--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is apparently no surer way of…" description: "\"There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it\" — Eric Hoffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg" --- # There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into… ![“There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg) > “There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exaggerating a concept often reveals its opposite truth, highlighting the instability of extremes. **In simple terms:** Exaggerating shows the opposite. Key Takeaway Beware of extremes; seek balance. Themes logic philosophy communication Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - debates - writing - marketing - political rhetoric - education Key Concepts paradox dialectic critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - When might exaggeration be useful? - How can you spot when a claim is being overstated? A Different Perspective Exaggeration may oversimplify nuanced issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apparently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparently/) [Exaggerating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggerating/) [Opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite/) [Opposite Exaggerating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite-exaggerating-5905310/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Thing Opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-opposite-5905311/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Thought is a process of exaggeration. The refusal to exaggerate is not infrequently an alibi for the disinclination to think or praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/thought-is-a-process-of-exaggeration-the-refusal-to-exaggerate-is-not/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Do exactly the opposite of what the sheep are doing in order to become the Shepherd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-sylver/do-exactly-the-opposite-of-what-the-sheep-are-doing-in-order-to/) [Marshall Sylver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-sylver/) > [I prefer to believe the opposite - that there is always an indestructible beauty at the heart of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/i-prefer-to-believe-the-opposite-that-there-is-always-an/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-do-just-the-opposite-is-also-a-form-of-imitation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Entitlement is the opposite of enchantment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/entitlement-is-the-opposite-of-enchantment/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [Prosperity is the opposite of greedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/prosperity-is-the-opposite-of-greedy/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [The very opposite of freedom is cliche, and nothing is less free, more inert with convention and hollow brutality, than a row of four-letter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-very-opposite-of-freedom-is-cliche-and-nothing-is-less-free-more/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Everyone in this room knows that Venus is probably one of the greatest people on the tour. She's really great. She's super professional. Complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-williams/everyone-in-this-room-knows-that-venus-is-probably-one-of-the/) [Serena Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-williams/) > [The opposite of nature is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-opposite-of-nature-is-impossible/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Death was not the opposite of life. It was already here, within my being, it had always been here, and no struggle would permit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/death-was-not-the-opposite-of-life-it-was-already-here-within-my/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The opposite of play is not work—the opposite of play is depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-play-is-not-work-the-opposite-of-play-is-depression/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The opposite of every great idea is another great idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/the-opposite-of-every-great-idea-is-another-great-idea/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [A Horcrux is the complete opposite of a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-horcrux-is-the-complete-opposite-of-a-human-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-creative-mind-is-the-playful-mind-philosophy-is-the-play-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-best-part-of-the-art-of-living-is-to-know-how-to-grow-old/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Apparently quotes > [Like funny men, skilled diners are apparently perceived to have an evolutionary advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/like-funny-men-skilled-diners-are-apparently-perceived-to-have-an/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I'm not in the movie business anymore, and hardly any 70 year olds are. I always ask the producers: 'Are there no 70-year old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/i-m-not-in-the-movie-business-anymore-and-hardly-any-70-year-olds-are/) [Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/) > [James Cain was saddled with being called the father of hardboiled fiction. Apparently, he didn't like this saddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/james-cain-was-saddled-with-being-called-the-father-of-hardboiled/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I see myself as life-sized, certainly not a supersized personality, and apparently after 30 years of television, that's what the audience thinks of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-pauley/i-see-myself-as-life-sized-certainly-not-a-supersized-personality-and/) [Jane Pauley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-pauley/) > [“Love is insanity, apparently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-ann-haydu/love-is-insanity-apparently/) [Corey Ann Haydu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-ann-haydu/) > [Apparently texting someone all the time = dating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/apparently-texting-someone-all-the-time-dating/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After about a month of living on my own, I began to feel it. I bought some plants. I remember I named one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristy-swanson/after-about-a-month-of-living-on-my-own-i-began-to-feel-it-i-bought/) [Kristy Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristy-swanson/) > [Been there... done that... then been there several more times... because apparently I never learn...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/been-there-done-that-then-been-there-several-more-times-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Apparently nobody really read it, it was a cheap movie, it fit their schedule in terms of things so fine, let the guy make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/apparently-nobody-really-read-it-it-was-a-cheap-movie-it-fit-their/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [My eyes are green, and in one of them there is a splash of brown - apparently it is not a colour, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/my-eyes-are-green-and-in-one-of-them-there-is-a-splash-of-brown/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [Apparently, they believe they're gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-novick/apparently-they-believe-they-re-gods/) [Steve Novick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-novick/) > [There will always be ladies who lunch. Always. And apparently they live a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/there-will-always-be-ladies-who-lunch-always-and-apparently-they-live/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [I could draw up a list of about 30 artists who I apparently sound like. From Lady Gaga, to Katy Perry to Lana Del…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-and-the-diamonds/i-could-draw-up-a-list-of-about-30-artists-who-i-apparently-sound/) [Marina and the Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-and-the-diamonds/) > [The human brain has evolved the capacity to impose a narrative, complete with chronology and cause-and-effect logic, on whatever it encounters, no matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/the-human-brain-has-evolved-the-capacity-to-impose-a-narrative/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) [Browse all 173 Apparently quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparently/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Hoffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turning-a-thing-into-its-opposite/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apparently" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turning-a-thing-into-its-opposite/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/eric-hoffer-343_exaggerating_there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turn_1569539.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it” — Eric Hoffer", "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": "Eric Hoffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is apparently no surer way...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turning-a-thing-into-its-opposite/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-apparently-no-surer-way-of-turning-a-thing-into-its-opposite/#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 } } ] } ```