--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do think, half of what we call madness…" description: "\"I do think, half of what we call madness is just some poor slob dealing with pain by a strategy that annoys the people around him.\" — Lois McMaster Bujold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_annoying_i-do-think-half-of-what-we-call-madness_794277.jpg" --- # I do think, half of what we call madness is just some poor… ![“I do think, half of what we call madness is just some poor slob dealing with pain by a strategy that annoys the people around him.” quote by Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_annoying_i-do-think-half-of-what-we-call-madness_794277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_annoying_i-do-think-half-of-what-we-call-madness_794277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_annoying_i-do-think-half-of-what-we-call-madness_794277.jpg) > “I do think, half of what we call madness is just some poor slob dealing with pain by a strategy that annoys the people around him.” [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Madness can be a coping mechanism for pain, manifesting as disruptive behavior that affects others. **In simple terms:** Pain may drive irrational actions that irritate others. Key Takeaway Seek healthier coping strategies. Themes mental health pain behavior Mood somber reflective Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - stressful work - personal loss - relationship conflict Key Concepts psychology coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - How does your pain influence your actions? - Can you channel pain constructively? A Different Perspective Not all disruptive behavior stems from pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Maybe some poor slob would take you to bed if you weren’t such a ballbuster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/maybe-some-poor-slob-would-take-you-to-bed-if-you-weren-t-such-a/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [“She was still hugging the cat. “Poor slob,” she said, tickling his head, “poor slob without a name. It’s a little inconvenient, his not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/she-was-still-hugging-the-cat-poor-slob-she-said-tickling-his-head-2/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [There's nothing that annoys me more than people being horrible to my mates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-tomlinson/there-s-nothing-that-annoys-me-more-than-people-being-horrible-to-my/) [Louis Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-tomlinson/) > [Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving invitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nothing-annoys-people-so-much-as-not-receiving-invitations/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [My life has gotten a little more complicated than my ability to describe it. That used to be the definition of madness, now it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bharati-mukherjee/my-life-has-gotten-a-little-more-complicated-than-my-ability-to/) [Bharati Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bharati-mukherjee/) > [You need a touch of madness, just enough that you don't become stupid!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/you-need-a-touch-of-madness-just-enough-that-you-don-t-become-stupid/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Madness is just what a genius looks like to a tiny mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/madness-is-just-what-a-genius-looks-like-to-a-tiny-mind/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [“Jessie had never heard you could inherit madness. She thought madness was something that just happened to people in Shakespeare when the wind got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/jessie-had-never-heard-you-could-inherit-madness-she-thought-madness/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [I think we all have madness in us, it's just that I've realized mine and found a way to let it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glover/i-think-we-all-have-madness-in-us-it-s-just-that-i-ve-realized-mine/) [John Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glover/) > [Hmmm! for sum people madness will b just a next word! but for a few it is the life that has no end as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-for-sum-people-madness-will-b-just-a-next-word-but-for-a-few-it/) [Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/) > [To sell one's soul may be madness, but not to find out how much one could get for it is just plain dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-covert-comic-wwwcovertcomiccom/to-sell-one-s-soul-may-be-madness-but-not-to-find-out-how-much-one/) The Covert Comic @ Wwwcovertcomiccom > [What annoys us most in other people is oftentimes the same area God wants us to grow in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hart/what-annoys-us-most-in-other-people-is-oftentimes-the-same-area-god/) [Mark Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hart/) > [I feel that too much singing annoys people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-williams/i-feel-that-too-much-singing-annoys-people/) [Allison Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-williams/) > [“And do stop sneezing. It annoys me so much when people sneeze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/and-do-stop-sneezing-it-annoys-me-so-much-when-people-sneeze/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Contrary to those pseudo-serious Loud Pipes Save Lives stickers, noise basically annoys people and demonstrates that you are impolite and self-centered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-hough/contrary-to-those-pseudo-serious-loud-pipes-save-lives-stickers-noise/) [David L. Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-hough/) ## More by Lois McMaster Bujold > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Never do yourself, what you can con professionals into doing for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/never-do-yourself-what-you-can-con-professionals-into-doing-for-you/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“It reminded him of that definition of his father's. A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. The mind was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/it-reminded-him-of-that-definition-of-his-father-s-a-weapon-is-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“I was imagining the most bizarre things befalling you.” “Did they include a six-hundred-pound ice bear and a pirate poet?” “No…” “Then they weren’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-was-imagining-the-most-bizarre-things-befalling-you-did-they/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [There is a sad disconnectedness that overcomes a library when its owner is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-a-sad-disconnectedness-that-overcomes-a-library-when-its/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“No, amusing me only, I wonder if they realize how they are used?" "Not a bit. They think they are the emperors of creation."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/no-amusing-me-only-i-wonder-if-they-realize-how-they-are-used-not-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“You bastards are on the top of Imperial Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's very own shit list now, you bet. But under what name? Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/you-bastards-are-on-the-top-of-imperial-lord-auditor-miles-vorkosigan/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Anyway, if the Cetagandans really wanted to assassinate you, they'd hardly do it here. They'd slip something subtle under your skin that wouldn't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/anyway-if-the-cetagandans-really-wanted-to-assassinate-you-they-d/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Endure pain, find joy, and make your own meaning, because the universe certainly isn't going to supply it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/endure-pain-find-joy-and-make-your-own-meaning-because-the-universe/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Your Reverence, I do not hate any man in this world enough to inflict the results of my prayers upon him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/your-reverence-i-do-not-hate-any-man-in-this-world-enough-to-inflict/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“I always thought my parents could fix anything. Now it's my turn. Dear God, how did this happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-always-thought-my-parents-could-fix-anything-now-it-s-my-turn-dear/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“I think it is not so much the growth of virtue, as simply the replacement of prior vices with an addiction to one’s god.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-think-it-is-not-so-much-the-growth-of-virtue-as-simply-the/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Mark’s ideas tended to the bland, and there was no point in asking Miles, whose embittered suggestions all ran to things like Vomit Vanilla…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/mark-s-ideas-tended-to-the-bland-and-there-was-no-point-in-asking/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/the-dead-cannot-cry-out-for-justice-it-is-a-duty-of-the-living-to-do/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Gardens were meant to be seen, smelled, walked through, grubbed in. A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/gardens-were-meant-to-be-seen-smelled-walked-through-grubbed-in-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) [Explore all 392 Lois McMaster Bujold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) ## More Annoying quotes > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. 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