--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People like nonfiction presented to them…" description: "\"People like nonfiction presented to them in a certain way, so that they don't have to think about whether it's true or not. They like it to have that i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/errol-morris-2512_certain_people-like-nonfiction-presented-to-them_1036748.jpg" --- # People like nonfiction presented to them in a certain way… ![“People like nonfiction presented to them in a certain way, so that they don't have to think about whether it's true or not. They like it to have that imprimatur of respectability, of genuineness.” quote by Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/errol-morris-2512_certain_people-like-nonfiction-presented-to-them_1036748.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/errol-morris-2512_certain_people-like-nonfiction-presented-to-them_1036748.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/errol-morris-2512_certain_people-like-nonfiction-presented-to-them_1036748.jpg) > “People like nonfiction presented to them in a certain way, so that they don't have to think about whether it's true or not. They like it to have that imprimatur of respectability, of genuineness.” [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People prefer nonfiction that feels authoritative and unquestionable, avoiding the effort of verifying truth. **In simple terms:** People want believable facts without doubt. Key Takeaway Seek evidence, question appearances. Themes trust media perception truth authority Mood skeptical analytical inquisitive Type observational critical philosophical When to use this quote - news consumption - academic research - political discourse - advertising - social media Key Concepts cognitive bias information overload credibility social proof Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify the credibility of a source? - When have you accepted something because it seemed respectable? A Different Perspective Even respected sources can be misleading; critical thinking remains essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Genuineness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuineness/) [Like Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-nonfiction-2400235/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Nonfiction Presented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction-presented-2400236/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Respectability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectability/) [Respectability Genuineness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectability-genuineness-2400237/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I like nonfiction books about people with wretched lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-like-nonfiction-books-about-people-with-wretched-lives/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [We like nonfiction, and we live in fictitious times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/we-like-nonfiction-and-we-live-in-fictitious-times/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [I like detective stories and spy novels, but I also like nonfiction, and of course cookbooks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wahlberg/i-like-detective-stories-and-spy-novels-but-i-also-like-nonfiction/) [Paul Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wahlberg/) > [I like these nonfiction books where everything that is interesting about them is lost in that catch-all description of their "about"-ness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-like-these-nonfiction-books-where-everything-that-is-interesting/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [There are too many false things in the world, and I don't want to be a part of them. If you say what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-bench/there-are-too-many-false-things-in-the-world-and-i-don-t-want-to-be-a/) [Johnny Bench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-bench/) > [Genuineness requires listening through both verbal and nonverbal channels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-michelli/genuineness-requires-listening-through-both-verbal-and-nonverbal/) [Joseph Michelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-michelli/) > [“Polarities of the 'authentic' vs. the 'inauthentic' are easily discernible in recreational modes. The criteria of authenticity are not necessarily objective but rather have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/polarities-of-the-authentic-vs-the-inauthentic-are-easily-discernible/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“Godly character is what you are when you've been tried and proven. It is not what you say you are, or what people think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-m-bertram/godly-character-is-what-you-are-when-you-ve-been-tried-and-proven-it/) [Robin M. Bertram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-m-bertram/) > [Helping others is a question of being genuine and projecting that genuineness to others. This way of being doesn't have to have a title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/helping-others-is-a-question-of-being-genuine-and-projecting-that/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/living-consciously-involves-being-genuine-it-involves-listening-and/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [All the events said to have been witnessed by John alone are omitted by John alone. This fact seems fatal either to the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rathbone-greg/all-the-events-said-to-have-been-witnessed-by-john-alone-are-omitted/) [William Rathbone Greg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rathbone-greg/) > [“I am not afraid of people who say all the wrong things that make others gasp in disbelief. I am afraid of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-am-not-afraid-of-people-who-say-all-the-wrong-things-that-make/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“It is no use to ask God with factitious earnestness for A when our whole mind is in reality filled with the desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/it-is-no-use-to-ask-god-with-factitious-earnestness-for-a-when-our/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [No man knows the genuineness of his convictions until he has sacrificed something for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/no-man-knows-the-genuineness-of-his-convictions-until-he-has/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man's faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-which-so-certifies-the-genuineness-of-a-man-s-faith/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Errol Morris > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [In the case of The Thin Blue Line, I was surprised actually by many things. I was shooting down in Texas where the actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/in-the-case-of-the-thin-blue-line-i-was-surprised-actually-by-many/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [When 'The Thin Blue Line' came out, I was criticized by many people for using reenactments, as if I wasn't dedicated to the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/when-the-thin-blue-line-came-out-i-was-criticized-by-many-people-for/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [There is such a thing as truth, but we have a vested interest in not seeing it, in avoiding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/there-is-such-a-thing-as-truth-but-we-have-a-vested-interest-in-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Simply coming to the perpetrator and delivering the message is Nozick's definition of revenge. And in that sense, Adi is exacting revenge. 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Why deny it? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/maybe-killers-is-one-of-my-real-passions-why-deny-it/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [I envy certain writers, because there are writers who do go into a kind of different zone, where the writing isn't controlled anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/i-envy-certain-writers-because-there-are-writers-who-do-go-into-a/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Right now, we live in bad times in this country, and the fact that there are filmmakers addressing political and social issues is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/right-now-we-live-in-bad-times-in-this-country-and-the-fact-that/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [You can talk about a caption underneath a photograph being true or false, because there is a linguistic element. You can claim that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/you-can-talk-about-a-caption-underneath-a-photograph-being-true-or/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [The fact that the world is utterly insane makes it tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/the-fact-that-the-world-is-utterly-insane-makes-it-tolerable/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Appearing on the front page of the New York Times even given the state of papers today is still something that's seen by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/appearing-on-the-front-page-of-the-new-york-times-even-given-the/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [You can't tell by looking at a film-clip whether it is a drama or a documentary without knowing how it was produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/you-can-t-tell-by-looking-at-a-film-clip-whether-it-is-a-drama-or-a/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Tell me what's wrong with this idea: If you're selling to somebody, find someone like that person to sell to them. If you're trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/tell-me-what-s-wrong-with-this-idea-if-you-re-selling-to-somebody/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) [Explore all 163 Errol Morris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. 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