Cover of I, candidate for governor

I, candidate for governor

by Upton Sinclair · first published 1935

15mentions
1recommended by
15HN commenters
2010–2026first – last mentioned

7% recommend93% neutral

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What Hacker News says

  • portman · Aug 14, 2010 · Recommends

    The actual quote, from I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." A terrific read. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0520081986

    on “What Happened to Yahoo” ↗
  • titzer · Mar 20, 2018 · Mentions

    “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked Facebook and Google are not evil. They are made up of ordinary people with ordinary likes, dislikes, biases, histories, failings. Those people don't have to be evil or wrong or even misguided to give…

    on “Facebook’s Surveillance Machine” ↗
  • theorique · Dec 9, 2011 · Mentions

    Great anecdote that illustrates this principle observed by Upton Sinclair: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." (from I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked)

    on “We've invented waterfall” ↗
  • eevilspock · Apr 10, 2016 · Mentions

    …it!"), was a socialist and would probably retort that it is your salary, your luck and privileged position, that prevents you from understanding. UPDATE: I did a little digging, and the quote is from I, Candidate for Governor and How I Got Licked, a book whose motivation was to grow support for Sinclair's End Poverty plan, which started out as his End Poverty in California Plan, the core of his platform when he ran for governor.

    on “The Weird Redemption of SF’s Most Reviled Tech Bro” ↗
  • b1n · Dec 21, 2023 · Mentions

    Complaints about TailwindCSS always remind me of this quote: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/21810-it-is-difficult-to-ge...

    on “Catalyst – Tailwind CSS Application UI Kit” ↗
  • luser001 · Jan 13, 2012 · Mentions

    …not realizing the ramifications, the following old quote probably applies. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23510.Upton_Sinclair

    on “Google Fires Back at Twitter: You Took Yourself Out of Search” ↗
  • yourapostasy · Jan 21, 2015 · Mentions

    …http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Pencil [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=i%2C+pencil+criticism&ie=utf... [3] It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it! From I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked (1935), ISBN 0-520-08198-6.

    on “The Ronco Principle” ↗
  • dullroar · Apr 19, 2017 · Mentions

    …always think this quote has explained a related topic the most concisely: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Upton Sinclair, "I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked" (1935)

    on “Odd Lots Podcast: Signs That a Civilization Is About to Collapse [audio]” ↗
  • snarf21 · Oct 4, 2020 · Mentions

    “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked

    on “The Sackler family’s plan to keep its billions” ↗
  • …jeopardize that with any 'counter findings'. How hard is this to understand: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor

    on “Study: U.S. dietary recommendations for protein intake are too low” ↗
  • tough · Jun 27, 2025 · Mentions

    “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” — Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor, and How I Got Licked (1934)

    on “Project Vend: Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?)” ↗
  • kyboren · Dec 23, 2025 · Mentions

    …the CA legislature yet they seem completely uninterested in fixing it. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked (1935) Ironically that quote came from a book about Sinclair's failed bid to win the CA governorship...

    on “State regulators vote to keep utility profits high angering customers across CA” ↗
  • ProAm · May 30, 2026 · Mentions

    …you are paid to say these things. Your paycheck depends on it [1] [1] “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked

    on “MCP Is Dead” ↗
  • PaulHoule · Jul 12, 2026 · Mentions

    …I came to the conclusion that this quote is about him: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/21810-it-is-difficult-to-ge... [1] open access journals were a big step forward, but I was open access decades before [2] i'll join a club which is neutral on the…

    on “The 'Father of the Internet' is finally retiring” ↗
  • fakelvis · Apr 20, 2010 · Mentions

    …this Clay Shirky quote is a modern retelling of a classic Upton Sinclair quote from 1935: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" (I, Candidate For Governor: And How I Got Licked, p109—available on Google Books.)

    on “The Shirky Principle” ↗

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