--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not sure how to explain it, except…" description: "\"“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”\" — Eliezer Yudkowsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_explain_i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-t_20144.png" --- # I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth… ![“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.” quote by Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_explain_i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-t_20144.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_explain_i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-t_20144.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_explain_i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-t_20144.png) > ““I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”” [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker emphasizes that truth holds intrinsic value, beyond rational justification, implying that honesty is a fundamental principle. **In simple terms:** Truth is fundamentally important. Key Takeaway Truth is a core value. Themes philosophy ethics epistemology integrity human nature Mood thoughtful serious reflective Type aphorism statement When to use this quote - making decisions - building trust - evaluating information - educational settings Key Concepts truth value principle Practical Applications - ethical guidelines - critical thinking curricula Questions to Reflect On - Why do we prioritize truth over convenience? - How does valuing truth shape our actions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain/) [Explain Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-truth-394533/) [Matters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matters/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Matters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-matters-252633/) ## Related quotes > [We must explain the truth: There is no free lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-napolitano/we-must-explain-the-truth-there-is-no-free-lunch/) [Grace Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-napolitano/) > [The truth matters, and despite my objection to the creation of the Select Panel, as its Ranking Member, I will do all I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-schakowsky/the-truth-matters-and-despite-my-objection-to-the-creation-of-the/) [Jan Schakowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-schakowsky/) > [In truth it matters less what we do... than how we do it and why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-farhi/in-truth-it-matters-less-what-we-do-than-how-we-do-it-and-why/) [Donna Farhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-farhi/) > [Dickinson is my hero because she was a joker, because she would never explain, because as a poet she confronted pain, dread and death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/dickinson-is-my-hero-because-she-was-a-joker-because-she-would-never/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I keep trying to explain to people that the archetype of intelligence is not Dustin Hoffman in 'The Rain Man;' it is a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-keep-trying-to-explain-to-people-that-the-archetype-of-intelligence/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Remember this truth: now matters more than any other time in your life, because it’s what you are doing today that is determining who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/remember-this-truth-now-matters-more-than-any-other-time-in-your-life/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [“Literature, like magic, has always been about the handling of secrets, about the pain, the destruction, and the marvelous liberation that can result when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/literature-like-magic-has-always-been-about-the-handling-of-secrets-2/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“For what is truth? 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For me, it's the truth that matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geert-wilders/i-don-t-need-headlines-for-me-it-s-the-truth-that-matters/) [Geert Wilders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geert-wilders/) > [“Truth - all that matters; For it is all that endures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-a-kasparian/truth-all-that-matters-for-it-is-all-that-endures/) [Joel A. Kasparian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-a-kasparian/) ## More by Eliezer Yudkowsky > [“But I really am Ravenclaw, you know, not Slytherin. I don't want to rule the universe. I just think it could be more sensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/but-i-really-am-ravenclaw-you-know-not-slytherin-i-don-t-want-to-rule/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“‎If you regard evidence as a constraint and seek to free yourself, you sell yourself into the chains of your whims. For you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-regard-evidence-as-a-constraint-and-seek-to-free-yourself-you/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [I see little hope for democracy as an effective form of government, but I admire the poetry of how it makes its victims complicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-see-little-hope-for-democracy-as-an-effective-form-of-government/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“He really really really shouldn't have done that. Amazing how much more obvious that became one second after it was too late.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/he-really-really-really-shouldn-t-have-done-that-amazing-how-much/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [I'm wondering if there's a spell to make lightning flash in the background whenever I make an ominous resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-a-spell-to-make-lightning-flash-in-the/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“There’s a technique we use in our local rationalist cluster called “Is That Your True Rejection?”, and it works like this: Before you stake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/there-s-a-technique-we-use-in-our-local-rationalist-cluster-called-is/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Lonely dissent doesn't feel like going to school dressed in black. It feels like going to school wearing a clown suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/lonely-dissent-doesn-t-feel-like-going-to-school-dressed-in-black-it/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Knowing that Draco's hopeful face had probably been drilled into him by months of practice did not make it any less effective, Harry observed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/knowing-that-draco-s-hopeful-face-had-probably-been-drilled-into-him/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The strength of a theory is not what it allows, but what it prohibits; if you can invent an equally persuasive explanation for any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-strength-of-a-theory-is-not-what-it-allows-but-what-it-prohibits/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [It is triple ultra forbidden to respond to criticism with violence. There are a very few injunctions in the human art of rationality that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/it-is-triple-ultra-forbidden-to-respond-to-criticism-with-violence/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The human species was not born into a market economy. Bees won't sell you honey if you offer them an electronic funds transfer. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-human-species-was-not-born-into-a-market-economy-bees-won-t-sell/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Frigideiro! " said Hermione again from the desk next to him. Her water was solid ice and there were white crystals forming on the rim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/frigideiro-said-hermione-again-from-the-desk-next-to-him-her-water/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“And then Harry Potter had launched in to a speech that was inspiring, yet vague. 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You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [If you have a good idea you must explain it or you will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-have-a-good-idea-you-must-explain-it-or-you-will-fail/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [How do you explain a person like Asha Bhosle? A star or a super star or just someone from the Gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anu-malik/how-do-you-explain-a-person-like-asha-bhosle-a-star-or-a-super-star/) [Anu Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anu-malik/) > [If you win you need not explain……But if you lose you should not be there to explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-win-you-need-not-explain-but-if-you-lose-you-should-not-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm afraid I can't explain myself, sir. Because I am not myself, you see?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-m-afraid-i-can-t-explain-myself-sir-because-i-am-not-myself-you-see/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [There is an indefinable quality possessed by some artists. You simply can't explain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-ellen/there-is-an-indefinable-quality-possessed-by-some-artists-you-simply/) [Vera-Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-ellen/) > [To be in a room and have to explain your point of view is a huge skill in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-savage/to-be-in-a-room-and-have-to-explain-your-point-of-view-is-a-huge/) [Stephanie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-savage/) > [When I'm creating art or music, when something is resonating or a scene is going well, that almost feels religious to me... there's this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-thatcher/when-i-m-creating-art-or-music-when-something-is-resonating-or-a/) [Sophie Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-thatcher/) > [In a Western, you don't over-explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/in-a-western-you-don-t-over-explain/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [I explain at the parties that I believe knitting is a transformative and intriguing act that can change the life and brain of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/i-explain-at-the-parties-that-i-believe-knitting-is-a-transformative/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [Old cookbooks connect you to your past and explain the history of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-cookbooks-connect-you-to-your-past-and-explain-the-history-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no way to explain enlightenment. 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