--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your strength as a rationalist is your…" description: "\"Your strength as a rationalist is your ability to be more confused by fiction than by reality. If you are equally good at explaining any outcome, you h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_irrational_your-strength-as-a-rationalist-is-your-a_2972487.png" --- # Your strength as a rationalist is your ability to be more… ![“Your strength as a rationalist is your ability to be more confused by fiction than by reality. If you are equally good at explaining any outcome, you have zero knowledge.” quote by Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_irrational_your-strength-as-a-rationalist-is-your-a_2972487.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_irrational_your-strength-as-a-rationalist-is-your-a_2972487.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_irrational_your-strength-as-a-rationalist-is-your-a_2972487.png) > “Your strength as a rationalist is your ability to be more confused by fiction than by reality. If you are equally good at explaining any outcome, you have zero knowledge.” [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. Rationalists should prioritize reality over fiction, avoiding false explanations. **In simple terms:** Rationalism demands reality focus. Key Takeaway Seek truth, avoid confusion. Themes critical thinking epistemology reality Mood skeptical inquisitive Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - science - philosophy - debate Key Concepts cognitive bias knowledge limits Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate fact from story? - What explains unknown outcomes best? A Different Perspective Fiction can inspire insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Rationalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalist/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) ## Related quotes > [They are equal reality. They are two streams of present reality, both equally promised. The Christian dead are already with Christ now, and Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/they-are-equal-reality-they-are-two-streams-of-present-reality-both/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [If reality is as equally valuable as fiction, then you should just chalk up the parts of the past you don’t need to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryohgo-narita/if-reality-is-as-equally-valuable-as-fiction-then-you-should-just/) [Ryohgo Narita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryohgo-narita/) > [“a rationalist isn't ever certain of anything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/a-rationalist-isn-t-ever-certain-of-anything/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“A true rationalist ought to be effective in the real world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/a-true-rationalist-ought-to-be-effective-in-the-real-world/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Part of the rationalist ethos is binding yourself emotionally to an absolutely lawful reductionistic universe - a universe containing no ontologically basic mental things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/part-of-the-rationalist-ethos-is-binding-yourself-emotionally-to-an/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“(5) The training establishment may try to ignore short bouts of empirical experience to preserve its ‘rationalist’ authority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/5-the-training-establishment-may-try-to-ignore-short-bouts-of/) [Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/) > [“I am a rationalist, and I don't believe in genies, or sudden personality changes. I wanted David's anger to vanish only after years and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-am-a-rationalist-and-i-don-t-believe-in-genies-or-sudden/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“And nothing . . . disquiets a rationalist more than a forest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pogue-harrison/and-nothing-disquiets-a-rationalist-more-than-a-forest/) [Robert Pogue Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pogue-harrison/) > [“If I have to take police protection in my own country from my own people, then there is something wrong with me, I'm fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-dabholkar/if-i-have-to-take-police-protection-in-my-own-country-from-my-own/) Narendra Dabholkar > [“The romantic seeks only to get his head into the heavens. The rationalist seeks to get the heavens into his head – and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-romantic-seeks-only-to-get-his-head-into-the-heavens-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [I was born into a working class Irish Catholic family at the brutal bottom of the Great Depression. I suppose this early imprinting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-was-born-into-a-working-class-irish-catholic-family-at-the-brutal/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Some of them are blinding glimpses of the obvious (BGOs), several overlap, and I make no claims of discovery. The fundamental proposition – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/some-of-them-are-blinding-glimpses-of-the-obvious-bgos-several/) [Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/) > [ “They \[progressives\] are men and women who tend to believe that the human being is perfectible and social progress predictable, and that the instrument… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-progressives-are-men-and-women-who-tend-to-believe-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a rationalist and a skeptic, someone who safely separates faith from reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-a-rationalist-and-a-skeptic-someone-who-safely-separates-faith/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Ideas are 10 a penny. It's the execution that's the hard thing to do. House is standing up against a tide of sentiment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/ideas-are-10-a-penny-it-s-the-execution-that-s-the-hard-thing-to-do/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) ## 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 am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-that-truth-matters-to-us/) [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. A speech to the effect that Fred and George…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/and-then-harry-potter-had-launched-in-to-a-speech-that-was-inspiring/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“And I know that I'd just make myself unhappy by comparing that reality to... something perfect that I built up in my imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/and-i-know-that-i-d-just-make-myself-unhappy-by-comparing-that/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) [Explore all 274 Eliezer Yudkowsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) ## More Irrational quotes > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“...the irrational will have its say, perhaps because 'irrational' is the wrong word for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-irrational-will-have-its-say-perhaps-because-irrational-is-the/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [But jealousy... it's a strange thing. So much more powerful then I would have thought. And irrational!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-cullen/but-jealousy-it-s-a-strange-thing-so-much-more-powerful-then-i-would/) [Edward Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-cullen/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [America must deal once and for all with an utterly irrational health care financing system that allows private interests to make billions in profits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-gordon/america-must-deal-once-and-for-all-with-an-utterly-irrational-health/) [Suzanne Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-gordon/) > [My greatest personal mistake is ever to allow a word or moment that “doesn’t count,” i.e., that I do not refer to my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/my-greatest-personal-mistake-is-ever-to-allow-a-word-or-moment-that/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [At that moment, she cannot think of a more reckless, irrational thing than choosing to become a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/at-that-moment-she-cannot-think-of-a-more-reckless-irrational-thing/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“steam-tactics saga illustrates that (4) Rationalism, unlike empiricism, tends to assume an accretion of vested interests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/steam-tactics-saga-illustrates-that-4-rationalism-unlike-empiricism/) [Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/) > [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Remember that failure is part of the process of successful running. Performance is a roller coaster; to think otherwise is irrational and will cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lynch/remember-that-failure-is-part-of-the-process-of-successful-running/) Jerry Lynch > [ In \[the soul\] one part naturally rules, and the other is subject, and the virtue of the ruler we maintain to be different from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-the-soul-one-part-naturally-rules-and-the-other-is-subject-and-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Advancing bourgeois society liquidates memory, time, recollection as irrational leftovers of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/advancing-bourgeois-society-liquidates-memory-time-recollection-as/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) [Browse all 785 Irrational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Your strength as a rationalist is your ability to be more confused by fiction than by reality. 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