--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is full of people who thought…" description: "\"History is full of people who thought they were right -- absolutely right, completely right, without a shadow of a doubt. And because history never see..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/john-d-barrow-4552_doubt_history-is-full-of-people-who-thought-th_487981.png" --- # History is full of people who thought they were right… ![“History is full of people who thought they were right -- absolutely right, completely right, without a shadow of a doubt. And because history never seems like history when you are living through it, it is tempting for us to think the same.” quote by John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/john-d-barrow-4552_doubt_history-is-full-of-people-who-thought-th_487981.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/john-d-barrow-4552_doubt_history-is-full-of-people-who-thought-th_487981.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/john-d-barrow-4552_doubt_history-is-full-of-people-who-thought-th_487981.png) > “History is full of people who thought they were right -- absolutely right, completely right, without a shadow of a doubt. And because history never seems like history when you are living through it, it is tempting for us to think the same.” [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) ## 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 overestimate certainty in their beliefs, especially during turbulent times, leading to blind confidence. **In simple terms:** Overconfidence in beliefs during crises. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions regularly. Themes confidence history perception Mood critical reflective Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - political debate - personal decision making - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive bias historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - How do you test the certainty of your beliefs? - What signs indicate you may be overconfident? A Different Perspective Blind confidence can ignore new evidence and cause errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [History never looks like history when you are living through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/history-never-looks-like-history-when-you-are-living-through-it/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/history-never-looks-like-history-when-you-are-living-through-it-it/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [“Australian History: … does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/australian-history-does-not-read-like-history-but-like-the-most/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Right around the end of the fifties, college students and young people in general, began to realize that this music was almost like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-browne/right-around-the-end-of-the-fifties-college-students-and-young-people/) [Jackson Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-browne/) > [I love art, and I love history, but it is living art and living history that I love. It is in the interest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-love-art-and-i-love-history-but-it-is-living-art-and-living-history/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [You can learn as much about the history from reading about the present as you can vice versa, that is learning about the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/you-can-learn-as-much-about-the-history-from-reading-about-the/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [History is a living whole. If one organ be removed, it is nothing but a lifeless mass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-harrison/history-is-a-living-whole-if-one-organ-be-removed-it-is-nothing-but-a/) Frederic Harrison > [History is a living horse laughing at a wooden horse. History is a wind blowing where it listeth. History is no sure thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/history-is-a-living-horse-laughing-at-a-wooden-horse-history-is-a/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [As for history, we are living in its ruins. 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Not just because of its survivors, and the stories they have to tell, but because of its enduring power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fesperman/history-is-a-living-entity-not-just-because-of-its-survivors-and-the/) Dan Fesperman > [I have always tried my best to do what I thought was the right thing at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-nixon/i-have-always-tried-my-best-to-do-what-i-thought-was-the-right-thing/) [Pat Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-nixon/) > [Thought is more than a right - it is the very breath of man. Whoever fetters thought attacks man himself. To speak, to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/thought-is-more-than-a-right-it-is-the-very-breath-of-man-whoever/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“I was not going to let fear of criticism make me shy away from doing what I thought was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-alanson/i-was-not-going-to-let-fear-of-criticism-make-me-shy-away-from-doing/) [Craig Alanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-alanson/) ## More by John D. Barrow > [“One of Nature's deep secrets is the fact that the outcomes of the laws of Nature do not have to possess the same symmetries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/one-of-nature-s-deep-secrets-is-the-fact-that-the-outcomes-of-the/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“The effect of the 'time becomes space' proposal is that there is no definite moment or point of creation. In more conventional quantum mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/the-effect-of-the-time-becomes-space-proposal-is-that-there-is-no/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Humans are distinguished further by the highly effective way in which they have pooled the individual intelligence of single individuals to produce a collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/humans-are-distinguished-further-by-the-highly-effective-way-in-which/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [We can predict the present without having to know everything about the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/we-can-predict-the-present-without-having-to-know-everything-about/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [All our surest statements about the nature of the world are mathematical statements, yet we do not know what mathematics "is"... and so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/all-our-surest-statements-about-the-nature-of-the-world-are/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“If the deep logic of what determines the value of the fine-structure constant also played a significant role in our understanding of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/if-the-deep-logic-of-what-determines-the-value-of-the-fine-structure/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Each of us is a complicated assymetrical outcome of the laws of electromagnetism and gravity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/each-of-us-is-a-complicated-assymetrical-outcome-of-the-laws-of/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Impressed by the success of high-level mathematics in the formulation of the general theory of relativity in 1915, we find that Einstein's life-long quest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/impressed-by-the-success-of-high-level-mathematics-in-the-formulation/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, who died in 1965, wrote of how the mere thought of the infinite led him to contemplate suicide: “A necessity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/jewish-philosopher-martin-buber-who-died-in-1965-wrote-of-how-the/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“As we look way back into the first instants of the Big Bang, we find the quantum world that we described in Chapter 3.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/as-we-look-way-back-into-the-first-instants-of-the-big-bang-we-find/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“The inclusion of just one contradiction (like 0 = 1) in an axiomatic system allows any statement about the objects in the system to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/the-inclusion-of-just-one-contradiction-like-0-1-in-an-axiomatic/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [Once upon a time when there was no time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/once-upon-a-time-when-there-was-no-time/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Life as we know, and partially understand it, is a classical example of what can occur when a sufficient level of complexity is attained.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/life-as-we-know-and-partially-understand-it-is-a-classical-example-of/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“There is no formula that can deliver all truth, all harmony, all simplicity. No Theory of Everything can ever provide total insight. For, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/there-is-no-formula-that-can-deliver-all-truth-all-harmony-all/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“The inflationary period of expansion does not smooth out irregularity by entropy-producing processes like those explored by the cosmologies of the seventies. Rather it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/the-inflationary-period-of-expansion-does-not-smooth-out-irregularity/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) [Explore all 109 John D. Barrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. 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Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) Harry Chapman > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is full of people who thought they were right -- absolutely right, completely right, without a shadow of a doubt. 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