--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I care what is actually true, even more…" description: "\"I care what is actually true, even more than what I hope is true.\" — Michael Shermer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/michael-shermer-2567_actually_i-care-what-is-actually-true-even-more-t_2955416.jpg" --- # I care what is actually true, even more than what I hope… ![“I care what is actually true, even more than what I hope is true.” quote by Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/michael-shermer-2567_actually_i-care-what-is-actually-true-even-more-t_2955416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/michael-shermer-2567_actually_i-care-what-is-actually-true-even-more-t_2955416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/michael-shermer-2567_actually_i-care-what-is-actually-true-even-more-t_2955416.jpg) > “I care what is actually true, even more than what I hope is true.” [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth‑seeking should prioritize evidence over hopeful wishes. **In simple terms:** He values facts more than hopes. Key Takeaway Prioritize evidence. Themes critical thinking truth skepticism Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - science education - media literacy - decision making - research Key Concepts cognitive bias epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify your beliefs? - When do hopes outweigh facts? A Different Perspective Hope can cloud judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [I am sure that this is true to me I hope its true to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-sure-that-this-is-true-to-me-i-hope-its-true-to-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hope, true hope, has proved as important as any medication I might prescribe or any procedure I might perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-groopman/hope-true-hope-has-proved-as-important-as-any-medication-i-might/) [Jerome Groopman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-groopman/) > [Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/wishes-are-false-hope-is-true-hope-makes-its-own-magic/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [This is kinda actually true..lol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-kinda-actually-true-lol/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What makes you care about nature, about the planet? Is it really that you're afraid of what's going to happen if you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/what-makes-you-care-about-nature-about-the-planet-is-it-really-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Don't tell her you care when you actually don't cuz you give her hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia/don-t-tell-her-you-care-when-you-actually-don-t-cuz-you-give-her-hope/) [Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia/) > [“Often people that say they “don’t care” actually do. The moment they discuss you with their friends and family, compete with you, bad mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/often-people-that-say-they-don-t-care-actually-do-the-moment-they/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Pretending not to care but actually wanting to cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pretending-not-to-care-but-actually-wanting-to-cry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm trying to find out what's actually true, which is nearly always something, if not a world of things, that you can't read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-m-trying-to-find-out-what-s-actually-true-which-is-nearly-always/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I'm actually a true lyricist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-m-actually-a-true-lyricist/) [Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/) > [The thing is, when everyone is trying to persuade you that a thing you know to be true isn't actually true, you start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-thing-is-when-everyone-is-trying-to-persuade-you-that-a-thing-you/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [I put my head on my pillow now, knowing that in the later stages in my career, from 2010 on, I did everything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-fish/i-put-my-head-on-my-pillow-now-knowing-that-in-the-later-stages-in-my/) [Mardy Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-fish/) > [You are more likely to believe that a statement is true if you have heard it before - whether or not it is actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/you-are-more-likely-to-believe-that-a-statement-is-true-if-you-have/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [We've said it many times, so it sounds like a cliche, but it's actually true that we take it game by game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-odegaard/we-ve-said-it-many-times-so-it-sounds-like-a-cliche-but-it-s-actually/) [Martin Odegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-odegaard/) > [Sometimes when persons say definitely it sounds actually less true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/sometimes-when-persons-say-definitely-it-sounds-actually-less-true/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) ## More by Michael Shermer > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“According to Dembski, for example, “scientific creationism has prior religious commitments whereas intelligent design does not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/according-to-dembski-for-example-scientific-creationism-has-prior/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [The first-cause and prime-mover argument, brilliantly proffered by St. Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century (and brilliantly refuted by David Hume in the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/the-first-cause-and-prime-mover-argument-brilliantly-proffered-by-st/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Mind is just a word we use to describe neural activity in the brain. 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We know this because if a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/mind-is-just-a-word-we-use-to-describe-neural-activity-in-the-brain/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Through no divine design or cosmic plan, we have inherited the mantle of life's caretaker on the earth, the only home we have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/through-no-divine-design-or-cosmic-plan-we-have-inherited-the-mantle/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [I always accepted the libertarian position of minimum regulation in the sale and use of firearms because I placed guns under the beneficial rubric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-always-accepted-the-libertarian-position-of-minimum-regulation-in/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [If spirituality is the sense of awe and humility in the face of the creation, what could be more awesome and humbling than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/if-spirituality-is-the-sense-of-awe-and-humility-in-the-face-of-the/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [We know evolution happened not because of transitional fossils such as A. natans but because of the convergence of evidence from such diverse fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/we-know-evolution-happened-not-because-of-transitional-fossils-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Yet basically, libertarians are for freedom and liberty for individuals, while recognizing that in order to be free we must also be protected. 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Science matters because it is the preeminent story of our age, an epic saga…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/darwin-matters-because-evolution-matters-evolution-matters-because/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/skepticism-is-not-a-position-that-you-stake-out-ahead-of-time-and/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Neuroscientist David Comings drew out the larger implications of such hallucinations for the relationship between our rational and spiritual brains: The psychedelic drugs like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/neuroscientist-david-comings-drew-out-the-larger-implications-of-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) [Explore all 160 Michael Shermer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## More Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I actually do sing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-actually-do-sing-sometimes/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. 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