--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mere absurdity has never prevented the…" description: "\"Mere absurdity has never prevented the triumph of bad ideas, if they accord with easily aroused fantasies of an existence freed of human limitations.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg" --- # Mere absurdity has never prevented the triumph of bad… ![“Mere absurdity has never prevented the triumph of bad ideas, if they accord with easily aroused fantasies of an existence freed of human limitations.” quote by Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg) > “Mere absurdity has never prevented the triumph of bad ideas, if they accord with easily aroused fantasies of an existence freed of human limitations.” [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas that appeal to fantasies can dominate even when they are absurd and harmful. **In simple terms:** Bad ideas thrive on easy fantasies. Key Takeaway Question and challenge appealing fantasies. Themes critical thinking media influence psychology propaganda Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political discourse - marketing campaigns - social media trends - education curricula Key Concepts cognitive bias groupthink mythmaking Questions to Reflect On - What fantasies make you accept bad ideas? - How can you test ideas against reality? A Different Perspective Appeals to fantasy may be rationalized by underlying truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Absurdity Prevented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity-prevented-2202995/) [Accord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accord/) [Bad idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) [Bad ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-ideas/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Fantasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasies/) [Fantasies Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasies-existence-2202997/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Mere Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere-absurdity-2202996/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's probably a bad idea for young boys to see how they're being depicted in men's fantasies. It could get very dark.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-seyfried/i-think-it-s-probably-a-bad-idea-for-young-boys-to-see-how-they-re/) [Amanda Seyfried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-seyfried/) > [It would be a very bad idea... to exhibit even a small number of this new series, as the whole effect can only be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-would-be-a-very-bad-idea-to-exhibit-even-a-small-number-of-this/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [If we were to tell you to deliberately spend ten minutes every day envisaging yourself being very ill, you'd quite rightly refuse to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-cohen/if-we-were-to-tell-you-to-deliberately-spend-ten-minutes-every-day/) [Peter A. Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-cohen/) > [“Picking a few hits requires a tolerance for many bad ideas, mediocre ideas, and even good ideas cursed with bad timing. Above all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-thompson/picking-a-few-hits-requires-a-tolerance-for-many-bad-ideas-mediocre/) [Derek Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-thompson/) > [ “\[Reggie\] had a way of picking the bad ideas, which is why we should’ve just said no. (from GAMELAND Episode 1: Deep into the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-tanpepper/reggie-had-a-way-of-picking-the-bad-ideas-which-is-why-we-should-ve/) [Saul Tanpepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-tanpepper/) > [I know that nuclear is better than fossil fuels when it comes to carbon dioxide, but nuclear energy is by no means clean. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-know-that-nuclear-is-better-than-fossil-fuels-when-it-comes-to/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [Congress will always couple one bad idea with another, the better to 'offset' them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-taylor/congress-will-always-couple-one-bad-idea-with-another-the-better-to/) [Jeffery Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-taylor/) > [How would we feel if you could pay extra to smoke on airplanes? When we decide something is a bad idea in general for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gleick/how-would-we-feel-if-you-could-pay-extra-to-smoke-on-airplanes-when/) [Peter Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gleick/) > [I have done conferences explaining that cloud is a bad idea. It's putting all your eggs in one basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-demon-calce/i-have-done-conferences-explaining-that-cloud-is-a-bad-idea-it-s/) [Michael Demon Calce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-demon-calce/) > [“Sometimes I have good ideas, sometimes I have bad ideas and sometimes I have colossally bad ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-cellier/sometimes-i-have-good-ideas-sometimes-i-have-bad-ideas-and-sometimes/) [Melanie Cellier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-cellier/) > [Idea-Advocacy Matrix highlights a couple of things: that good ideas need to be "sold" if they are ever going to see the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daly/idea-advocacy-matrix-highlights-a-couple-of-things-that-good-ideas/) [John Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daly/) > [More than any other personality trait, my mother seemed to be ruled by anger and sadness. She seemed to hate being a mother. Watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrill-markoe/more-than-any-other-personality-trait-my-mother-seemed-to-be-ruled-by/) [Merrill Markoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrill-markoe/) > [It's not a bad idea to call this Cthulhuism & Yog-Sothothery of mine "The Mythology of Hastur" - although it was really from Machen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-s-not-a-bad-idea-to-call-this-cthulhuism-yog-sothothery-of-mine/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) ## More by Anthony Daniels > [We are like creatures so dazzled with our own technological prowess that we no longer think it necessary to consider the obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/we-are-like-creatures-so-dazzled-with-our-own-technological-prowess/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [ \[There\] is no class so dangerous as the idle educated. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/there-is-no-class-so-dangerous-as-the-idle-educated/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [For intellectuals, everyone's mind is closed but their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/for-intellectuals-everyone-s-mind-is-closed-but-their-own/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Blanket compassion will shift the distribution decisively towards the manipulative end of the spectrum, and may paradoxically decrease the compassion with which the genuinely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/blanket-compassion-will-shift-the-distribution-decisively-towards-the/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Everybody uses mime and gesture in real life, though we don't realize it. It's very useful as a performance technique, though it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/everybody-uses-mime-and-gesture-in-real-life-though-we-don-t-realize/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Where fashion in clothes, bodily adornment, and music are concerned, it is the underclass that increasingly sets the pace. Never before has there been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/where-fashion-in-clothes-bodily-adornment-and-music-are-concerned-it/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Equality is the measure of all things, and bad behavior is less bad if everyone indulges in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/equality-is-the-measure-of-all-things-and-bad-behavior-is-less-bad-if/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [The nearer emotional life approaches to hysteria, to continual outward show, the less genuine it becomes. Feeling becomes equated with vehemence of expression, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/the-nearer-emotional-life-approaches-to-hysteria-to-continual-outward/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [All I ever wanted to do was act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/all-i-ever-wanted-to-do-was-act/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [In a democratic age, only the behavior of the authorities is subject to public criticism; that of the people themselves, never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/in-a-democratic-age-only-the-behavior-of-the-authorities-is-subject/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Having been issued the false prospectus of happiness through unlimited sex, modern man concludes, when he is not happy with his life, that his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/having-been-issued-the-false-prospectus-of-happiness-through/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [The tattoo has a profound meaning: the superficiality of modern man's existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/the-tattoo-has-a-profound-meaning-the-superficiality-of-modern-man-s/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Modernity is the most transient of qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/modernity-is-the-most-transient-of-qualities/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Mediocrity triumphs because it presents itself as democratic and because it is dull, and so for many does not seem worth struggling against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/mediocrity-triumphs-because-it-presents-itself-as-democratic-and/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Cruelty is like hope: it springs eternal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/cruelty-is-like-hope-it-springs-eternal/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) [Explore all 48 Anthony Daniels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) ## More Absurdity quotes > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [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/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) [Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/) > [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/unaware-of-the-absurdity-of-it-we-introduce-our-own-petty-household/) [Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/) > [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The tales of our exploits will survive as long as the human voice itself,' he said. 'And even after that, when the robots recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-tales-of-our-exploits-will-survive-as-long-as-the-human-voice/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) [Browse all 689 Absurdity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mere absurdity has never prevented the triumph of bad ideas, if they accord with easily aroused fantasies of an existence freed of human limitations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Daniels" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-triumph-of-bad-ideas-if-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurdity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-triumph-of-bad-ideas-if-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/anthony-daniels-14049_absurdity_mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-t_1822193.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mere absurdity has never prevented the triumph of bad ideas, if they accord with easily aroused fantasies of…” — Anthony Daniels", "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": "Anthony Daniels", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mere absurdity has never prevented the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-triumph-of-bad-ideas-if-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/mere-absurdity-has-never-prevented-the-triumph-of-bad-ideas-if-they/#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 } } ] } ```