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.ROBERT A. HEINLEIN
This line became an instant classic almost immediately after appearing as an entry in “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long” in Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love (1973). It also inspired some well-known spin-offs:
You can never underestimate the stupidity of the general public.SCOTT ADAMS, creator of Dilbert
Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH
Never underestimate the hypocrisy of politicians.JAMES HERBERT
Never underestimate the power of the office grapevine.RUTH HOUSTON, in Is He Cheating on You? (2002)
Never underestimate a genius with a chip on his shoulder.NICOLE KIDMAN, to Alec Baldwin, in the 1993 film Malice
Never underestimate the power of words.MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., in a 1954 sermon
titled “Propagandizing Christianity”
In his first month as pastor of Montgomery, Alabama’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Reverend King gave his new congregation a taste of things to come. Challenging the negative connotation of the term “propaganda,” he argued that “Propaganda may be good or bad depending on the merit of the case urged.” He urged Christians to become “propaganda agents,” saying, “If Hitler could do all of this with an evil idea, it seems that we could rock the world with the truth of the saving power of the gospel.”
Never underestimate the magnitude of the forces
that reinforce complacency and help maintain the status quo.JOHN P. KOTTER, in Leading Change (1996)