Irrelevance

Irrelevance is the lack of relationship with the topic at hand; lack of importance.

Quotes

• A few pen-and-ink sketches of scenery and character may not be irrelevant; as serving to mark, palpable contrasts between the past and present, country and town, nature and art, illiterate and literary society - man almost in a state of semi-barbarism, and man enlightened by art, science, and refinement.
  • John Britton (1850) Personal and literary memoir of the author. p. 27.

• I feel that any form of so called psychotherapy is strongly contraindicated for addicts. The question "Why did you start using narcotics in the first place?" should never be asked. It is quite as irrelevant to treatment as it would be to ask a malarial patient why he went to a malarial area.
  • William S. Burroughs, quoted in: Lois A. Michel (1968) Way out: a thematic reader. p. 121.

• A theory has only the alternative of being right or wrong. A model has a third possibility: it may be right, but irrelevant.
  • Manfred Eigen (1973: 618), quoted in: Robert Gibbons, ‎John Roberts (2012) The Handbook of Organizational Economics p. 188.

• A poor relation is the most irrelevant thing in nature, a piece of impertinent correspondence, an odious approximation, a haunting conscience, a preposterous shadow, lengthening in the noon-tide of our prosperity. He is known by his knock.
  • Charles Lamb (1838) Last essays of Elia. p. 10.

• It's irrelevant who or what directed a movie, the important thing is that you either respond to it or you don't.
  • Kathryn Bigelow in: "Kathryn Bigelow discusses role of "seductive violence" in her films" in The Tech, Issue 13 : Friday, March 16, 1990.