QuoteProject
Between believing a thing and thinking you KNOW is only a small step and quickly taken.
Mark Twain
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The difference between belief and knowledge is often subtle and can be easily bridged.

Mark Twain's quote highlights the fine line between belief and certainty, suggesting that people often transition from simply believing something to being convinced they know it to be true. This transition can happen swiftly and may lead to misunderstandings or overconfidence in one's knowledge.

Themes

BeliefKnowledgeUnderstandingCertaintyWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about climate change, one might use this quote to illustrate the difference between believing in a theory and understanding the scientific evidence.

More from Mark Twain

Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
The 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

I don't stretch my hand out anymore, but I never get tired of waiting for the next magic.
Marlon BrandoRead
In every generation there has to be some fool who will speak the truth as he sees it.
Boris PasternakRead
We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.
Richard RohrRead
I sleep seven hours. If I go to bed at two, I wake up at nine. If I go to bed at midnight, I wake up at seven. I don't wake up before - the house can fall apart, but I sleep for seven hours.
Karl LagerfeldRead
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
Ambrose BierceRead
Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.
Thomas MooreRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Mark Twain | QuoteProject