We're not talking about the cards here - we're talking about the players. There's an old saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none." It refers to someone who is skilled in many different areas, but by spreading him or herself out so much, cannot focus enough to master any one skill. We just want to focus on the first part of that saying, "Jack of all trades."
The basics of tight play involve folding any and all hands that are weak, keeping your chips out of the pot, and thus out of the other players' piles. Tight play is one of the key skills you must learn in order to have any chance of success at Holdem. If you don't play tight from time to time, you'll end up tossing away your chips on useless hands.
In the book Super System, Doyle Brunson claims to have made very sparing use of the check/raise. Usually if Mr. Brunson has something to say about the game of poker most people usually just sit crossed legged on the floor and listen to him like children hearing Aesop spin his favorite fables.