--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D…" description: "\"Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D. R. Hofstadter and D. C. Dennett (eds.) The Mind's I, 1981.\" — Marvin Minsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg" --- # Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D. R. Hofstadter… ![“Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D. R. Hofstadter and D. C. Dennett (eds.) The Mind's I, 1981.” quote by Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg) > “Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D. R. Hofstadter and D. C. Dennett (eds.) The Mind's I, 1981.” [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Logic alone cannot capture the complexity of lived experience. **In simple terms:** Logic is limited in real life. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of pure logic. Themes philosophy reality logic Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - policy making - everyday decision making - scientific research - ethical debates Key Concepts Epistemology pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - When does logic fail in your work? - How can intuition complement logic? A Different Perspective Logic may still be useful in formal contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eds Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eds-mind-5199644/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Logic Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic-doesn-334746/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind 1981](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-1981-5199642/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-hofstadter-5199643/) ## Related quotes > [Logic doesn't apply to the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“I swear stupidity is contagious and as hard as I try, logic doesn't seem to be the cure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-canosa/i-swear-stupidity-is-contagious-and-as-hard-as-i-try-logic-doesn-t/) [Jamie Canosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-canosa/) > [Follow your heart because if you always trust your mind you will always act on logic & logic doesn't always lead to happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/follow-your-heart-because-if-you-always-trust-your-mind-you-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Logic doesn't overcome pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-j-strauss/logic-doesn-t-overcome-pain/) [Claudia J. Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-j-strauss/) > [“Logic doesn’t work in human relations, I guess,” he told Ella. “I try to understand myself as I tried to understand the bosses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hartshorn/logic-doesn-t-work-in-human-relations-i-guess-he-told-ella-i-try-to/) [Peter Hartshorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hartshorn/) > [“Most of us, in our civilized society, rely too heavily on reasoning capacity to make things happen. We've been raised to believe that logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-cohen/most-of-us-in-our-civilized-society-rely-too-heavily-on-reasoning/) [Herb Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-cohen/) > [“Forget logic...Logic doesn't know what you want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/forget-logic-logic-doesn-t-know-what-you-want/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [“...I guess when you believe the word of a complete liar, logic doesn't come into it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/i-guess-when-you-believe-the-word-of-a-complete-liar-logic-doesn-t/) [A.S. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [It's really hard coming of age in today's society, where society wants you to make the decision of what you want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rooney-mara/it-s-really-hard-coming-of-age-in-today-s-society-where-society-wants/) [Rooney Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rooney-mara/) > [Part of life is doing stuff that you don't want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named/part-of-life-is-doing-stuff-that-you-don-t-want-to-do/) [One Who Does Not Wish To Be Named](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Marvin Minsky > [Theorems often tell us complex truths about the simple things, but only rarely tell us simple truths about the complex ones. To believe otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/theorems-often-tell-us-complex-truths-about-the-simple-things-but/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [We wanted to solve robot problems and needed some vision, action, reasoning, planning, and so forth. We even used some structural learning, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-wanted-to-solve-robot-problems-and-needed-some-vision-action/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [We rarely recognize how wonderful it is that a person can traverse an entire lifetime without making a single really serious mistake — like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-rarely-recognize-how-wonderful-it-is-that-a-person-can-traverse-an/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Each practitioner thinks there's one magic way to get a machine to be smart, and so they're all wasting their time in a sense.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/each-practitioner-thinks-there-s-one-magic-way-to-get-a-machine-to-be/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [To say that the universe exists is silly, because it says that the universe is one of the things in the universe. So there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/to-say-that-the-universe-exists-is-silly-because-it-says-that-the/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/you-don-t-understand-anything-until-you-learn-it-more-than-one-way/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [ A couple of hundred years from now, maybe \[science fiction writers\] Isaac Asimov and Fred Pohl will be considered the important philosophers of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/a-couple-of-hundred-years-from-now-maybe-science-fiction-writers/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [All intelligent problem solvers are subject to the same ultimate constraints - limitations on space, time, and materials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/all-intelligent-problem-solvers-are-subject-to-the-same-ultimate/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“But there’s a big difference between “impossible” and “hard to imagine.” The first is about it; the second is about you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/but-there-s-a-big-difference-between-impossible-and-hard-to-imagine/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [But the big feature of human-level intelligence is not what it does what it is works but what it does when it's stuck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/but-the-big-feature-of-human-level-intelligence-is-not-what-it-does/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [What magical trick makes us intelligent? The trick is that there is no trick. The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/what-magical-trick-makes-us-intelligent-the-trick-is-that-there-is-no/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Everything, including that which happens in our brains, depends on these and only on these: A set of fixed, deterministic laws. A purely random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/everything-including-that-which-happens-in-our-brains-depends-on/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [I believed in realism, as summarized by John McCarthy's comment to the effect that if we worked really hard, we'd have an intelligent system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/i-believed-in-realism-as-summarized-by-john-mccarthy-s-comment-to-the/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [By the way, it was his simulations that helped out in Jurassic Park - without them, there would have been only a few dinosaurs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/by-the-way-it-was-his-simulations-that-helped-out-in-jurassic-park/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [If you just have a single problem to solve, then fine, go ahead and use a neural network. But if you want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/if-you-just-have-a-single-problem-to-solve-then-fine-go-ahead-and-use/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) [Explore all 87 Marvin Minsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) ## More Logic quotes > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) [David Oderberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oderberg/) > [If we were to expect the unexpected, then the unexpected would become expected, so we might as well say expect the expected, but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-were-to-expect-the-unexpected-then-the-unexpected-would-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/when-dealing-with-people-remember-you-are-not-dealing-with-creatures/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“What you owe your critics are your RESULTS not explanations not defence just RESULTS.Evidence terminates Arguments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/what-you-owe-your-critics-are-your-results-not-explanations-not/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [Companies are not charitable enterprises: They hire workers to make profits. In the United States, this logic still works. In Europe, it hardly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/companies-are-not-charitable-enterprises-they-hire-workers-to-make/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Trying to understand the way nature works involves a most terrible test of human reasoning ability. It involves subtle trickery, beautiful tightropes of logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/trying-to-understand-the-way-nature-works-involves-a-most-terrible/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The dialectic is neither fiction nor mysticism, but a science of the forms of our thinking insofar as it is not limited to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/the-dialectic-is-neither-fiction-nor-mysticism-but-a-science-of-the/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [Intuitionists think that there are cases in which, say, some identity statement between real numbers is neither true nor false, even though we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-f-heck/intuitionists-think-that-there-are-cases-in-which-say-some-identity/) [Richard F. Heck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-f-heck/) > [There's a simple arithmetical logic at work. Build more unaffordable and not always architecturally sympathetic apartments, watch the rents rise, the tarts leave, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-simple-arithmetical-logic-at-work-build-more-unaffordable/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) [Browse all 3,202 Logic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D. R. Hofstadter and D. C. Dennett (eds.) The Mind's I, 1981.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marvin Minsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d-r-hofstadter-and-d-c-dennett/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Logic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d-r-hofstadter-and-d-c-dennett/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/marvin-minsky-7760_logic_logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d_3071798.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Logic doesn't apply to the real world. D. R. Hofstadter and D. C. Dennett (eds.) The Mind's I, 1981.” — Marvin Minsky", "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": "Marvin Minsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Logic doesn't apply to the real...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d-r-hofstadter-and-d-c-dennett/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/logic-doesn-t-apply-to-the-real-world-d-r-hofstadter-and-d-c-dennett/#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 } } ] } ```