--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I suppose I like certainty as much as…" description: "\"I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I also feel that the hidden costs are high, that we pay a heavy price for our convictions. This ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png" --- # I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I… ![“I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I also feel that the hidden costs are high, that we pay a heavy price for our convictions. This is a human issue as well as a writing issue - at least in the personal essay as I practice it. Any real essayist knows that certainty is an…” quote by Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png) > “I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I also feel that the hidden costs are high, that we pay a heavy price for our convictions. This is a human issue as well as a writing issue - at least in the personal essay as I practice it. Any real essayist knows that certainty is an editorial decision, arrived at not through conviction but through suppression, the denial of a whole range of possibilities, of alternatives that we jettison, sometimes necessarily, in order to steady the ship.” [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Certainty is a deliberate editorial choice, suppressing alternatives, and carries hidden costs. **In simple terms:** Choosing certainty hides other possibilities and costs. Key Takeaway Balance conviction with openness. Themes certainty writing decision‑making Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic writing - policy drafting - personal journaling - creative planning Key Concepts editorial bias cognitive rigidity Questions to Reflect On - When have you suppressed alternatives? - What costs have you paid for certainty? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on certainty can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Certainty Editorial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-editorial-543561/) [Certainty Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-feel-543562/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Essayist Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essayist-knows-543563/) [Essays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essays/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Essayist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-essayist-543564/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Steady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steady/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“If in the moment of doing you felt clarity, you felt certainty, then why feel regret later?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaa-gyasi/if-in-the-moment-of-doing-you-felt-clarity-you-felt-certainty-then/) [Yaa Gyasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaa-gyasi/) > [“There should be no room in your life for regret. If in the moment of doing, you felt clarity, you felt certainty, then why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaa-gyasi/there-should-be-no-room-in-your-life-for-regret-if-in-the-moment-of/) [Yaa Gyasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaa-gyasi/) > [“And what about the certainty I feel regarding you? You could say that an hour is not a lot to go on. But always,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/and-what-about-the-certainty-i-feel-regarding-you-you-could-say-that/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [In the short stories - if I can make a very lumpy contrast - in the short stories I feel like the lives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/in-the-short-stories-if-i-can-make-a-very-lumpy-contrast-in-the-short/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [My instinct tells me "purpose" is maybe the enemy of a good personal essay. In my own experience, I'm always lost and wandering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/my-instinct-tells-me-purpose-is-maybe-the-enemy-of-a-good-personal/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [We need to be ambivalent - in the essay, and in life too. Ambivalence - having mixed feelings, entertaining contradiction, living with fluctuation -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/we-need-to-be-ambivalent-in-the-essay-and-in-life-too-ambivalence/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [The poet Amanda Nadelberg puts it nicely in an interview when she says "often what I listen for in poems is a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/the-poet-amanda-nadelberg-puts-it-nicely-in-an-interview-when-she/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Too much me is annoying under any circumstance, but too much me in an essay, however personal, would mar the art. My "character" in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/too-much-me-is-annoying-under-any-circumstance-but-too-much-me-in-an/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [My presence isn't simply about "character" - I'm present in every part and particle of the thing, in the sound and rhythm of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/my-presence-isn-t-simply-about-character-i-m-present-in-every-part/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I like the desperado aspect of essays, the free lance, that mercenary kind of thing, so I just do it, without asking anyone's permission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-like-the-desperado-aspect-of-essays-the-free-lance-that-mercenary/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Nowadays I imagine people find freer and more accepting venues in blogs, on Tumblr and Instagram and Facebook, in the riot of shouting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/nowadays-i-imagine-people-find-freer-and-more-accepting-venues-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Even with an assignment, I take over, I find a freedom and make the idea my own, and that's where you get the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/even-with-an-assignment-i-take-over-i-find-a-freedom-and-make-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I have lots of fiction in the drawer, but the essays I mostly kick out into the world, ready or not. Fiction incubates differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-have-lots-of-fiction-in-the-drawer-but-the-essays-i-mostly-kick-out/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I don't know if I have a book in me, but I'm sure I have more essays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-robinson/i-don-t-know-if-i-have-a-book-in-me-but-i-m-sure-i-have-more-essays/) [Eden Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-robinson/) > [I began writing early - very, very early... I was already writing short stories for the radio and selling poems to poetry and art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-began-writing-early-very-very-early-i-was-already-writing-short/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## More by Charles D'Ambrosio > [What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginary-future-seem-to-share-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I have lots of fiction in the drawer, but the essays I mostly kick out into the world, ready or not. Fiction incubates differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-have-lots-of-fiction-in-the-drawer-but-the-essays-i-mostly-kick-out/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I'm kind of a creature of the alt-weekly universe - my real education into higher culture was acquired in coffee shops, reading those papers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-m-kind-of-a-creature-of-the-alt-weekly-universe-my-real-education/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Even with an assignment, I take over, I find a freedom and make the idea my own, and that's where you get the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/even-with-an-assignment-i-take-over-i-find-a-freedom-and-make-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Nowadays I imagine people find freer and more accepting venues in blogs, on Tumblr and Instagram and Facebook, in the riot of shouting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/nowadays-i-imagine-people-find-freer-and-more-accepting-venues-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“...the boy saw faces disinigrate before his eyes, faces that fell to pieces, then disappeared, leaving a hole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/the-boy-saw-faces-disinigrate-before-his-eyes-faces-that-fell-to/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I like the desperado aspect of essays, the free lance, that mercenary kind of thing, so I just do it, without asking anyone's permission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-like-the-desperado-aspect-of-essays-the-free-lance-that-mercenary/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [My presence isn't simply about "character" - I'm present in every part and particle of the thing, in the sound and rhythm of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/my-presence-isn-t-simply-about-character-i-m-present-in-every-part/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“She sighed. Ignatius, do you know what the opposite of love is? Hate, I said. Despair, Sister said. Despair is the opposite of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/she-sighed-ignatius-do-you-know-what-the-opposite-of-love-is-hate-i/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“It's hard to kill yourself by taking Tylenol. You die from liver failure, which takes a long time...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/it-s-hard-to-kill-yourself-by-taking-tylenol-you-die-from-liver/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Too much me is annoying under any circumstance, but too much me in an essay, however personal, would mar the art. My "character" in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/too-much-me-is-annoying-under-any-circumstance-but-too-much-me-in-an/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [The poet Amanda Nadelberg puts it nicely in an interview when she says "often what I listen for in poems is a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/the-poet-amanda-nadelberg-puts-it-nicely-in-an-interview-when-she/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Our nostalgic dreams of perfection thrive just as dangerously in the other direction too, in the imaginary future, that bold and tantalizing future where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/our-nostalgic-dreams-of-perfection-thrive-just-as-dangerously-in-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [I'm not a very savvy operator - it's not who I am, it's not what I do - and so I have to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-m-not-a-very-savvy-operator-it-s-not-who-i-am-it-s-not-what-i-do/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“her knees, which looked, in the faint blue light, as though they'd been carved by water from a bar of soap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/her-knees-which-looked-in-the-faint-blue-light-as-though-they-d-been/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) [Explore all 26 Charles D'Ambrosio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I also feel that the hidden costs are high, that we pay a heavy price for our convictions. This is a human issue as well as a writing issue - at least in the personal essay as I practice it. Any real essayist knows that certainty is an editorial decision, arrived at not through conviction but through suppression, the denial of a whole range of possibilities, of alternatives that we jettison, sometimes necessarily, in order to steady the ship.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles D'Ambrosio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-anyone-else-but-i-also-feel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certainty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-anyone-else-but-i-also-feel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/charles-d-ambrosio-22903_certainty_i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-an_829126.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I suppose I like certainty as much as anyone else, but I also feel that the hidden costs are high, that we…” — Charles D'Ambrosio", "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": "Charles D'Ambrosio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I suppose I like certainty as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-anyone-else-but-i-also-feel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-suppose-i-like-certainty-as-much-as-anyone-else-but-i-also-feel/#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 } } ] } ```