--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our desire to conform is greater than our…" description: "\"Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for objective facts.\" — Margaret Drabble" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png" --- # Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for… ![“Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for objective facts.” quote by Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png) > “Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for objective facts.” [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to follow social norms even when facts contradict them. **In simple terms:** Conformity can override truth. Key Takeaway Question assumptions before following the crowd. Themes social pressure truth critical thinking Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team meetings - political debates - media consumption Key Concepts conformity bias groupthink Questions to Reflect On - When have you ignored facts to fit in? - How can you encourage fact‑based discussions? A Different Perspective Group consensus can sometimes suppress valuable dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [“Objective facts are Nash equilibrium points in the contest of competing wills.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-e/objective-facts-are-nash-equilibrium-points-in-the-contest-of/) E.e.e > [There comes a point where emotions must give way to objective facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/there-comes-a-point-where-emotions-must-give-way-to-objective-facts/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [But what is significant is that if you don't want to like and accept somebody, one excuse is as good as another. The objective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/but-what-is-significant-is-that-if-you-don-t-want-to-like-and-accept/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [It took me a long time to understand the relationship between ideas and between objective facts. But after I clearly understood this relationship, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-understand-the-relationship-between-ideas/) [Ludwig Mies van der Rohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/) > [“There are no objective facts,” he had said. “Every report on facts is only somebody’s opinion. It is, therefore, useless to write about facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-objective-facts-he-had-said-every-report-on-facts-is/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I've spent my life arguing for greater respect between men and women and anyone who takes the time to read my books or listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-ve-spent-my-life-arguing-for-greater-respect-between-men-and-women/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [The longer I live the greater is my respect for manure in all its forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/the-longer-i-live-the-greater-is-my-respect-for-manure-in-all-its/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [The reality is not that I lack respect for the law; it's that I have greater respect for justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dechristopher/the-reality-is-not-that-i-lack-respect-for-the-law-it-s-that-i-have/) [Tim DeChristopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dechristopher/) > [No player or manager has greater respect for the umpires than I do, and I have demonstrated that over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/no-player-or-manager-has-greater-respect-for-the-umpires-than-i-do/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [No man is greater than his respect for sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/no-man-is-greater-than-his-respect-for-sleep/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I think most of us would agree that people who have, say, little formal schooling but labor honestly and diligently to help feed, clothe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/i-think-most-of-us-would-agree-that-people-who-have-say-little-formal/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [people who pay greater respect to a wealthy villain than to an honest, upright man in poverty, almost deserve to be enslaved; they plainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hancock/people-who-pay-greater-respect-to-a-wealthy-villain-than-to-an-honest/) [John Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hancock/) > [I've developed a much greater respect for our politicians and every high-tech CEO. It's very easy to read about the things they did that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-saylor/i-ve-developed-a-much-greater-respect-for-our-politicians-and-every/) [Michael J. Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-saylor/) > [There is no way that anyone could experience a war and witness all the horror that it brings without gaining a greater respect for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/there-is-no-way-that-anyone-could-experience-a-war-and-witness-all/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More by Margaret Drabble > [“Fresh newsprint, good coffee, assorted texts, some messages on her BlackBerry, what more could the modern world offer?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/fresh-newsprint-good-coffee-assorted-texts-some-messages-on-her/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [When nothing is sure, everything is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/when-nothing-is-sure-everything-is-possible/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [The middle years, caught between children and parents, free of neither: the past stretches back too densely, it is too thickly populated, the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/the-middle-years-caught-between-children-and-parents-free-of-neither/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishment-my-education-ever-bestowed/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [I confidently predict the collapse of capitalism and the beginning of history. Something will go wrong in the machinery that converts money into money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/i-confidently-predict-the-collapse-of-capitalism-and-the-beginning-of/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“Minor talents or failing talents ask much of those who associate with them. They suck, they cling, they sour, they devour, and they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/minor-talents-or-failing-talents-ask-much-of-those-who-associate-with/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [How unjust life is, to make physical charm so immediately apparent or absent, when one can get away with vices untold for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/how-unjust-life-is-to-make-physical-charm-so-immediately-apparent-or/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [World War II put feminism on hold for a long time; the men went away to fight, a lot of women in those years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/world-war-ii-put-feminism-on-hold-for-a-long-time-the-men-went-away/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Scenery can be a violent stimulant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/scenery-can-be-a-violent-stimulant/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“Doing a jigsaw was not an intelligence test, or a personality assesment programme; it was a pursuit that lay somewhere between creation and imitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/doing-a-jigsaw-was-not-an-intelligence-test-or-a-personality/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [How extraordinary people are, that they get themselves into such situations where they go on doing what they dislike doing, and have no need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/how-extraordinary-people-are-that-they-get-themselves-into-such/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Nothing succeeds, they say, like success. And certainly nothing fails like failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/nothing-succeeds-they-say-like-success-and-certainly-nothing-fails/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“I don't see how you can go too far, in the right direction”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/i-don-t-see-how-you-can-go-too-far-in-the-right-direction/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Some of what we read in classical literature is not relative to our condition, but then many women novelists and poets have turned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/some-of-what-we-read-in-classical-literature-is-not-relative-to-our/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“The dining area of the Premier Inn is geared to dispel elderly apprehensions, not to reinforce them. It is noisy and colourful and full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/the-dining-area-of-the-premier-inn-is-geared-to-dispel-elderly/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) [Explore all 66 Margaret Drabble quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) ## More Conform quotes > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-the-ageless-law-of-nature-but-the/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) Benedict Fitzgerald > [ \[An engineer's\] invention causes things to come into existence from ideas, makes world conform to thought; whereas science, by deriving ideas from observation, makes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-mitcham/an-engineer-s-invention-causes-things-to-come-into-existence-from/) Carl Mitcham > [You know the question: 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Answer: 'Practise?' Well, in my case, I got there by not practising. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/you-know-the-question-how-do-you-get-to-carnegie-hall-answer-practise/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [More importantly, the Court forgets that ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/more-importantly-the-court-forgets-that-ours-is-a-government-of-laws/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [No one familiar with the common law of England can read the Constitution of the United States without observing the great desire of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-freeman-miller/no-one-familiar-with-the-common-law-of-england-can-read-the/) [Samuel Freeman Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-freeman-miller/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Fathers never have exactly the daughters they want because they invent a notion a them that the daughters have to conform to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/fathers-never-have-exactly-the-daughters-they-want-because-they/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/extroversion-is-an-enormously-appealing-personality-style-but-we-ve/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ's image. Not to make you a smarter sinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/the-bible-was-written-not-to-satisfy-your-curiosity-but-to-help-you/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) Browse all 640 Conform quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for objective facts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Drabble" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-our-respect-for-objective-facts/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conform" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-our-respect-for-objective-facts/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/margaret-drabble-10413_conform_our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-ou_1989557.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our desire to conform is greater than our respect for objective facts.” — Margaret Drabble", "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": "Margaret Drabble", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our desire to conform is greater...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-our-respect-for-objective-facts/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/our-desire-to-conform-is-greater-than-our-respect-for-objective-facts/#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 } } ] } ```