--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was in this instant of confusion that…" description: "\"“It was in this instant of confusion that I realized for the first time that I am in some degree insane.”\" — Gene Wolfe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg" --- # It was in this instant of confusion that I realized for… ![“It was in this instant of confusion that I realized for the first time that I am in some degree insane.” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg) > ““It was in this instant of confusion that I realized for the first time that I am in some degree insane.”” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He experiences a moment of self‑realization about his own madness during confusion **In simple terms:** He realized he might be partially insane in confusion Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty about mental state Themes identity madness self‑awareness Mood introspective uneasy Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - self‑reflection - philosophical debate Key Concepts psychology existential crisis Questions to Reflect On - What does this realization change for you? - How do you differentiate confusion from insight? A Different Perspective Self‑diagnosis can be unreliable ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Confusion Realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion-realized-4797298/) [Degree Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-insane-5627041/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insane/) [Instant Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant-confusion-5627040/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [But when I faced you in my blank confusion, I realized you weren't wrong, it was a mere illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daft-punk/but-when-i-faced-you-in-my-blank-confusion-i-realized-you-weren-t/) [Daft Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daft-punk/) > [“The inability to correctly perceive reality is often responsible for humans' insane behavior. And every time they substitute an all-purpose, sloppy slang word for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-inability-to-correctly-perceive-reality-is-often-responsible-for/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [You know your in LOVE,because,for once.. You know reality is better than your DREAMS..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-your-in-love-because-for-once-you-know-reality-is-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But, when it comes to global warming, the public- at-large really doesn't know whom to believe anymore. And NASA has contributed to that confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/but-when-it-comes-to-global-warming-the-public-at-large-really-doesn/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [That feeling you get when you know you are forgetting something, but you don't know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-feeling-you-get-when-you-know-you-are-forgetting-something-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/psychedelic-drugs-cause-paranoia-confusion-and-total-loss-of-reality/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [I think there's confusion around what the point of social networks is. A lot of different companies characterized as social networks have different goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/i-think-there-s-confusion-around-what-the-point-of-social-networks-is/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“Wait, seriously, what's a piss pot?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/wait-seriously-what-s-a-piss-pot/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [Being actors we are dealing with the beauty and complexity of human confusion, no? And we are always trying to get answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/being-actors-we-are-dealing-with-the-beauty-and-complexity-of-human/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) ## More by Gene Wolfe > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-storms-by-the-swirling-of-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [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/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. The inexperienced are sick with a thousand feelings, most of them unformed: fearful that they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-experienced-feel-love-or-desire-or-both-the-inexperienced-are/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For those who have never attended a science fiction convention, masquerades are features of most of the larger ones. Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep copiously swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“. . .Consciousness came and went. Consciousness went and came like the errant winds of spring, and I, who so often have had difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/consciousness-came-and-went-consciousness-went-and-came-like-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) [Explore all 160 Gene Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More Confusion quotes > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Being actors we are dealing with the beauty and complexity of human confusion, no? And we are always trying to get answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/being-actors-we-are-dealing-with-the-beauty-and-complexity-of-human/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [“Wait, seriously, what's a piss pot?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/wait-seriously-what-s-a-piss-pot/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [I think there's confusion around what the point of social networks is. A lot of different companies characterized as social networks have different goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/i-think-there-s-confusion-around-what-the-point-of-social-networks-is/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/psychedelic-drugs-cause-paranoia-confusion-and-total-loss-of-reality/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [That feeling you get when you know you are forgetting something, but you don't know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-feeling-you-get-when-you-know-you-are-forgetting-something-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [But, when it comes to global warming, the public- at-large really doesn't know whom to believe anymore. And NASA has contributed to that confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/but-when-it-comes-to-global-warming-the-public-at-large-really-doesn/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [You know your in LOVE,because,for once.. You know reality is better than your DREAMS..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-your-in-love-because-for-once-you-know-reality-is-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In these days of faith-cures, and hypnotism, and telepathy, and subliminalities – why, the simple old world grows very confusing. But rarely, very rarely novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/in-these-days-of-faith-cures-and-hypnotism-and-telepathy-and/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [“If you want nothing to do with god then why do you say his name all the time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-reimer/if-you-want-nothing-to-do-with-god-then-why-do-you-say-his-name-all/) [Emily Reimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-reimer/) [Browse all 1,822 Confusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was in this instant of confusion that I realized for the first time that I am in some degree insane.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Wolfe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that-i-realized-for-the-first/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confusion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that-i-realized-for-the-first/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/gene-wolfe-2530_confusion_it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that_2334329.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was in this instant of confusion that I realized for the first time that I am in some degree insane.” — Gene Wolfe", "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": "Gene Wolfe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was in this instant of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that-i-realized-for-the-first/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/it-was-in-this-instant-of-confusion-that-i-realized-for-the-first/#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 } } ] } ```