--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it is curious how you can see that an…" description: "\"But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it.\" — Lydia Davis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png" --- # But it is curious how you can see that an idea is… ![“But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it.” quote by Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png) > “But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it.” [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can recognize a truth intellectually but fail to internalize it enough to change behavior. **In simple terms:** Knowing truth isn’t enough to act. Key Takeaway Bridge belief and action. Themes cognition motivation behavior psychology Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal decisions - ethical dilemmas - learning new skills - health habits Key Concepts cognitive dissonance self‑efficacy intentionality Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from acting on what you know? - How can you deepen conviction? A Different Perspective Intellectual acceptance may be shallow without emotional commitment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Deeply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-deeply-610903/) [Correct Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correct-believe-4993063/) [Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious/) [Curious Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious-idea-3106038/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [It's a curious idea to reproduce when you don't even like life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/it-s-a-curious-idea-to-reproduce-when-you-don-t-even-like-life/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [Human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to believe in a certain way, and can't really get rid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/human-beings-all-over-the-earth-have-this-curious-idea-that-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-an-idea-is-absolutely-true-and/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I have come to believe, deeply and firmly, that we can create a poverty free world if we want to. I came to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/i-have-come-to-believe-deeply-and-firmly-that-we-can-create-a-poverty/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [I seek the presidency because I believe deeply in the American promise and can no longer accept the diminishing of that promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-seek-the-presidency-because-i-believe-deeply-in-the-american/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [“Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the Light, although for the moment you do not see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wilson/believe-more-deeply-hold-your-face-up-to-the-light-although-for-the/) [Bill Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wilson/) > [On a spiritual level, on a place where you want to be a better human being and listen more, I try. I joke, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-gyllenhaal/on-a-spiritual-level-on-a-place-where-you-want-to-be-a-better-human/) [Jake Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-gyllenhaal/) > [“You must believe so strong and without a doubt that you can and will fulfill your dreams and gain your desires. You must in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-o-brien/you-must-believe-so-strong-and-without-a-doubt-that-you-can-and-will/) [Alan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-o-brien/) > [I believe deeply in therapy. There's no one in the world who wouldn't benefit from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-believe-deeply-in-therapy-there-s-no-one-in-the-world-who-wouldn-t/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [I do believe deeply in perfection. I'm never satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-do-believe-deeply-in-perfection-i-m-never-satisfied/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [“Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light,even though for the moment you do not see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wilson/believe-more-deeply-hold-your-face-up-to-the-light-even-though-for/) [Bill Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wilson/) > [I believe deeply that children are more powerful than oil, more beautiful than rivers, more precious than any other natural resource a country can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-kaye/i-believe-deeply-that-children-are-more-powerful-than-oil-more/) [Danny Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-kaye/) > [I have always been driven. I have always believed in what I believe very deeply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-campbell/i-have-always-been-driven-i-have-always-believed-in-what-i-believe/) [Alastair Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-campbell/) > [...I believe deeply that we canot solve the challenges of your time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-believe-deeply-that-we-canot-solve-the-challenges-of-your-time/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I believe in deeply ordered chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-believe-in-deeply-ordered-chaos/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More by Lydia Davis > [Heart weeps. Head tries to help heart. Head tells heart how it is, again: You will lose the ones you love. They will all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/heart-weeps-head-tries-to-help-heart-head-tells-heart-how-it-is-again/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-even-begin-to-feel-interested-in/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I always interrupt work with other work, either in a small way or big way, so that's normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-always-interrupt-work-with-other-work-either-in-a-small-way-or-big/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“because she couldn’t write the name of what she was: a wa wam owm owamn womn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/because-she-couldn-t-write-the-name-of-what-she-was-a-wa-wam-owm/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Everything was sharper, clearer, and closer, as though, before, I had been seeing only little bits at a time, not all of it, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/everything-was-sharper-clearer-and-closer-as-though-before-i-had-been/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He did not know exactly when to thank his hostess after attending a dinner or a weekend party. In his uncertainty, he would thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-did-not-know-exactly-when-to-thank-his-hostess-after-attending-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“There was no confusion of our bodies. I knew which arm was his and which mine, and which leg, and which shoulder. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/there-was-no-confusion-of-our-bodies-i-knew-which-arm-was-his-and/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“So it’s not really $100 a shot because it goes on all day, from the start when you wake up and feel her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/so-it-s-not-really-100-a-shot-because-it-goes-on-all-day-from-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“The people of the town, though, remained strangers: I could not realize that I must be seeing some of them over and over again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-people-of-the-town-though-remained-strangers-i-could-not-realize/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He does not trust her: she will claim to be in a bad mood when she is not, and then require him to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-does-not-trust-her-she-will-claim-to-be-in-a-bad-mood-when-she-is/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I would recommend, definitely, developing a 'day job' that you like - don't expect to make money writing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-would-recommend-definitely-developing-a-day-job-that-you-like-don-t/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) [Explore all 135 Lydia Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## 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": "But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lydia Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-an-idea-is-absolutely-true-and-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-an-idea-is-absolutely-true-and-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/lydia-davis-3244_believe_but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-a_2226678.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply…” — Lydia Davis", "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": "Lydia Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But it is curious how you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-an-idea-is-absolutely-true-and-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-it-is-curious-how-you-can-see-that-an-idea-is-absolutely-true-and-2/#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 } } ] } ```