--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to assert a truth, first make…" description: "\"If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.\" — Neil deGrasse Tyson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png" --- # If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not… ![“If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png) > “If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.” [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Before presenting a claim as truth, verify it with evidence rather than personal desire. **In simple terms:** Check facts, not wishes. Key Takeaway Seek evidence first. Themes science truth bias Mood analytical skeptical Type scientific educational When to use this quote - research - policy making - media reporting - education Key Concepts Epistemology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your belief? - How do emotions shape perceived truth? A Different Perspective Confirmation bias may still influence interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assert/) [Assert Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assert-truth-701246/) [Being true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinion Desperately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion-desperately-4973469/) [Relatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatable/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Assert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-assert-4973468/) [Want True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-true-331808/) ## Related quotes > [“To assert as truth that which has no meaning is the core mission of humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-king/to-assert-as-truth-that-which-has-no-meaning-is-the-core-mission-of/) [Tom King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-king/) > [I claim that all those who think they can cherry-pick science simply don't understand how science works. That's what I claim. And if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-claim-that-all-those-who-think-they-can-cherry-pick-science-simply/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [So the history of discovery, particularly cosmic discovery, but discovery in general, scientific discovery, is one where at any given moment, there's a frontier.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/so-the-history-of-discovery-particularly-cosmic-discovery-but/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I don't want you to be with me forever, I just want you to be true throughout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishu-anand/i-don-t-want-you-to-be-with-me-forever-i-just-want-you-to-be-true/) [Ishu Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishu-anand/) > [I want true love, because I don't have so much time, and I want to spend my time with the right girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/i-want-true-love-because-i-don-t-have-so-much-time-and-i-want-to/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) > [Begin to listen to what you say. Don't say anything that you don't want to become true for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/begin-to-listen-to-what-you-say-don-t-say-anything-that-you-don-t/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Men are quick to believe what they want to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-ceasar/men-are-quick-to-believe-what-they-want-to-be-true/) [Julius Ceasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-ceasar/) > [“I want true love in this life, and true contentment and peace. But maybe the only way I can find those things is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kim/i-want-true-love-in-this-life-and-true-contentment-and-peace-but/) [Elizabeth Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kim/) > [When you lay your life out there, you want it to be as true as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morris/when-you-lay-your-life-out-there-you-want-it-to-be-as-true-as-possible/) [Jim Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morris/) > ['1600 Penn' was a hit. It's 2018. Anything you want can be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/1600-penn-was-a-hit-it-s-2018-anything-you-want-can-be-true/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [ “It is natural for the mind to believe, and for the will to love; \[47\] so that, for want of true objects, they must… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/it-is-natural-for-the-mind-to-believe-and-for-the-will-to-love-47-so/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“If you want to be a true citizen then, be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/if-you-want-to-be-a-true-citizen-then-be/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [I want to be true to who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-want-to-be-true-to-who-i-am/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [If you want to get true someone's love. first you need to make yourself to be loyal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/if-you-want-to-get-true-someone-s-love-first-you-need-to-make/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we convince ourselves that it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/sometimes-we-want-something-to-be-true-so-badly-that-we-convince/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More by Neil deGrasse Tyson > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The Pacific is the best toilet for satellites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-pacific-is-the-best-toilet-for-satellites/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [If you seek only easy problems to solve, then ultimately, there'll be nothing about you to distinguish yourself from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-seek-only-easy-problems-to-solve-then-ultimately-there-ll-be/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Science surrounds you. It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-surrounds-you-it-s-not-something-that-you-can-step-aside-step/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The idea that God resides in the unknown is what philosophers call the God of the gaps. And we have this thing called science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-idea-that-god-resides-in-the-unknown-is-what-philosophers-call/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Everybody's got money for vacation time. Look at how much we all spend just to get - well, I get sick on the loop-the-loop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/everybody-s-got-money-for-vacation-time-look-at-how-much-we-all-spend/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Explore all 1,143 Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More Assert quotes > [Sometimes people who adamantly assert an opinion or view don't even hold it themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-lieberman/sometimes-people-who-adamantly-assert-an-opinion-or-view-don-t-even/) [David J. Lieberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-lieberman/) > [I would assert that highly effective leaders are made more than they're born. Every leader I know who's been highly effective has worked hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-conant/i-would-assert-that-highly-effective-leaders-are-made-more-than-they/) [Douglas Conant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-conant/) > [It's dangerous to assert oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/it-s-dangerous-to-assert-oneself/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [And also I assert our interest in respecting all our obligations and implementing all our commitments. And will save no effort whatever to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/and-also-i-assert-our-interest-in-respecting-all-our-obligations-and/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [I'm always made a little uncomfortable by studies that assert that Millennials are the most narcissistic generation in history. To me, being young has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/i-m-always-made-a-little-uncomfortable-by-studies-that-assert-that/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [All over the world, young males and females, schooled in the art of patriarchal thinking, are building an identity on a foundation that sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/all-over-the-world-young-males-and-females-schooled-in-the-art-of/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Indeed, the whole point of the man bun, I have surmised, is to assert a high proficiency at yoga. There are no yoga-achievement badges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-smith/indeed-the-whole-point-of-the-man-bun-i-have-surmised-is-to-assert-a/) [Russell Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-smith/) > [To assert that it is possible to establish peace between men of different nations is simply to assert that man, whatever his ethnical background,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-bourgeois/to-assert-that-it-is-possible-to-establish-peace-between-men-of/) [Leon Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-bourgeois/) > [So the history of discovery, particularly cosmic discovery, but discovery in general, scientific discovery, is one where at any given moment, there's a frontier.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/so-the-history-of-discovery-particularly-cosmic-discovery-but/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I do not mean that you could continue to do this with propriety or even with safety; I merely assert that the power is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-alan-sekulow/i-do-not-mean-that-you-could-continue-to-do-this-with-propriety-or/) [Jay Alan Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-alan-sekulow/) > [You can't assert an answer just because it's not something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-can-t-assert-an-answer-just-because-it-s-not-something-else/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Atheism is without God. It does not assert no God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/atheism-is-without-god-it-does-not-assert-no-god/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [To know oneself, one should assert oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/to-know-oneself-one-should-assert-oneself/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The most extremist power any political leader can assert is the power to target his own citizens for execution without any charges or due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-most-extremist-power-any-political-leader-can-assert-is-the-power/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Hasting - There are times when it is one's duty to assert oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/hasting-there-are-times-when-it-is-one-s-duty-to-assert-oneself/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) [Browse all 47 Assert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assert/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make-sure-it-s-not-just-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assert" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make-sure-it-s-not-just-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_assert_if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make_612881.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson", "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": "Neil deGrasse Tyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you want to assert a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make-sure-it-s-not-just-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-want-to-assert-a-truth-first-make-sure-it-s-not-just-an/#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 } } ] } ```