--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the problem, to be quite honest…" description: "\"I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is.\" — Douglas Adams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png" --- # I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that… ![“I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png) > “I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is.” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning one’s understanding of problems before seeking answers **In simple terms:** Recognize ignorance before solving issues Key Takeaway Identify true questions first Themes philosophy knowledge humor Mood witty inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - problem solving - education - research methodology Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What is the real question you need to answer? - How do you differentiate between symptoms and root causes? A Different Perspective May lead to analysis paralysis ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Known Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-question-1144792/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Quite Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-honest-322855/) [Think Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-problem/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-seeking/) ## Related quotes > [“Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?" "I checked it very thoroughly," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/forty-two-yelled-loonquawl-is-that-all-you-ve-got-to-show-for-seven/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ \[My father\] impressed upon me from the first, that the manner in which the world came into existence was a subject on which nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/my-father-impressed-upon-me-from-the-first-that-the-manner-in-which/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [You ask me a question, I'm going to give you an honest answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-roddick/you-ask-me-a-question-i-m-going-to-give-you-an-honest-answer/) [Andy Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-roddick/) > [To be quite honest with you, a lot of people don't realize that Nikki Sixx and I did Brides of Destruction after the lawsuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corabi/to-be-quite-honest-with-you-a-lot-of-people-don-t-realize-that-nikki/) [John Corabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corabi/) > [Nothing is quite honest that is not commercial, but not everything commercial is honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/nothing-is-quite-honest-that-is-not-commercial-but-not-everything/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [I had a fantastic time in Boston with the city, the fans were phenomenal, the organization was phenomenal, I just don't know if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-o-neal/i-had-a-fantastic-time-in-boston-with-the-city-the-fans-were/) [Jermaine O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-o-neal/) > [To be quite honest, and anybody will tell you, growing up I was going to be a pro athlete. I didn't have any option.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/to-be-quite-honest-and-anybody-will-tell-you-growing-up-i-was-going/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [I don't think I'll do foster care or adopt, to be quite honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-don-t-think-i-ll-do-foster-care-or-adopt-to-be-quite-honest/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [Part of growing up was learning not to be quite that honest - learning when it was better to lie, rather than to hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/part-of-growing-up-was-learning-not-to-be-quite-that-honest-learning/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [ \[Baz Luhrmann\] is funny, to be quite honest with you. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quindon-tarver/baz-luhrmann-is-funny-to-be-quite-honest-with-you/) [Quindon Tarver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quindon-tarver/) > [I am pretty sure that, if you will be quite honest, you will admit that a good rousing sneeze, one that tears open your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-am-pretty-sure-that-if-you-will-be-quite-honest-you-will-admit-that/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [To be quite honest. I have seen a few things in 3D, and it didn't involve me anymore than when I saw something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciaran-hinds/to-be-quite-honest-i-have-seen-a-few-things-in-3d-and-it-didn-t/) [Ciaran Hinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciaran-hinds/) > [Time & Co. are, after all, the only quite honest and trustworthy publishers that we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/time-co-are-after-all-the-only-quite-honest-and-trustworthy/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I don't think the majority of people - to be quite honest - care. I think they see me as someone who was at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/i-don-t-think-the-majority-of-people-to-be-quite-honest-care-i-think/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [To be honest, I don't really care about any pope. It's not something I think about much, to be quite honest with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/to-be-honest-i-don-t-really-care-about-any-pope-it-s-not-something-i/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. The infinite suns, the infinite distances between them, and yourself an invisible dot on an invisible dot, infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-universe-the-whole-infinite-universe-the-infinite-suns-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/any-man-who-can-hitch-the-length-and-breadth-of-the-galaxy-rough-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. So we'll have to tell you something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-come-to-me-for-advice-but-you-can-t-cope-with-anything-you-don-t/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Explore all 1,168 Douglas Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More Honest quotes > [How strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-davis/how-strong-is-a-faith-that-can-t-stand-up-to-a-few-honest-questions/) [Kenneth C. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-davis/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Tobacco is the passion of honest men and he who lives without tobacco is not worthy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/tobacco-is-the-passion-of-honest-men-and-he-who-lives-without-tobacco/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“RIGHT Do you do what feels right or what is seen right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/right-do-you-do-what-feels-right-or-what-is-seen-right/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I don't know - to be honest, I don't really model myself after anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/i-don-t-know-to-be-honest-i-don-t-really-model-myself-after-anybody/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [There's a certain edge about cruelty. If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I used to not be really honest with girls and then I dropped a song called Starry Room and then I started turning over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-smith/i-used-to-not-be-really-honest-with-girls-and-then-i-dropped-a-song/) [Jaden Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-smith/) > [Fuck perfect, I want honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djsovviet/fuck-perfect-i-want-honest/) [Djsovviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djsovviet/) > [If I'm honest, I think everything is funny. You've just got to find the right way in. When I'm at my happiest and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/if-i-m-honest-i-think-everything-is-funny-you-ve-just-got-to-find-the/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) > [I think managers see that I am honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lallana/i-think-managers-see-that-i-am-honest/) [Adam Lallana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lallana/) [Browse all 7,016 Honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-with-you-is-that-you-ve-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-with-you-is-that-you-ve-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/douglas-adams-122_honest_i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-w_2769926.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is.” — Douglas Adams", "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": "Douglas Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the problem, to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-with-you-is-that-you-ve-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-think-the-problem-to-be-quite-honest-with-you-is-that-you-ve-never/#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 } } ] } ```