--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all capable of believing things…" description: "\"We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg" --- # We are all capable of believing things which we know to be… ![“We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg) > “We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often cling to false beliefs and distort evidence to preserve ego when proven wrong. **In simple terms:** We deny facts to protect pride. Key Takeaway Recognize bias and seek truth. Themes cognition ego truth Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debate - personal relationships - media consumption Key Concepts psychology self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - How do you react when evidence contradicts your view? - What strategies help you admit error? A Different Perspective Denial can hinder learning and accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believing Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believing-things-365397/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Know Untrue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-untrue-1648421/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Twisting Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twisting-facts-1925281/) [Untrue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untrue/) [Untrue Finally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untrue-finally-1925282/) ## Related quotes > [“The point is that we are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue; and then, when we are finally proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-point-is-that-we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-which-we/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Faith ... that faculty which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/faith-that-faculty-which-enables-us-to-believe-things-which-we-know/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [No human should mislead another by promising them something they know to be untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/no-human-should-mislead-another-by-promising-them-something-they-know/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [I have no problem twisting the facts if it's the only way I can be true to the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alys/i-have-no-problem-twisting-the-facts-if-it-s-the-only-way-i-can-be/) [Francis Alys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alys/) > [We're lying ourselves into believing things are untrue, like organic food will solve all our problems, or vitamins will make us healthy, or we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/we-re-lying-ourselves-into-believing-things-are-untrue-like-organic/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Yet, isn't it strange, isn't it weird, how we can KNOW that someone is not behaving in the way we imagine, and at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/yet-isn-t-it-strange-isn-t-it-weird-how-we-can-know-that-someone-is/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [Faith is that quality that enables us to believe what we know to be untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-is-that-quality-that-enables-us-to-believe-what-we-know-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When it comes to religion, we have a funny habit of believing things that make us feel better about ourselves." "What do you mean?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-wilde/when-it-comes-to-religion-we-have-a-funny-habit-of-believing-things/) [Jerome Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-wilde/) > [“I am quite sure I shall understand it, and as for believing things, I can believe anything provided that it is quite incredible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-quite-sure-i-shall-understand-it-and-as-for-believing-things-i/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-that-people-gain-a-selective/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-seaton/faith-is-believing-in-things-when-common-sense-tells-you-not-to/) [George Seaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-seaton/) > [Not that believing such things has anything to do with whether they are true. You see that, don't you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/not-that-believing-such-things-has-anything-to-do-with-whether-they/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I found out I'd spent my whole life believing things that weren't necessarily accurate. My sisters' memories of certain events are entirely different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-buchwald/i-found-out-i-d-spent-my-whole-life-believing-things-that-weren-t/) [Art Buchwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-buchwald/) > [“...to have true faith means believing in things you cannot see just as true love sometimes means making choices you never thought you'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-watts/to-have-true-faith-means-believing-in-things-you-cannot-see-just-as/) [J.D. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-watts/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [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/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-which-we-know-to-be-untrue-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-which-we-know-to-be-untrue-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/george-orwell-57_believe_we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-w_1788515.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved…” — George Orwell", "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 Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are all capable of believing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-which-we-know-to-be-untrue-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-are-all-capable-of-believing-things-which-we-know-to-be-untrue-and/#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 } } ] } ```