--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I start a new seminar I tell my…" description: "\"“When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will undoubtedly contradict myself, and that I will mean both things.”\" — Madeleine L'Engle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png" --- # When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will… ![“When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will undoubtedly contradict myself, and that I will mean both things.” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png) > ““When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will undoubtedly contradict myself, and that I will mean both things.”” [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges inevitable contradictions in teaching and embraces complexity. **In simple terms:** Teaching can hold opposing ideas simultaneously. Key Takeaway Accept and explore contradictions. Themes education philosophy complexity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type pedagogical reflective When to use this quote - classroom discussions - curriculum design - student debates Key Concepts dialectics paradox critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can contradictions deepen understanding? - When is consistency more important? A Different Perspective Contradictions may confuse learners if not framed clearly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradict/) [Contradict Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradict-mean-5653633/) [New Seminar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-seminar-5653635/) [Seminar Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seminar-tell-5653634/) [Undoubtedly Contradict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undoubtedly-contradict-5653632/) ## Related quotes > [“When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will undoubtedly contradict myself, and that I will mean both things. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-students-that-i-will-undoubtedly-2/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have this idea of myself as this quiet, observant, thoughtful child, which my parents roundly contradict. They claim that I was loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-have-this-idea-of-myself-as-this-quiet-observant-thoughtful-child/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [All of which was OK, as that proved then, I certainly wouldn't contradict it as a necessary sense of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/all-of-which-was-ok-as-that-proved-then-i-certainly-wouldn-t/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [“As long as she persisted in her belief that bafflement justified her actions, she felt confident no one would contradict her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/as-long-as-she-persisted-in-her-belief-that-bafflement-justified-her/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [“Millions of business people are each constantly forced to choose between their desire to not be a bad person and their desire to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/millions-of-business-people-are-each-constantly-forced-to-choose/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If you don't contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you're not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-you-don-t-contradict-yourself-on-a-regular-basis-then-you-re-not/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and right. You can't all be correct. And what if all of you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-major-religions-on-the-earth-contradict-each-other-left-and-right/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Some, merely to contradict what I had said, did not scruple to cast doubt upon things they had seen with their own eyes again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/some-merely-to-contradict-what-i-had-said-did-not-scruple-to-cast/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“I have been granted the terrible privilege of deciding what would have happened with no one left to contradict me. And maybe I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-have-been-granted-the-terrible-privilege-of-deciding-what-would/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [In a world where people want answers immediately, I'm behaving a lot of the time in ways that contradict certain people's beliefs, or normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/in-a-world-where-people-want-answers-immediately-i-m-behaving-a-lot/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [“To hold two ideas that contradict each other is to flirt with absurdity, and humans are creatures who spend their lives trying to convince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/to-hold-two-ideas-that-contradict-each-other-is-to-flirt-with/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In reply, I can only plead that a discovery which seems to contradict the general tenor of previous investigations is naturally received with much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/in-reply-i-can-only-plead-that-a-discovery-which-seems-to-contradict/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Religions contradict one another-on small matters, such as whether we should put on a hat or take one off on entering a house of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/religions-contradict-one-another-on-small-matters-such-as-whether-we/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Our law and our morality contradict one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/our-law-and-our-morality-contradict-one-another/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [“No need to be intimidated, tesoro, but do be careful." "See, those two statements seem like they contradict each other to me, Gio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hunter/no-need-to-be-intimidated-tesoro-but-do-be-careful-see-those-two/) [elizabeth hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hunter/) ## More by Madeleine L'Engle > [“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-i-have-to-learn-is-how-not-to-be/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written-and-if-the-book/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/goodness-has-never-been-a-guarantee-of-safety/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/faith-is-what-makes-life-bearable-with-all-its-tragedies-and/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/instead-of-rejoicing-in-this-glorious-impossible-which-gives-meaning/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-have-never-lived-before-until-this-summer-i-did-not-know-what-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [On the other side of pain, there is still love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/on-the-other-side-of-pain-there-is-still-love/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-and-it-is-only-in-vulnerability-and-risk/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-was-the-most-horrible-the-most-repellent-thing-she-had-ever-seen/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-feel-as-though-i-m-not-breathing-when-i-m-out-of-his-presence-he-s/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [If we aren't capable of being hurt we aren't capable of feeling joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-we-aren-t-capable-of-being-hurt-we-aren-t-capable-of-feeling-joy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) [Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More Contradict quotes > [“No need to be intimidated, tesoro, but do be careful." "See, those two statements seem like they contradict each other to me, Gio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hunter/no-need-to-be-intimidated-tesoro-but-do-be-careful-see-those-two/) [elizabeth hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hunter/) > [“Our law and our morality contradict one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/our-law-and-our-morality-contradict-one-another/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [Religions contradict one another-on small matters, such as whether we should put on a hat or take one off on entering a house of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/religions-contradict-one-another-on-small-matters-such-as-whether-we/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In reply, I can only plead that a discovery which seems to contradict the general tenor of previous investigations is naturally received with much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/in-reply-i-can-only-plead-that-a-discovery-which-seems-to-contradict/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [“To hold two ideas that contradict each other is to flirt with absurdity, and humans are creatures who spend their lives trying to convince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/to-hold-two-ideas-that-contradict-each-other-is-to-flirt-with/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In a world where people want answers immediately, I'm behaving a lot of the time in ways that contradict certain people's beliefs, or normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/in-a-world-where-people-want-answers-immediately-i-m-behaving-a-lot/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [“I have been granted the terrible privilege of deciding what would have happened with no one left to contradict me. And maybe I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-have-been-granted-the-terrible-privilege-of-deciding-what-would/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [Some, merely to contradict what I had said, did not scruple to cast doubt upon things they had seen with their own eyes again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/some-merely-to-contradict-what-i-had-said-did-not-scruple-to-cast/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and right. You can't all be correct. And what if all of you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-major-religions-on-the-earth-contradict-each-other-left-and-right/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you don't contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you're not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-you-don-t-contradict-yourself-on-a-regular-basis-then-you-re-not/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Millions of business people are each constantly forced to choose between their desire to not be a bad person and their desire to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/millions-of-business-people-are-each-constantly-forced-to-choose/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“As long as she persisted in her belief that bafflement justified her actions, she felt confident no one would contradict her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/as-long-as-she-persisted-in-her-belief-that-bafflement-justified-her/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [All of which was OK, as that proved then, I certainly wouldn't contradict it as a necessary sense of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/all-of-which-was-ok-as-that-proved-then-i-certainly-wouldn-t/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [I have this idea of myself as this quiet, observant, thoughtful child, which my parents roundly contradict. They claim that I was loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-have-this-idea-of-myself-as-this-quiet-observant-thoughtful-child/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [If asked whether you love God, say nothing. This is because if you say, 'I do not love God,'you are an unbeliever. If, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fudhayl-bin-iyyadh/if-asked-whether-you-love-god-say-nothing-this-is-because-if-you-say/) [Al-Fudhayl bin 'Iyyadh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fudhayl-bin-iyyadh/) [Browse all 124 Contradict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradict/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will undoubtedly contradict myself, and that I will mean both things.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madeleine L'Engle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-students-that-i-will-undoubtedly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contradict" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-students-that-i-will-undoubtedly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/madeleine-l-engle-345_contradict_when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-stu_1526420.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I start a new seminar I tell my students that I will undoubtedly contradict myself, and that I will…” — Madeleine L'Engle", "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": "Madeleine L'Engle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When I start a new seminar...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-students-that-i-will-undoubtedly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-i-start-a-new-seminar-i-tell-my-students-that-i-will-undoubtedly/#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 } } ] } ```