--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As for my constant low-grade state of…" description: "\"“As for my constant low-grade state of confusion—the Blur is a term that seems to be sticking—let me break it into three categories: (1) things I shoul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png" --- # As for my constant low-grade state of confusion—the Blur… ![“As for my constant low-grade state of confusion—the Blur is a term that seems to be sticking—let me break it into three categories: (1) things I should know but never learned, (2) things I choose not to know, and (3) things I know but totally screw up.” quote by Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png) > ““As for my constant low-grade state of confusion—the Blur is a term that seems to be sticking—let me break it into three categories: (1) things I should know but never learned, (2) things I choose not to know, and (3) things I know but totally screw up.”” [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) ## 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 identifies three kinds of confusion: gaps in knowledge, willful ignorance, and mishandling what one knows. **In simple terms:** Three types of confusion: unknown, ignored, misused. Key Takeaway Recognize and address each confusion type. Themes self-awareness learning mistakes Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical self-help When to use this quote - education - personal development - workplace training Key Concepts cognitive bias knowledge gaps Questions to Reflect On - Which confusion type hinders you most? - How can you turn ignored gaps into learning? A Different Perspective Addressing one type doesn’t solve the others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur/) [Blur Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur-term-4956282/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Confusion Blur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion-blur-4956281/) [State Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-confusion-899197/) ## Related quotes > [In the world we live in, what we know and what we don't know are like Siamese twins, inseparable, existing in a state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/in-the-world-we-live-in-what-we-know-and-what-we-don-t-know-are-like/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [After Bush was elected in 2004 - please note that I didn't say 're-elected' - and I was walking around in my befuzzed state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/after-bush-was-elected-in-2004-please-note-that-i-didn-t-say-re/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [I try to stay in a constant state of confusion just because of the expression it leaves on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-try-to-stay-in-a-constant-state-of-confusion-just-because-of-the/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [I pretty much try to stay in a constant state of confusion just because of the expression it leaves on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-pretty-much-try-to-stay-in-a-constant-state-of-confusion-just/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [“ 'I'm not that easy to get rid of,' Andre retorts. 'As you know well. What state are you in? Besides confusion.' ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-kelling/i-m-not-that-easy-to-get-rid-of-andre-retorts-as-you-know-well-what/) [Lynn Kelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-kelling/) > [I used to go away for weeks in a state of confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-used-to-go-away-for-weeks-in-a-state-of-confusion/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [If childhood is still a state, it is now chiefly a state of confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/if-childhood-is-still-a-state-it-is-now-chiefly-a-state-of-confusion/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [“Fear is a society induced state of confusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/fear-is-a-society-induced-state-of-confusion/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Photoshop your life. Touch up the edges, adjust the tones, blur out the background, focus on yourself, and crop people out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photoshop-your-life-touch-up-the-edges-adjust-the-tones-blur-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [There were some great bands in the 90s like Blur and Oasis, The Stone Roses and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/there-were-some-great-bands-in-the-90s-like-blur-and-oasis-the-stone/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-camera-has-an-interest-in-turning-history-into-spectacle-but-none/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) [Paul Putner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-putner/) > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Maria Semple > [“The drivers here are horrible. And by horrible, I mean they don't realize I have someplace to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-drivers-here-are-horrible-and-by-horrible-i-mean-they-don-t/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [You come out into the world after a season of TV and you're just swearing and saying mean things to people and they're looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/you-come-out-into-the-world-after-a-season-of-tv-and-you-re-just/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Here’s something about Mom: she’s bad with annoyances, but great in a crisis. If a waiter doesn’t refill her water after she’s asked three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/here-s-something-about-mom-she-s-bad-with-annoyances-but-great-in-a/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Parking in Seattle is an eight-step process. Step one, find a place to park (gooood luuuuck!). Step two, back into the angled parking space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/parking-in-seattle-is-an-eight-step-process-step-one-find-a-place-to/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Eleanor's heart giggled with mad abundance: so much to share, so much goodwill, so many notes to compare, so many ways to help and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/eleanor-s-heart-giggled-with-mad-abundance-so-much-to-share-so-much/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [After decades spent in rewrite rooms surrounded by other shouting writers, I discovered that I work best alone. I like being in charge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/after-decades-spent-in-rewrite-rooms-surrounded-by-other-shouting/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Ten years ago I saw a documentary on the siege of that Moscow theater. After just forty-eight hours of the terrorists confining the hostages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/ten-years-ago-i-saw-a-documentary-on-the-siege-of-that-moscow-theater/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [When I'm sitting at my computer writing, I really have this fiendish smile on my face. I am not thinking about the past or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/when-i-m-sitting-at-my-computer-writing-i-really-have-this-fiendish/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Every single iceberg filled me with feelings of sadness and wonder. Not thoughts of sadness and wonder, mind you, because thoughts require a thinker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/every-single-iceberg-filled-me-with-feelings-of-sadness-and-wonder/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“The sight of Elgie flat on the slimy dock, groaning "My wife, my wife", with a gun pointed at him, and me jumping up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-sight-of-elgie-flat-on-the-slimy-dock-groaning-my-wife-my-wife/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [Maggie Shipstead's prose is so graceful and muscular, so dazzling, so sure-handed and fearless, that at times I had to remind myself to breathe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/maggie-shipstead-s-prose-is-so-graceful-and-muscular-so-dazzling-so/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [When your eyes are softly focused on the horizon for sustained periods, your brain releases endorphins. It's the same as a runner's high. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/when-your-eyes-are-softly-focused-on-the-horizon-for-sustained/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [My strength as a TV writer was my total lack of interest in television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/my-strength-as-a-tv-writer-was-my-total-lack-of-interest-in-television/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [Breezy, sophisticated, hilarious, rude and aching with sweetness: LOVE, NINA might be the most charming book I've ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/breezy-sophisticated-hilarious-rude-and-aching-with-sweetness-love/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) [Explore all 144 Maria Semple quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) ## More Blur quotes > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) [Paul Putner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-putner/) > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-camera-has-an-interest-in-turning-history-into-spectacle-but-none/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [There were some great bands in the 90s like Blur and Oasis, The Stone Roses and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/there-were-some-great-bands-in-the-90s-like-blur-and-oasis-the-stone/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Photoshop your life. Touch up the edges, adjust the tones, blur out the background, focus on yourself, and crop people out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photoshop-your-life-touch-up-the-edges-adjust-the-tones-blur-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Graffiti is like building a career. And there is a dialogue with the other artists out there mostly fellow writers because a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaws/graffiti-is-like-building-a-career-and-there-is-a-dialogue-with-the/) [KAWS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaws/) > [Love blurs your vision; but after it recedes, you can see more clearly than ever. It's like the tide going out, revealing whatever's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/love-blurs-your-vision-but-after-it-recedes-you-can-see-more-clearly/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Opposites blur and become one. If you open your mind, that is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-wesselhoeft/opposites-blur-and-become-one-if-you-open-your-mind-that-is/) [Conrad Wesselhoeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-wesselhoeft/) > [Life was a freight train barreling toward just one stop, our loved ones streaking past our windows in blurs of color and light. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/life-was-a-freight-train-barreling-toward-just-one-stop-our-loved/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/the-differences-between-a-tart-a-pie-and-a-quiche-are-a-blur/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [Equipped with cell phones, beepers, and handheld computers, the 'conspicuously industrious' blur the line between home and office by working anytime, anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-davis/equipped-with-cell-phones-beepers-and-handheld-computers-the/) [Jo Ann Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-davis/) > [Do you know how many ways love can hit you? So it makes you happy, or miserable? It makes you sick in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/do-you-know-how-many-ways-love-can-hit-you-so-it-makes-you-happy-or/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) [Browse all 275 Blur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As for my constant low-grade state of confusion—the Blur is a term that seems to be sticking—let me break it into three categories: (1) things I should know but never learned, (2) things I choose not to know, and (3) things I know but totally screw up.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maria Semple" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-confusion-the-blur-is-a-term/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-confusion-the-blur-is-a-term/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/maria-semple-2954_blur_as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-co_1408325.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As for my constant low-grade state of confusion—the Blur is a term that seems to be sticking—let me break it…” — Maria Semple", "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": "Maria Semple", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As for my constant low-grade state...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-confusion-the-blur-is-a-term/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/as-for-my-constant-low-grade-state-of-confusion-the-blur-is-a-term/#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 } } ] } ```