---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you and I believe two different…"
description: "\"If you and I believe two different things, I can attack you verbally all day, but if I can make you laugh and show you the absurdity of your argument, ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg"
---

#  If you and I believe two different things, I can attack…

![“If you and I believe two different things, I can attack you verbally all day, but if I can make you laugh and show you the absurdity of your argument, it will lower you guard. People let you in then.” quote by Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg)

> “If you and I believe two different things, I can attack you verbally all day, but if I can make you laugh and show you the absurdity of your argument, it will lower you guard. People let you in then.”

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Humor can disarm opponents, making them more receptive to ideas by exposing the absurdity of their stance.

**In simple terms:** Making people laugh lowers defenses to new ideas.

Key Takeaway

Use humor to open minds.

Themes

communication humor conflict resolution persuasion psychology

Mood

lighthearted strategic insightful

Type

persuasive educational comedic

When to use this quote

- debates
- team meetings
- online discussions
- teaching

Key Concepts

satire strategic empathy dialogue

Questions to Reflect On

- When does humor help versus hinder a serious argument?
- How can you balance wit with respect?

A Different Perspective

Humor may be misinterpreted or seen as mocking, reducing credibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Absurdity Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity-argument-1025978/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Argument Lower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument-lower-2515879/) [Attack Verbally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attack-verbally-2515878/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Laugh Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh-absurdity-2515880/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/)

## Related quotes

> [When my father would come home from his work at the Senate and talk about the things he could talk about - because a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/when-my-father-would-come-home-from-his-work-at-the-senate-and-talk/)

[Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/)

> [I laugh at absurdity hardest, then stories, then observations, then bearded men on roller skates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-miller/i-laugh-at-absurdity-hardest-then-stories-then-observations-then/)

[T. J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-miller/)

> [“For Paley, a watch is purposeful and thus must have been created by a being with a purpose. A watch needs a watchmaker, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/for-paley-a-watch-is-purposeful-and-thus-must-have-been-created-by-a/)

[Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/)

> [“The immediate advantage to herself was by no means inconsiderable, for it supplied her with endless jokes against them both. At the park she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-immediate-advantage-to-herself-was-by-no-means-inconsiderable-for/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [As you know it is a comedy so everything is a little bit pushed. That's what's funny about this kind of movie is you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-marceau/as-you-know-it-is-a-comedy-so-everything-is-a-little-bit-pushed-that/)

[Sophie Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-marceau/)

> [What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/what-monstrous-absurdities-and-paradoxes-have-resisted-whole/)

[Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [Jokes for jokes' sake are kind of meaningless to me. I understand the value of them, but it doesn't speak to me as much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/jokes-for-jokes-sake-are-kind-of-meaningless-to-me-i-understand-the/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [My favorite comedians are just presenting an argument, and they're doing it in a funny way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/my-favorite-comedians-are-just-presenting-an-argument-and-they-re/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

## More by Hasan Minhaj

> [I've found the 90-10 rule to be pretty true: 90 percent of what I come up with and write down is kinda 'eh,' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-ve-found-the-90-10-rule-to-be-pretty-true-90-percent-of-what-i-come/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [When you immerse yourself in a community, you tend to rise in that community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/when-you-immerse-yourself-in-a-community-you-tend-to-rise-in-that/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [Aditi is a comedy superstar over in India. She's only one of three female English-speaking comedians in India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/aditi-is-a-comedy-superstar-over-in-india-she-s-only-one-of-three/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [A lot of times, especially when it comes to political debates, people get caught up in esoteric statistics. So the realest thing I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/a-lot-of-times-especially-when-it-comes-to-political-debates-people/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [A lot of people in the media say that Donald Trump goes golfing too much, which raises a very important question: Why do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/a-lot-of-people-in-the-media-say-that-donald-trump-goes-golfing-too/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [As satirists, we get to stand on the sidelines of life and comment on what's happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/as-satirists-we-get-to-stand-on-the-sidelines-of-life-and-comment-on/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [My dad was the only son from his entire family to come to America, and I was his only son. We had come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/my-dad-was-the-only-son-from-his-entire-family-to-come-to-america-and/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [When you can tailor your act, you want it to be about yourself but also about the people in the room and the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/when-you-can-tailor-your-act-you-want-it-to-be-about-yourself-but/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [I think perspective is a necessary, amazing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-think-perspective-is-a-necessary-amazing-thing/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [I like to have straight-up black coffee, but when you get it, sometimes you'll burn your tongue, or it spills on your hands, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-like-to-have-straight-up-black-coffee-but-when-you-get-it-sometimes/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [I just started the way most comics start, doing open mic shows around Sacramento and San Francisco, and eventually, I moved to L.A. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-just-started-the-way-most-comics-start-doing-open-mic-shows-around/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [Jokes for jokes' sake are kind of meaningless to me. I understand the value of them, but it doesn't speak to me as much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/jokes-for-jokes-sake-are-kind-of-meaningless-to-me-i-understand-the/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [I'm not a Larry David. I don't have a 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and a 'Seinfeld' in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-m-not-a-larry-david-i-don-t-have-a-curb-your-enthusiasm-and-a/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [Your courage to do what's right has to be greater than your fear of getting hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/your-courage-to-do-what-s-right-has-to-be-greater-than-your-fear-of/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [I'm a huge fan of Beverly Cleary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-beverly-cleary/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

[Explore all 129 Hasan Minhaj quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

## More Absurdity quotes

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/)

[Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/)

> [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/)

[Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/)

> [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/)

[Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/)

> [Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/unaware-of-the-absurdity-of-it-we-introduce-our-own-petty-household/)

[Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/)

> [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/)

[Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/)

> [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/)

[A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/)

> [The tales of our exploits will survive as long as the human voice itself,' he said. 'And even after that, when the robots recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-tales-of-our-exploits-will-survive-as-long-as-the-human-voice/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

[Browse all 689 Absurdity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you and I believe two different things, I can attack you verbally all day, but if I can make you laugh and show you the absurdity of your argument, it will lower you guard. People let you in then.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Hasan Minhaj"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-things-i-can-attack-you-verbally/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absurdity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-things-i-can-attack-you-verbally/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/hasan-minhaj-3513_absurdity_if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-thing_1051430.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you and I believe two different things, I can attack you verbally all day, but if I can make you laugh…” — Hasan Minhaj",
                "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": "Hasan Minhaj",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you and I believe two...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-things-i-can-attack-you-verbally/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/if-you-and-i-believe-two-different-things-i-can-attack-you-verbally/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
