--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball." description: "\"Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball.\" — Emo Philips" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png" --- # Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball. ![“Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball.” quote by Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png) > “Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball.” [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambiguity can be playful and chaotic, like a game that defies clear rules. **In simple terms:** Ambiguity is like a wild game. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty as a source of humor and insight. Themes humor uncertainty creativity paradox Mood playful provocative Type comedic philosophical When to use this quote - improvisational comedy - creative brainstorming - conflict resolution - teaching complex ideas Key Concepts Comedy philosophical humor absurdism Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity spark creativity? - When might clarity be more valuable than ambiguity? A Different Perspective Relying on ambiguity can cause confusion and hinder clear communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Ambiguity Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity-devil-2002918/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Devil Volleyball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-volleyball-2002919/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Volleyball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volleyball/) ## Related quotes > [Ambiguity is the devil's volleyball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/ambiguity-is-the-devil-s-volleyball/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I still get excited just attending a final four, because the process is so long, so arduous, so challenging, that when it finally arrives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/i-still-get-excited-just-attending-a-final-four-because-the-process/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [Walking around your house with spandex on even though you don't have practice...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/walking-around-your-house-with-spandex-on-even-though-you-don-t-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Volleyball, I could be pretty good. After a few practices I could be that striker, or whatever they call it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/volleyball-i-could-be-pretty-good-after-a-few-practices-i-could-be/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [I was supposed to be too short to play college volleyball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-altice/i-was-supposed-to-be-too-short-to-play-college-volleyball/) [Summer Altice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-altice/) > [“My dad will win, I silently countered, even as I smiled sweetly. I couldn’t wait to spike the ball right through her block, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lane/my-dad-will-win-i-silently-countered-even-as-i-smiled-sweetly-i/) [Jennifer Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lane/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [The indoor game is much more of a team game, having to work effectively with a group of 15 to 20 people, striving to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/the-indoor-game-is-much-more-of-a-team-game-having-to-work/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [Hearing the word 'volleyball' at school and instantly turning your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hearing-the-word-volleyball-at-school-and-instantly-turning-your-head/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Volleyball is one of the most interactive games going. It is a game of intuition, imagination, improvisation - but most of all, of reciprocity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marv-dunphy/volleyball-is-one-of-the-most-interactive-games-going-it-is-a-game-of/) [Marv Dunphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marv-dunphy/) > [I'm the only person who can talk volleyball all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-larson/i-m-the-only-person-who-can-talk-volleyball-all-the-time/) [Jordan Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-larson/) > [Everyone in my family enjoys sports and I was naturally athletic as a child. I have been cycling since I can remember, had previously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunima-sinha/everyone-in-my-family-enjoys-sports-and-i-was-naturally-athletic-as-a/) [Arunima Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunima-sinha/) > [Kids are pretty resilient. You don't have to be at every volleyball game. We can't guilt ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-burns/kids-are-pretty-resilient-you-don-t-have-to-be-at-every-volleyball/) [Ursula Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-burns/) > [Here I am, 11 years old, and these grown men have to give it everything they have to beat me. In one part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/here-i-am-11-years-old-and-these-grown-men-have-to-give-it-everything/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) ## More by Emo Philips > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I give money to Unicef because I like the 'bang for your buck' aspect. Here's $10, go and save 1,000 kids from blindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-give-money-to-unicef-because-i-like-the-bang-for-your-buck-aspect/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [Libertarians believe consenting adults have the right to do whatever they choose, except band together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/libertarians-believe-consenting-adults-have-the-right-to-do-whatever/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I love England. In fact, they're getting to know me so well at Heathrow Immigration that this time I was able to completely bypass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-love-england-in-fact-they-re-getting-to-know-me-so-well-at-heathrow/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [He taught me never to smile, which helps me when I visit disaster sites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/he-taught-me-never-to-smile-which-helps-me-when-i-visit-disaster-sites/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [The way I understand it, the Russians are sort of a combination of evil and incompetence... sort of like the Post Office with tanks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/the-way-i-understand-it-the-russians-are-sort-of-a-combination-of/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-got-in-a-fight-one-time-with-a-really-big-guy-and-he-said-i-m-going/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I don't know if I was put on this Earth for a purpose or not. But I'm fairly confident that I'll be taken off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-don-t-know-if-i-was-put-on-this-earth-for-a-purpose-or-not-but-i-m/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I got a letter from the IRS. Apparently I owe them $800. So I sent them a letter back. I said, If you'll remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-got-a-letter-from-the-irs-apparently-i-owe-them-800-so-i-sent-them/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [If you're worth over $50m you should have to dress like that guy on the Monopoly box. The super-rich shouldn't get all the benefits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/if-you-re-worth-over-50m-you-should-have-to-dress-like-that-guy-on/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [Race is still somewhat of a taboo in comedy. But if you're a minority, then you can make fun of your own minority. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/race-is-still-somewhat-of-a-taboo-in-comedy-but-if-you-re-a-minority/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I like to play chess with bald men in the park although it's hard to find 32 of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-like-to-play-chess-with-bald-men-in-the-park-although-it-s-hard-to/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a committee - that will do them in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/if-computers-get-too-powerful-we-can-organize-them-into-a-committee/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [You don't appreciate a lot of stuff in school until you get older. Little things like being spanked every day by a middle-aged woman:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/you-don-t-appreciate-a-lot-of-stuff-in-school-until-you-get-older/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [Thinking up jokes is easy. The hard part is trying them out on stage, because you never know if they're funny until you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/thinking-up-jokes-is-easy-the-hard-part-is-trying-them-out-on-stage/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) [Explore all 208 Emo Philips quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) ## More Ambiguity quotes > [The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-position-is-clear-there-is-no-ambiguity-in-sinn-fein-s-position/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/i-blame-my-grandfather-100-percent-for-his-oldest-son-s-death-i-don-t/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [I think the relationship between social-dominance orientation in people and the extent to which they're made uncomfortable by ambiguity and novelty is really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/i-think-the-relationship-between-social-dominance-orientation-in/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Yet again, an ancient answer echoes across the centuries: Listen! Listen to stories! For what stories do, above all else, is hold up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/yet-again-an-ancient-answer-echoes-across-the-centuries-listen-listen/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [My path to wisdom began when I stopped pretending to know things I didn't know. When I explicitly admitted to the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/my-path-to-wisdom-began-when-i-stopped-pretending-to-know-things-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-order-to-be-as-free-as-i-possibly-can-in-my-own-imagination-i-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I've always been drawn to ambiguity in pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-ambiguity-in-pop-music/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I am in the utmost perplexity, yand have wished a hundred times, that if there is a A God, nature would manifest him without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-am-in-the-utmost-perplexity-yand-have-wished-a-hundred-times-that/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There's a lot of ambiguity in life, and so often, our art is very neatly wrapped up at the end, when our lives never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/there-s-a-lot-of-ambiguity-in-life-and-so-often-our-art-is-very/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“Man must not attempt to dispel the ambiguity of his being but, on the contrary, accept the task of realizing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/man-must-not-attempt-to-dispel-the-ambiguity-of-his-being-but-on-the/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) [Browse all 431 Ambiguity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emo Philips" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambiguity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/emo-philips-1788_ambiguity_ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball-987650_987650.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball.” — Emo Philips", "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": "Emo Philips", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ambiguity — the Devil's volleyball.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/ambiguity-the-devil-s-volleyball/#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 } } ] } ```