---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mind, placed before any kind of…"
description: "\"The mind, placed before any kind of difficulty, can find an ideal outlet in the absurd. Accommodation to the absurd readmits adults to the mysterious r..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg"
---

#  The mind, placed before any kind of difficulty, can find…

![“The mind, placed before any kind of difficulty, can find an ideal outlet in the absurd. Accommodation to the absurd readmits adults to the mysterious realm inhabited by children.” quote by Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg)

> “The mind, placed before any kind of difficulty, can find an ideal outlet in the absurd. Accommodation to the absurd readmits adults to the mysterious realm inhabited by children.”

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The mind can turn difficulty into creative absurdity, allowing adults to access childlike wonder.

**In simple terms:** Embrace absurdity to solve problems creatively.

Key Takeaway

Use absurd thinking to unlock new solutions.

Themes

creativity absurdity childlike wonder problem solving

Mood

playful thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- brainstorming sessions
- design thinking
- artistic experiments
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

surrealism psychology innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- When can absurd thinking be counterproductive?
- How can you balance logic and absurdity?

A Different Perspective

Excessive absurdity may lead to impractical ideas.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurd Accommodation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd-accommodation-5521637/) [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Accommodations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accommodations/) [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Adults Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults-mysterious-5521636/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Placed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-placed-2391059/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Outlets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlets/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/)

## Related quotes

> [“I know what sort of a mind I have placed in communication with my own: I know it is one not liable to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-know-what-sort-of-a-mind-i-have-placed-in-communication-with-my-own/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [ During this period (of technological confinement / \[and language\]) the human mind has been placed in its narrowest confines it has experienced since consciousness… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/during-this-period-of-technological-confinement-and-language-the/)

[Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/)

> [Chance... in the accommodation peculiar to sensorimotor intelligence, plays the same role as in scientific discovery. It is only useful to the genius and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/chance-in-the-accommodation-peculiar-to-sensorimotor-intelligence/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [I crave fit disposition for my wife; Due reference of place, and exhibition; With such accommodation, and besort, As levels with her breeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-crave-fit-disposition-for-my-wife-due-reference-of-place-and/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Never once have Democrats benefited from attempts at reasonableness and compromise and accommodation. To the contrary, Bush and his team seem to view political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jordan/never-once-have-democrats-benefited-from-attempts-at-reasonableness/)

[Jim Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jordan/)

> [The Christian is the most contented man in the world, but he is the least contented with the world. He is like a traveler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-christian-is-the-most-contented-man-in-the-world-but-he-is-the/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [We will see that the greatest problem confronting civilization is not merely religious extremism: rather, it is the larger set of cultural and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-will-see-that-the-greatest-problem-confronting-civilization-is-not/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [Legislators in Kansas, Arizona and 23 other states who are properly determined to protect religious freedom can begin by asking themselves: Does any religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blankenhorn/legislators-in-kansas-arizona-and-23-other-states-who-are-properly/)

[David Blankenhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blankenhorn/)

> [God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of him is our proper; and is the only happiness with which our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/god-is-the-highest-good-of-the-reasonable-creature-the-enjoyment-of/)

[Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/)

> [We are (most of us) embedded in an exceedingly complex network of social relationships, many of which are vital to our well-being. Every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-corning/we-are-most-of-us-embedded-in-an-exceedingly-complex-network-of/)

[Peter Corning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-corning/)

> [The Constitution does not require complete separation of church and state; it affirmatively mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance, of all religions, and forbids hostility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-constitution-does-not-require-complete-separation-of-church-and/)

[Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/)

> [The public thinks that homelessness is about not having any accommodation to go to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-duncan-smith/the-public-thinks-that-homelessness-is-about-not-having-any/)

[Iain Duncan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-duncan-smith/)

> [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [I describe family values as responsibility towards others, increase of tolerance, compromise, support, flexibility. And essentially the things I call the silent song of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-minuchin/i-describe-family-values-as-responsibility-towards-others-increase-of/)

[Salvador Minuchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-minuchin/)

> [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

## More by Andre Breton

> [Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/of-all-the-arts-in-which-the-wise-excel-nature-s-chief-masterpiece-is/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [Under his (Marc Chagall, ed.) sole impulse metaphor made its triumphal entry into modern painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/under-his-marc-chagall-ed-sole-impulse-metaphor-made-its-triumphal/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/psychic-automatism-in-its-pure-state-by-which-one-proposes-to-express/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [The art of Frida Kahlo is a ribbon around a bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-art-of-frida-kahlo-is-a-ribbon-around-a-bomb/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [“Let us not mince words: The marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beauitful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/let-us-not-mince-words-the-marvelous-is-always-beautiful-anything/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [“There has never been any forbidden fruit. Only temptation is divine. To feel the need to vary the object of this temptation, to replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/there-has-never-been-any-forbidden-fruit-only-temptation-is-divine-to/)

[André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [“It was really a star, a star you were heading toward. You can't fail to reach it. Hearing you speak, I felt that nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/it-was-really-a-star-a-star-you-were-heading-toward-you-can-t-fail-to/)

[André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [“All my life my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name.” andre breton”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/all-my-life-my-heart-has-yearned-for-a-thing-i-cannot-name-andre/)

[andre breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [“Unless you have been inside a sanitarium you do not know that madmen are made there, just as criminals are made in our reformatories.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/unless-you-have-been-inside-a-sanitarium-you-do-not-know-that-madmen/)

[André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [A game: say something. Close your eyes and say something. Anything, a number, a name. Like this (she closes her eyes): Two, two what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/a-game-say-something-close-your-eyes-and-say-something-anything-a/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [...with the end of my breath, which is the beginning of yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/with-the-end-of-my-breath-which-is-the-beginning-of-yours/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [Past and future monopolize the poet’s sensory and intellectual faculties, detached from the immediate spectacle. These two philtres become utterly clear the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/past-and-future-monopolize-the-poet-s-sensory-and-intellectual/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [If I place love above everything, it is because for me it is the most desperate, the most despairing state of affairs imaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/if-i-place-love-above-everything-it-is-because-for-me-it-is-the-most/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [I am the soul in limbo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-am-the-soul-in-limbo/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

> [Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/surrealism-will-usher-you-into-death-which-is-a-secret-society-it/)

[Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

[Explore all 141 Andre Breton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/)

## More Absurd quotes

> [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/)

[J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/)

[Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/)

> [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/)

[Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/)

> [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/)

[David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/)

> [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; &amp; the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/)

[Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/)

> [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

[Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The mind, placed before any kind of difficulty, can find an ideal outlet in the absurd. Accommodation to the absurd readmits adults to the mysterious realm inhabited by children.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andre Breton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-difficulty-can-find-an-ideal/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absurd"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-difficulty-can-find-an-ideal/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/andr-breton-2478_absurd_the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-diffi_2316600.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The mind, placed before any kind of difficulty, can find an ideal outlet in the absurd. Accommodation to the…” — Andre Breton",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Andre Breton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The mind, placed before any kind...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-difficulty-can-find-an-ideal/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-mind-placed-before-any-kind-of-difficulty-can-find-an-ideal/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
