--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So I ask that these papers be taken for…" description: "\"So I ask that these papers be taken for what they merely are: exercises, trials, tryouts, a means of displaying possibilities, not establishing fact.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg" --- # So I ask that these papers be taken for what they merely… ![“So I ask that these papers be taken for what they merely are: exercises, trials, tryouts, a means of displaying possibilities, not establishing fact.” quote by Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg) > “So I ask that these papers be taken for what they merely are: exercises, trials, tryouts, a means of displaying possibilities, not establishing fact.” [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author treats papers as experimental tools rather than definitive proof. **In simple terms:** Papers are experiments, not facts. Key Takeaway Treat research as exploratory. Themes methodology science skepticism Mood analytical critical Type explanatory reflective When to use this quote - academic research - policy making - product development Key Concepts Sociology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure experiments are not taken as final conclusions? - What safeguards protect against over‑reliance on preliminary data? A Different Perspective Experiments may still be misinterpreted as truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) [Tryouts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tryouts/) ## Related quotes > [No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-experiment-can-be-more-interesting-than-that-we-are-now-trying-and-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-experiment-can-be-more-interesting-than-that-we-are-now-trying-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Lennon's was one of the first voices I emulated when I began to sing. When we held tryouts in my pal's dad's living room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/lennon-s-was-one-of-the-first-voices-i-emulated-when-i-began-to-sing/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [I was still in the college and they told me I should try it. At the time, I still thought I was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-meyers/i-was-still-in-the-college-and-they-told-me-i-should-try-it-at-the/) [Elana Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-meyers/) > [It was very spur of the moment. When I heard WWE was having tryouts... I would not let the opportunity pass me by. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-bliss/it-was-very-spur-of-the-moment-when-i-heard-wwe-was-having-tryouts-i/) [Alexa Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-bliss/) > [I kept doing tryouts, and finally, after five years I got signed by WWE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickie-james/i-kept-doing-tryouts-and-finally-after-five-years-i-got-signed-by-wwe/) [Mickie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickie-james/) > [I played softball at George Washington University and then I played professionally for the Mid-Michigan Ice. I had a couple of tryouts with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-meyers/i-played-softball-at-george-washington-university-and-then-i-played/) [Elana Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-meyers/) > [My sophomore year I spent exactly one day on the JV football team. It was the tryout day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-rocca/my-sophomore-year-i-spent-exactly-one-day-on-the-jv-football-team-it/) [Mo Rocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-rocca/) > [My first time being inside the Performance Center was for the WWE Tough Enough tryouts, and although I knew hardly anything about sports-entertainment, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-deville/my-first-time-being-inside-the-performance-center-was-for-the-wwe/) [Sonya Deville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-deville/) > [Sex is not a tryout. If she fails to live up to your expectations in the bedroom, will you love her less? If so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-evert/sex-is-not-a-tryout-if-she-fails-to-live-up-to-your-expectations-in/) [Jason Evert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-evert/) > [I have all these opinions about the dancers but they should be kept to myself. No one consults me. I keep asking to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-morey/i-have-all-these-opinions-about-the-dancers-but-they-should-be-kept/) [Daryl Morey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-morey/) > [What's the difference in opening from scratch in Philly or opening from scratch in New York? The old out-of-town tryout circuit - taking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-lupone/what-s-the-difference-in-opening-from-scratch-in-philly-or-opening/) [Patti LuPone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-lupone/) ## More by Erving Goffman > [The term stigma and its synonyms conceal a double perspective: does the stigmatized individual assume his differentness is known about already or is evident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-term-stigma-and-its-synonyms-conceal-a-double-perspective-does/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The routines of social intercourse in established settings allow us to deal with anticipated others without special attention or thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-routines-of-social-intercourse-in-established-settings-allow-us/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“In reviewing his own moral career, the stigmatized individual may single out and retrospectively elaborate experiences which serve for him to account for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/in-reviewing-his-own-moral-career-the-stigmatized-individual-may/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“When an individual becomes over-involved in a topic of conversation, others are drawn from the talk to the talker. One man's eagerness is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/when-an-individual-becomes-over-involved-in-a-topic-of-conversation/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“The more there is about the individual that deviates in an undesirable direction from what might have been expected to be true of him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-more-there-is-about-the-individual-that-deviates-in-an/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The self... is not an organic thing that has a specific location, whose fundamental fate is to be born, to mature, to die; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-self-is-not-an-organic-thing-that-has-a-specific-location-whose/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The stigmatized individual is asked to act so as to imply neither that his burden is heavy nor that bearing it has made him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-stigmatized-individual-is-asked-to-act-so-as-to-imply-neither/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [There is a close meshing with the ritual properties of persons and with the egocentric forms of territoriality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/there-is-a-close-meshing-with-the-ritual-properties-of-persons-and/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“The act of staring is a thing which one does not ordinarily do to another human being; it seems to put the object stared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-act-of-staring-is-a-thing-which-one-does-not-ordinarily-do-to/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn’t are not easy to specify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/all-the-world-is-not-of-course-a-stage-but-the-crucial-ways-in-which/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“Morning and lunchtime are times when anyone can appear alone almost anywhere without this giving evidence of how the person is faring in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/morning-and-lunchtime-are-times-when-anyone-can-appear-alone-almost/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“Although the pictures shown here cannot be taken as representative of gender behavior in real life... one can probably make a significant negative statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/although-the-pictures-shown-here-cannot-be-taken-as-representative-of/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The normal and the stigmatized are not persons, but perspectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-normal-and-the-stigmatized-are-not-persons-but-perspectives/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“...the issue becomes not whether a person has experience with a stigma of his own, because he has, but rather how many varieties he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-issue-becomes-not-whether-a-person-has-experience-with-a-stigma/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [A performer may be taken in by his own act, convinced at the moment that the impression of reality which he fosters is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/a-performer-may-be-taken-in-by-his-own-act-convinced-at-the-moment/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) [Explore all 34 Erving Goffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So I ask that these papers be taken for what they merely are: exercises, trials, tryouts, a means of displaying possibilities, not establishing fact.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erving Goffman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for-what-they-merely-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for-what-they-merely-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/894/erving-goffman-18642_asks_so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for_2033778.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So I ask that these papers be taken for what they merely are: exercises, trials, tryouts, a means of…” — Erving Goffman", "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": "Erving Goffman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So I ask that these papers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for-what-they-merely-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/so-i-ask-that-these-papers-be-taken-for-what-they-merely-are/#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 } } ] } ```