--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You might think of the barrier between…" description: "\"“You might think of the barrier between fiction and reality as being a bit like a blood-brain barrier, which allows only some kinds of molecules to pas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg" --- # You might think of the barrier between fiction and reality… ![“You might think of the barrier between fiction and reality as being a bit like a blood-brain barrier, which allows only some kinds of molecules to pass from the bloodstream into the brain. Emotions can easily pass from the fictional world into the real one, so that fiction can feel as if it were…” quote by Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg) > ““You might think of the barrier between fiction and reality as being a bit like a blood-brain barrier, which allows only some kinds of molecules to pass from the bloodstream into the brain. Emotions can easily pass from the fictional world into the real one, so that fiction can feel as if it were real. But BELIEFS are blocked. We KNOW the events have no bearing in the real world.”” [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction lets emotions cross into reality, but beliefs remain blocked, keeping imagination separate from factual truth. **In simple terms:** Feelings cross, beliefs stay separate. Key Takeaway Recognize emotional influence, question beliefs. Themes fiction emotion belief reality Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - reading fiction - watching movies - personal reflection Key Concepts cognitive psychology media effects critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate emotional impact from belief? - Can fiction change your real-world actions? A Different Perspective Beliefs may still shape actions despite being “blocked”. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction and reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-and-reality/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Literary Fiction and Reality Towards the beginning of his novel The Man Without Qualities, Robert Musil announces that 'no serious attempt will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/literary-fiction-and-reality-towards-the-beginning-of-his-novel-the/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [Literary science fiction is a very, very narrow band of the publishing business. I love science fiction in more of a pop-culture sense. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/literary-science-fiction-is-a-very-very-narrow-band-of-the-publishing/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-difference-between-fiction-and-reality-fiction-has-to-make-sense/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [I'm able to separate fiction and reality. I guess it remains to be seen if other people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-m-able-to-separate-fiction-and-reality-i-guess-it-remains-to-be/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [I am very interested in that fine line between fiction and reality and between comedy and tragedy - and pushing the line as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mccorkle/i-am-very-interested-in-that-fine-line-between-fiction-and-reality/) [Jill McCorkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-mccorkle/) > [I really like stories, so in a way it doesn't matter for me if they are real or fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/volker-bertelmann/i-really-like-stories-so-in-a-way-it-doesn-t-matter-for-me-if-they/) [Volker Bertelmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/volker-bertelmann/) > [There is a lot of scepticism today as to whether memoir is real. But when fiction is done at a certain level there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/there-is-a-lot-of-scepticism-today-as-to-whether-memoir-is-real-but/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [When I started to write realistic, real fiction, the voices that were the strongest for me - the characters that I heard, the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-bonert/when-i-started-to-write-realistic-real-fiction-the-voices-that-were/) Kenneth Bonert > [No one stays true. Its like an addiction cuz aint no one real...its all fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-stays-true-its-like-an-addiction-cuz-aint-no-one-real-its-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's hard to read real fiction. It takes time. It takes a sustained attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-busch/it-s-hard-to-read-real-fiction-it-takes-time-it-takes-a-sustained/) [Frederick Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-busch/) > [No one stays true. It's like an addiction cuz ain't no one real...it's all fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-stays-true-it-s-like-an-addiction-cuz-ain-t-no-one-real-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I hope I have now made it clear why I thought it best, in speaking of the dissonances between fiction and reality in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/i-hope-i-have-now-made-it-clear-why-i-thought-it-best-in-speaking-of/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [“IN 1967 YOUNG Tom Stoppard had his breakthrough hit, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a brilliant play about actors playing characters playing actors playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/in-1967-young-tom-stoppard-had-his-breakthrough-hit-rosencrantz-and/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“Myths continue to dominate humankind, and science only makes these myths stronger. Instead of destroying the intersubjective reality, science will enable it to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/myths-continue-to-dominate-humankind-and-science-only-makes-these/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Blurring the line between possible and impossible, linear and non-linear time, fiction and reality, fate and free will, 1Q84 is both a metaphysical mind-teaser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/blurring-the-line-between-possible-and-impossible-linear-and-non/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Greg Carlson > [“Words in the head are sticky and social creatures – when you finally pull one out, you're liable to get lots of bits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/words-in-the-head-are-sticky-and-social-creatures-when-you-finally/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“Robbed of a rapt audience, advertisers know that influencing how you spend what to do while depends on having some control over how you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/robbed-of-a-rapt-audience-advertisers-know-that-influencing-how-you/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“The thing about language is that once you start getting analytical about it, you can't stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/the-thing-about-language-is-that-once-you-start-getting-analytical/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“Every question was also an opportunity to create an impression that would guide how all subsequent answers to questions got interpreted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/every-question-was-also-an-opportunity-to-create-an-impression-that/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“Teaching is the art of serendipity. Each of us has the experience of finding out that something we intended as only the most casual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/teaching-is-the-art-of-serendipity-each-of-us-has-the-experience-of/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“Learning to be aware of what you unconsciously know may depend on a line of focused effort and specialized knowledge and even some measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/learning-to-be-aware-of-what-you-unconsciously-know-may-depend-on-a/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“To knock today's prestige dialects off their pedestals, it helps to realize that they are really foul perversions of yesterday's prestige dialects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/to-knock-today-s-prestige-dialects-off-their-pedestals-it-helps-to/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“As the unexpected becomes ordinary, the spotlight shifts once again to land where your brain thinks it will get more informational bang for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/as-the-unexpected-becomes-ordinary-the-spotlight-shifts-once-again-to/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“No other species flees from boredom with as much urgency as we do. We are far more eager to do brain work than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/no-other-species-flees-from-boredom-with-as-much-urgency-as-we-do-we/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) > [“When the marketplace became crowded with scores of similar products that mostly did what they were supposed to do, companies focused less on selling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/when-the-marketplace-became-crowded-with-scores-of-similar-products/) [Greg Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) [Explore all 11 Greg Carlson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/) ## More Emotions quotes > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/on-stage-you-can-bring-all-those-strong-emotions-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [You will never fully understand how much you mean to me, because there are no amount of words that can begin to describe my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-fully-understand-how-much-you-mean-to-me-because-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) Marlin > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My mind has trouble processing all the emotions I feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-mind-has-trouble-processing-all-the-emotions-i-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Its a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/its-a-lack-of-clarity-that-creates-chaos-and-frustration-those/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“When love carries us away on its brittle wings, we are too intoxicated to comprehend its power. We just want to soar and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balroop-singh/when-love-carries-us-away-on-its-brittle-wings-we-are-too-intoxicated/) [Balroop Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balroop-singh/) > [God, help me to focus on Truth instead of the trial. Help me to give thanks instead of giving into fear. Help me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-daugherty/god-help-me-to-focus-on-truth-instead-of-the-trial-help-me-to-give/) Whitney Daugherty > [Love is an ocean of emotions entirely sorrounded by expensee..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-an-ocean-of-emotions-entirely-sorrounded-by-expensee/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood and was raised by a man who did not emote, ever... I always cry at movies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-grew-up-in-a-blue-collar-neighborhood-and-was-raised-by-a-man-who/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) [Browse all 4,415 Emotions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You might think of the barrier between fiction and reality as being a bit like a blood-brain barrier, which allows only some kinds of molecules to pass from the bloodstream into the brain. Emotions can easily pass from the fictional world into the real one, so that fiction can feel as if it were real. But BELIEFS are blocked. We KNOW the events have no bearing in the real world.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Greg Carlson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-fiction-and-reality-as-being-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emotions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-fiction-and-reality-as-being-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/greg-carlson-38547_emotions_you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-f_2297771.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You might think of the barrier between fiction and reality as being a bit like a blood-brain barrier, which…” — Greg Carlson", "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": "Greg Carlson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-carlson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You might think of the barrier...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-fiction-and-reality-as-being-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlson/you-might-think-of-the-barrier-between-fiction-and-reality-as-being-a/#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 } } ] } ```