Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
A little lie can travel half way 'round the world while Truth is still lacing up her boots.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Lies can spread quickly while the truth takes time to reveal itself.
This quote by Mark Twain highlights the speed at which misinformation can spread compared to the more measured pace of truth. It suggests that deceptive narratives find easier pathways to circulate within society, often outpacing the time it takes for factual accuracy to be established and understood.
Themes
LieTruthDeceptionMisinformationWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech discussing the importance of media accuracy, you might say this quote to emphasize the pitfalls of false information.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes βThe easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
Mark TwainRead
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
Mark TwainRead
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Mark TwainRead
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
Mark TwainRead
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Mark TwainRead
Similar quotes
Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something.
Gertrude SteinRead
You're afraid of imagination and even more afraid of dreams. Afraid of the resposibility that begins in dreams. But you have to sleep and dreams are a part of sleep. When you're awake you can suppress imagination but you can't supress dreams.
Haruki MurakamiRead
The less prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we should conduct our own affairs.
Warren BuffettRead
In this world of numbness and information overload, the ability to feel, my boy, is a rare gift indeed.
Patrick NessRead
In a world of commoditized knowledge, the returns go to the companies who can produce non-standard knowledge.
Gary HamelRead
My father was very disappointed by war and fighting. And he thought language could help us out of cycles of revenge and animosity. And so, as a journalist, he always found himself asking lots of questions and trying to gather information. He was always very clear to underscore the fact that Jewish people and Arab people were brother and sister.
Naomi Shihab NyeRead