--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Illusions are the truths we live by until…" description: "\"Illusions are the truths we live by until we know better.\" — Nancy Gibbs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png" --- # Illusions are the truths we live by until we know better. ![“Illusions are the truths we live by until we know better.” quote by Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png) > “Illusions are the truths we live by until we know better.” [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Illusions act as provisional truths until better knowledge replaces them. **In simple terms:** We live by false beliefs until we learn more. Key Takeaway Question and update your assumptions. Themes cognition truth learning illusion Mood curious introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - media consumption - personal growth - science Key Concepts critical thinking epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs have you outgrown? - How do you test your assumptions? 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They don't know any better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/unfortunately-people-are-not-rebelling-against-microsoft-they-don-t/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Out of every hundred people, those who always know better: fifty-two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/out-of-every-hundred-people-those-who-always-know-better-fifty-two/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [You know yourself better than anyone and you have to trust that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/you-know-yourself-better-than-anyone-and-you-have-to-trust-that/) Ruel > [I know that you're better off making your own products, not just waiting for someone to hand you something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-winslow/i-know-that-you-re-better-off-making-your-own-products-not-just/) [Michael Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-winslow/) > [I'm not sure if men really understand this, but I don't think there's a woman in America who really expects her life to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-romney/i-m-not-sure-if-men-really-understand-this-but-i-don-t-think-there-s/) [Ann Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-romney/) > [Make love to me like you know I am better than the worst thing I ever did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/make-love-to-me-like-you-know-i-am-better-than-the-worst-thing-i-ever/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [“They will not face the fact that the military professionals, while some have ideas about society in general that are distorted and must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach/they-will-not-face-the-fact-that-the-military-professionals-while/) [T. R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I know you better than you know yourself. So don't say I'm crazy, I know very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fefe-dobson/i-know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself-so-don-t-say-i-m-crazy-i/) [Fefe Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fefe-dobson/) ## More by Nancy Gibbs > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [The millennials were raised in a cocoon, their anxious parents afraid to let them go out in the park to play. So should we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/the-millennials-were-raised-in-a-cocoon-their-anxious-parents-afraid/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Be bored and see where it takes you, because the imagination's dusty wilderness is worth crossing if you want to sculpt your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/be-bored-and-see-where-it-takes-you-because-the-imagination-s-dusty/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [As you probably know, I've written a lot about the presidency, so it's obviously exciting when you get to interview a president and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/as-you-probably-know-i-ve-written-a-lot-about-the-presidency-so-it-s/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ \[Former chief executives\] come away thinking that America needs a strong, functioning presidency to succeed, and they become very protective of that office. Democrats… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/former-chief-executives-come-away-thinking-that-america-needs-a/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [It's hard to think of any tool, any instrument, any object in history with which so many developed so close a relationship so quickly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/it-s-hard-to-think-of-any-tool-any-instrument-any-object-in-history/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [“Lydon Johnson realized he really was President, that his identity had changed by President Kennedy's shocking death, when aides who had been like family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/lydon-johnson-realized-he-really-was-president-that-his-identity-had/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [A typical smart phone has more computing power than Apollo 11 when it landed a man on the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/a-typical-smart-phone-has-more-computing-power-than-apollo-11-when-it/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [George W. Bush, though a president's son, is cast as Reagan's heir even more than his father's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/george-w-bush-though-a-president-s-son-is-cast-as-reagan-s-heir-even/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [For God to be kept out of the classroom or out of America's public debate by nervous school administrators or overcautious politicians serves no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/for-god-to-be-kept-out-of-the-classroom-or-out-of-america-s-public/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Pain is the most private experience, but its causes, whether natural or man-made, demand public accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/pain-is-the-most-private-experience-but-its-causes-whether-natural-or/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [On the court, Jason Collins is not a huge basketball star, but he has already claimed his place in civil rights history as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/on-the-court-jason-collins-is-not-a-huge-basketball-star-but-he-has/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [When you are a media celebrity, every word you speak is dissected, as are those you choose not to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/when-you-are-a-media-celebrity-every-word-you-speak-is-dissected-as/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [If you want to humble an empire it makes sense to maim its cathedrals. They are symbols of its faith, and when they crumple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/if-you-want-to-humble-an-empire-it-makes-sense-to-maim-its-cathedrals/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [“The wand is mighter then the sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/the-wand-is-mighter-then-the-sword/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) [Explore all 179 Nancy Gibbs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## More Illusion quotes > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 3,604 Illusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Illusions are the truths we live by until we know better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Gibbs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-until-we-know-better/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Illusion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-until-we-know-better/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/nancy-gibbs-2206_illusion_illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-unti_2518190.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Illusions are the truths we live by until we know better.” — Nancy Gibbs", "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": "Nancy Gibbs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Illusions are the truths we live...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-until-we-know-better/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/illusions-are-the-truths-we-live-by-until-we-know-better/#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 } } ] } ```