--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But to some people ignorance is a…" description: "\"“But to some people ignorance is a sleeping mask they mistake for corrective lenses.”\" — Anthony Marra" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png" --- # But to some people ignorance is a sleeping mask they… ![“But to some people ignorance is a sleeping mask they mistake for corrective lenses.” quote by Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png) > ““But to some people ignorance is a sleeping mask they mistake for corrective lenses.”” [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignorance is portrayed as a comforting illusion that people cling to, mistaking it for clarity or improvement. **In simple terms:** Ignorance can feel like a helpful disguise. Key Takeaway Challenge comforting false beliefs. Themes ignorance illusion self‑deception clarity growth Mood reflective provocative introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal development - education - critical thinking - social change - mental health Key Concepts psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What "mask" are you mistaking for insight? - How can we replace comforting lies with honest clarity? A Different Perspective Comforting ignorance can hinder progress and truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corrective Lenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrective-lenses-4044321/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Sleeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-sleeping-4044319/) [Mask Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask-mistake-4044320/) [People Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-ignorance-756124/) ## Related quotes > [Over half the people in the United States wear corrective lenses, and almost all of them are capable of seeing much more clearly -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-liberman/over-half-the-people-in-the-united-states-wear-corrective-lenses-and/) [Jacob Liberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-liberman/) > [Politics and church are the same. They keep the people in ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/politics-and-church-are-the-same-they-keep-the-people-in-ignorance/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [The tax which will be paid for the purpose of education is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-tax-which-will-be-paid-for-the-purpose-of-education-is-not-more/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“When we give our minds and our responsibility away, we give our lives away. If enough of us do it, we give the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/when-we-give-our-minds-and-our-responsibility-away-we-give-our-lives/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [People's ignorance really pisses me off. Stupidity is when you can't help it -ignorance is when you choose not to understand something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/people-s-ignorance-really-pisses-me-off-stupidity-is-when-you-can-t/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [I always did hate for anyone to know what my plans or hopes or prospects were—for, if I kept people in ignorance in these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-always-did-hate-for-anyone-to-know-what-my-plans-or-hopes-or/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-is-in-the-interest-of-tyrants-to-reduce-the-people-to-ignorance/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“Only priests and politicians benefit from a people's ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ki-longfellow/only-priests-and-politicians-benefit-from-a-people-s-ignorance/) [Ki Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ki-longfellow/) > [The unhappiness of people is due to their ignorance of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/the-unhappiness-of-people-is-due-to-their-ignorance-of-nature/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [“its not a good idea to argue with ignorant people but sometime ignorance can't be ignored”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-safi/its-not-a-good-idea-to-argue-with-ignorant-people-but-sometime/) [Adnan Safi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-safi/) > [“Before you can dispel other people's ignorance, you should first dispel your own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/before-you-can-dispel-other-people-s-ignorance-you-should-first/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [The enemies of a people are those who keep them in ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/the-enemies-of-a-people-are-those-who-keep-them-in-ignorance/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [We should not underestimate that: the Chinese people's ignorance. Thousands of years of despotism had been such a poison that their understanding of modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/we-should-not-underestimate-that-the-chinese-people-s-ignorance/) [Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/) > [I do sometimes accuse people of ignorance, but that is not intended to be an insult. I'm ignorant of lots of things. Ignorance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-do-sometimes-accuse-people-of-ignorance-but-that-is-not-intended-to/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“You must not be hurt by other people's ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-farmer/you-must-not-be-hurt-by-other-people-s-ignorance/) [Nancy Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-farmer/) ## More by Anthony Marra > [“Carrying that lumber the forty meters from the forest had left his knuckles blistered, his underarms sopping, but now a few hours of flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/carrying-that-lumber-the-forty-meters-from-the-forest-had-left-his/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“The previous night, for the first time in a long time, he had felt whole, and his eyes returned to the rearview, where his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/the-previous-night-for-the-first-time-in-a-long-time-he-had-felt/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“There was no one left to say whom you could love. p.294”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/there-was-no-one-left-to-say-whom-you-could-love-p-294/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [We twist our souls around each other’s miseries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/we-twist-our-souls-around-each-other-s-miseries/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“The television dramas we grew up on, stories of star-crossed lovers, stories of love overcoming all obstacles, well, they’re all fairy tales, obviously, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/the-television-dramas-we-grew-up-on-stories-of-star-crossed-lovers/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“He had always tried to treat Havaa as a child and she always went along with it, as though childhood and innocence were fantastical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/he-had-always-tried-to-treat-havaa-as-a-child-and-she-always-went/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“He asked them to close their eyes, and hoped their mouths would follow suit.” p. 137”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/he-asked-them-to-close-their-eyes-and-hoped-their-mouths-would-follow/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Don't insult me. Everyone knows a turtle is a crustacean on its mother's side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/don-t-insult-me-everyone-knows-a-turtle-is-a-crustacean-on-its-mother/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Those smooth, spit-cleaned cheeks gave no indication of the dreams crowding her skull. Should she make it to adulthood, the girl would arrive with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/those-smooth-spit-cleaned-cheeks-gave-no-indication-of-the-dreams/) [anthony marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“In all likelihood, Sonja had more academic journal subscriptions than friends. She could explain advanced calculus to her fifth-form algebra teacher but couldn't tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/in-all-likelihood-sonja-had-more-academic-journal-subscriptions-than/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Even after Sonja graduated secondary school at the top of her class and matriculated to the city university biology department, their parents found more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/even-after-sonja-graduated-secondary-school-at-the-top-of-her-class/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“He was losing her incrementally...As a web is no more than holes woven together, they were bonded by what was no longer there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/he-was-losing-her-incrementally-as-a-web-is-no-more-than-holes-woven/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Too young to explain in words, the girl's face was old enough to show the loss that was that name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/too-young-to-explain-in-words-the-girl-s-face-was-old-enough-to-show/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“A lizard fucks a crab and nine months later a turtle pops out. It's called evolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/a-lizard-fucks-a-crab-and-nine-months-later-a-turtle-pops-out-it-s/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) [Explore all 94 Anthony Marra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) [John P Lintz Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-lintz-sr/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But to some people ignorance is a sleeping mask they mistake for corrective lenses.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Marra" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleeping-mask-they-mistake-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleeping-mask-they-mistake-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/anthony-marra-7171_ignorance_but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleepi_2077971.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But to some people ignorance is a sleeping mask they mistake for corrective lenses.” — Anthony Marra", "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 Marra", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But to some people ignorance is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleeping-mask-they-mistake-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/but-to-some-people-ignorance-is-a-sleeping-mask-they-mistake-for/#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 } } ] } ```