--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people will deny anything that…" description: "\"Some people will deny anything that displeases or scares them: unusual pain in their chests, unwanted lumps beneath their skin, or the fact that humans..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/michael-specter-8599_afraid_some-people-will-deny-anything-that-disp_3023199.png" --- # Some people will deny anything that displeases or scares… ![“Some people will deny anything that displeases or scares them: unusual pain in their chests, unwanted lumps beneath their skin, or the fact that humans share ancestry with apes are a few examples. Another is climate change.” quote by Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/michael-specter-8599_afraid_some-people-will-deny-anything-that-disp_3023199.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/michael-specter-8599_afraid_some-people-will-deny-anything-that-disp_3023199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/michael-specter-8599_afraid_some-people-will-deny-anything-that-disp_3023199.png) > “Some people will deny anything that displeases or scares them: unusual pain in their chests, unwanted lumps beneath their skin, or the fact that humans share ancestry with apes are a few examples. Another is climate change.” [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People deny uncomfortable truths, from health issues to climate change. **In simple terms:** Denial blocks truth. Key Takeaway Confront uncomfortable facts. Themes denial science health Mood concerned urgent Type scientific activist When to use this quote - medical screenings - climate activism - education - policy making Key Concepts cognitive bias environmental science public health Questions to Reflect On - Why do we avoid certain facts? - How to encourage acceptance? A Different Perspective Denial can be protective psychologically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) [Ape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ape/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skin/) ## Related quotes > [Because many people deny the Palestinian struggle. They deny them everything. They deny them humanity, they deny them the right to be on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/because-many-people-deny-the-palestinian-struggle-they-deny-them/) [Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/) > [There are three stages in scientific discovery. First, people deny that it is true, then they deny that it is important; finally they credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/there-are-three-stages-in-scientific-discovery-first-people-deny-that/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [REJECTION is the reason why people deny their true feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rejection-is-the-reason-why-people-deny-their-true-feelings/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People deny the truth until they're ready to accept it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/people-deny-the-truth-until-they-re-ready-to-accept-it/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [There is no future for a people who deny their past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-clayton-powell-jr/there-is-no-future-for-a-people-who-deny-their-past/) [Adam Clayton Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-clayton-powell-jr/) > [Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coretta-scott-king/freedom-and-justice-cannot-be-parceled-out-in-pieces-to-suit/) [Coretta Scott King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coretta-scott-king/) > [“There is no future for a people who deny their past. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-clayton-powell-jr-2/there-is-no-future-for-a-people-who-deny-their-past-adam-clayton/) Adam Clayton Powell Jr > [The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/the-same-people-who-can-deny-others-everything-are-famous-for/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Failures are part of life, but most people deny their persuasion due to fear of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/failures-are-part-of-life-but-most-people-deny-their-persuasion-due/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think little of people who will deny their history because it doesn't present the picture they would like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald-fraser/i-think-little-of-people-who-will-deny-their-history-because-it-doesn/) [George MacDonald Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald-fraser/) > [“Violence is one way to silence people, to deny their voice and their credibility, to assert your right to control over their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/violence-is-one-way-to-silence-people-to-deny-their-voice-and-their/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [On some level, you are going to like being with or working with one person more than another. To deny any favoritism within you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whipple/on-some-level-you-are-going-to-like-being-with-or-working-with-one/) [Robert Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whipple/) > [“There are three stages of scientific discovery: first people deny it is true; then they deny it is important; finally they credit the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/there-are-three-stages-of-scientific-discovery-first-people-deny-it/) [Alexander Von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/) > [“Most people would deny such a world (ancient highly advanced civilizations in the remote past) ever existed because it would be so at odds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/most-people-would-deny-such-a-world-ancient-highly-advanced/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [It seems to be the modern Canadian approach to Indigenous people: rather than deny their problems or accuse them of creating them through their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/it-seems-to-be-the-modern-canadian-approach-to-indigenous-people/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) ## More by Michael Specter > [There are always potential side effects for every vaccine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-always-potential-side-effects-for-every-vaccine/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Until the Nineteen-Eighties, when Deng Xiaoping designated the area as China's first special economic zone, Shenzhen had been a tiny fishing village. Suddenly, eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/until-the-nineteen-eighties-when-deng-xiaoping-designated-the-area-as/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [There are people who could watch a hurricane like Sandy blow out of the Atlantic every other day and blame it on anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-people-who-could-watch-a-hurricane-like-sandy-blow-out-of/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [We're lying ourselves into believing things are untrue, like organic food will solve all our problems, or vitamins will make us healthy, or we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/we-re-lying-ourselves-into-believing-things-are-untrue-like-organic/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [I started to write about science and medicine at the 'Washington Post,' in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/i-started-to-write-about-science-and-medicine-at-the-washington-post/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Clearly, some of the reason people embrace alternatives and reject vaccines is that they are angry and mistrustful of government and of pharmaceutical conglomerates.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/clearly-some-of-the-reason-people-embrace-alternatives-and-reject/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [The numbers matter: underreporting of Lyme disease obscures the true burden of the illnesses, on individuals as well as on health-care systems. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-numbers-matter-underreporting-of-lyme-disease-obscures-the-true/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [There is a major problem with reliance on placebos, like most vitamins and antioxidants. Everyone gets upset about Big Science, Big Pharma, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-is-a-major-problem-with-reliance-on-placebos-like-most-vitamins/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Denialist arguments are often bolstered by accurate information taken wildly out of context, wielded selectively, and supported by fake experts who often don't seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/denialist-arguments-are-often-bolstered-by-accurate-information-taken/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Your dollar cheeseburger isn't a dollar if you factor in what it's going to cost in health care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/your-dollar-cheeseburger-isn-t-a-dollar-if-you-factor-in-what-it-s/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [To suggest that organic vegetables, which cost far more than conventional produce, can feed billions of people in parts of the world without roads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/to-suggest-that-organic-vegetables-which-cost-far-more-than/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [The history of agriculture is the history of humans breeding seeds and animals to produce traits we want in our crops and livestock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/the-history-of-agriculture-is-the-history-of-humans-breeding-seeds/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [With a hundred and seventy-eight machines to sequence the precise order of the billions of chemicals within a molecule of DNA, B.G.I. produces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/with-a-hundred-and-seventy-eight-machines-to-sequence-the-precise/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Be sceptical, ask questions, demand proof. Demand evidence. Don't take anything for granted. But here's the thing: When you get proof, you need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/be-sceptical-ask-questions-demand-proof-demand-evidence-don-t-take/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [Nobody celebrates when they avoid an illness they never expected to get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/nobody-celebrates-when-they-avoid-an-illness-they-never-expected-to/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) [Explore all 79 Michael Specter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some people will deny anything that displeases or scares them: unusual pain in their chests, unwanted lumps beneath their skin, or the fact that humans share ancestry with apes are a few examples. 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