--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps we don't always discriminate…" description: "\"“Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense.”\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png" --- # Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and… ![“Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png) > ““Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense.”” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that distinguishing between rational and irrational ideas is not always clear. **In simple terms:** Distinguishing sense from nonsense can be ambiguous. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about what is sensible. Themes philosophy critical thinking epistemology Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - everyday decision making - media consumption - political discourse Key Concepts relativism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - When have you mistaken nonsense for sense? - How do you decide what is sensible? A Different Perspective It may overlook contexts where clear distinctions are necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discriminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discriminate/) [Discriminate Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discriminate-sense-1725957/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [Sense Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-nonsense-576357/) ## Related quotes > [Many people are alive only because its illegal to shoot them…Sometimes there is some SENSE in NONSENSE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-people-are-alive-only-because-its-illegal-to-shoot-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I conclude that there is as much sense in nonsense as there is nonsense in sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/i-conclude-that-there-is-as-much-sense-in-nonsense-as-there-is/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“Nonsense can be an ingenious architect of sense, as it may turn things upside down and, so doing, sharpen our perception, stir our imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/nonsense-can-be-an-ingenious-architect-of-sense-as-it-may-turn-things/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Nice distinctions are troublesome. It is so much easier to say that a thing is black, than to discriminate the particular shade of brown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/nice-distinctions-are-troublesome-it-is-so-much-easier-to-say-that-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [There are realms of life where the concepts of sense and nonsense do not apply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-galloway/there-are-realms-of-life-where-the-concepts-of-sense-and-nonsense-do/) [Gregory Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-galloway/) > [I don't have a great sense of humor, but I do have a great sense of nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-don-t-have-a-great-sense-of-humor-but-i-do-have-a-great-sense-of/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“Phd without common sense is nonsense”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sekoni-sullivan/phd-without-common-sense-is-nonsense/) [sekoni sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sekoni-sullivan/) > [We never choose which words to use, for as long as they mean what they mean to mean, we don’t care if they make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/we-never-choose-which-words-to-use-for-as-long-as-they-mean-what-they/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [What we can do is provide the tools, through our educational system, for people to be able to tell sense from nonsense. These tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/what-we-can-do-is-provide-the-tools-through-our-educational-system/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [Perhaps there is more sense in our nonsense and more nonsense in our 'sense' than we would care to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/perhaps-there-is-more-sense-in-our-nonsense-and-more-nonsense-in-our/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-pendulum-of-the-mind-alternates-between-sense-and-nonsense-not/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“You can create sense out of nonsense, something out of nothing. You can create wealth out of dearth, viable ventures out of turbulent adventures.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ikechukwu-joseph/you-can-create-sense-out-of-nonsense-something-out-of-nothing-you-can/) [IKECHUKWU JOSEPH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ikechukwu-joseph/) > [“In essence, love makes no sense, In fact, there is more nonsense than sense in love. Great philosophers - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle alike,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devi-di-guida/in-essence-love-makes-no-sense-in-fact-there-is-more-nonsense-than/) [Devi di Guida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devi-di-guida/) > [There's plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-s-plenty-of-sense-in-nonsense-sometimes-if-you-wish-to-look-for/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“To recognize bullshit, nose is better than ear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/to-recognize-bullshit-nose-is-better-than-ear/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Discriminate quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/i-don-t-see-any-reason-to-discriminate-against-homosexuals/) [Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/) > [The ability to discriminate between that which is true and that which is false is one of the last attainments of the human mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/the-ability-to-discriminate-between-that-which-is-true-and-that-which/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [Race is not the stumbling block to progress it once was, in large part because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/race-is-not-the-stumbling-block-to-progress-it-once-was-in-large-part/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [Never try to discriminate a person like me. I'm a dragon, once I'm getting mad, don't dare yourself to see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marivil-ricacho/never-try-to-discriminate-a-person-like-me-i-m-a-dragon-once-i-m/) [Marivil Ricacho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marivil-ricacho/) > [For some of my friends who raise personal objections to marriage equality, they still recognize the importance of being accepting. And many of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-fujita/for-some-of-my-friends-who-raise-personal-objections-to-marriage/) [Scott Fujita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-fujita/) > [Discriminate, discriminate, and again discriminate! Be fastidious. Choose. Select.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-merrill-root/discriminate-discriminate-and-again-discriminate-be-fastidious-choose/) [E. Merrill Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-merrill-root/) > [I used to be homophobic, but as I got older, I realized that wasn't the way to do things. I don't discriminate against anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asap-rocky/i-used-to-be-homophobic-but-as-i-got-older-i-realized-that-wasn-t-the/) [ASAP Rocky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asap-rocky/) > [A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies, homing in, say, on the heat of a jet plane's exhaust. A great improvement on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory-as-it-flies-homing-in-say-on/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I don't discriminate. I hate Mondays just as much as I hate any day that requires me to wake up before 10 am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-discriminate-i-hate-mondays-just-as-much-as-i-hate-any-day/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like kids that are pushed into things by stage mums, but when I can see they are having a good time, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-don-t-like-kids-that-are-pushed-into-things-by-stage-mums-but-when/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [You must discriminate between those who claim to help you and only want to manipulate you and those who are free, who never manipulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-must-discriminate-between-those-who-claim-to-help-you-and-only/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Police departments, since the start of the history of this country, have been used to enforce unconstitutional laws that were designed to discriminate against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/police-departments-since-the-start-of-the-history-of-this-country/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [So if there is a government grant offered for anything, like starting a business or going to school, they cannot discriminate because of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/so-if-there-is-a-government-grant-offered-for-anything-like-starting/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [“It speaks volumes when people who are discriminated against go on to discriminate against others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/it-speaks-volumes-when-people-who-are-discriminated-against-go-on-to/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) [Browse all 131 Discriminate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discriminate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-between-sense-and-nonsense/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discriminate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-between-sense-and-nonsense/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/george-eliot-84_discriminate_perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-bet_1764754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps we don't always discriminate between sense and nonsense.” — George Eliot", "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": "George Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Perhaps we don't always discriminate between...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-between-sense-and-nonsense/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perhaps-we-don-t-always-discriminate-between-sense-and-nonsense/#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 } } ] } ```