The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

The saying ranks “minds” by what they need in order to feel intellectually satisfied. A “third-rate” mind seeks comfort in conformity—agreement with the majority substitutes for independent judgment. A “second-rate” mind defines itself by contrarianism—being in the minority becomes an identity and a source of pleasure, even if it is merely reactive. The “first-rate” mind, by contrast, takes joy in the activity of thinking itself: inquiry, discrimination, and self-correction, regardless of whether the conclusion is popular or unpopular. The implied critique is that both conformity and reflexive dissent can be forms of dependence; genuine intellect is self-motivated and truth-oriented rather than socially oriented.