--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have to be a little cautious about not…" description: "\"We have to be a little cautious about not trying to kill a gnat with an atom bomb. The performances are so utterly absurd regarding the \"post-truth\" mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/noam-chomsky-42_absurd_we-have-to-be-a-little-cautious-about-no_2381861.jpg" --- # We have to be a little cautious about not trying to kill a… ![“We have to be a little cautious about not trying to kill a gnat with an atom bomb. The performances are so utterly absurd regarding the "post-truth" moment that the proper response might best be ridicule.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/noam-chomsky-42_absurd_we-have-to-be-a-little-cautious-about-no_2381861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/noam-chomsky-42_absurd_we-have-to-be-a-little-cautious-about-no_2381861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/noam-chomsky-42_absurd_we-have-to-be-a-little-cautious-about-no_2381861.jpg) > “We have to be a little cautious about not trying to kill a gnat with an atom bomb. The performances are so utterly absurd regarding the "post-truth" moment that the proper response might best be ridicule.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns against over‑reacting to misinformation with extreme measures; ridicule can be a more appropriate response. **In simple terms:** Avoid extreme reactions to falsehoods. Key Takeaway Use satire wisely. Themes media literacy truth satire Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - social media - public debate - education Key Concepts political theory communication studies Questions to Reflect On - When is satire effective? - How can we combat misinformation constructively? A Different Perspective Ridicule may not change minds and can be dismissive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurd Regarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd-regarding-5901494/) [Atom bomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom-bomb/) [Bomb Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bomb-performances-5901495/) [Cautious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cautious/) [Kill Gnat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-gnat-5901496/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Ridicule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridicule/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Utterly Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utterly-absurd-2824107/) ## Related quotes > [“Your vanity is ridiculous, your conduct an outrage, and your presence in my garden utterly absurd”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/your-vanity-is-ridiculous-your-conduct-an-outrage-and-your-presence/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [... the more I learned, the more conscious did I become of the fact that I was ridiculous. So that for me my years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-learned-the-more-conscious-did-i-become-of-the-fact-that-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember thinking, when I was playing Hedda Gabler, that several sequences of the play were utterly absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-remember-thinking-when-i-was-playing-hedda-gabler-that-several/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“If religion is the answer, the question must be utterly absurd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyan-prater/if-religion-is-the-answer-the-question-must-be-utterly-absurd/) [Nyan Prater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyan-prater/) > [One should be cautious about "general conceptions." I think a strong case can be made that activism today is as high as ever, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/one-should-be-cautious-about-general-conceptions-i-think-a-strong/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I hope we shall abolish war and settle all differences at the conference table I hope we shall abolish all hydrogen and atom bombs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/i-hope-we-shall-abolish-war-and-settle-all-differences-at-the/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [“If you've a notion of what man's heart is, wouldn't you say that maybe the whole effort of man on earth to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/if-you-ve-a-notion-of-what-man-s-heart-is-wouldn-t-you-say-that-maybe/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [Non-violence ... is the only thing that the atom bomb cannot destroy. I did not move a muscle when I first heard that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-violence-is-the-only-thing-that-the-atom-bomb-cannot-destroy-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The atom bomb wasn’t used in Korea,” Father contributed. They really didn’t see it. “America planned to use the bomb,” she insisted. “Everything was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-davis/the-atom-bomb-wasn-t-used-in-korea-father-contributed-they-really/) [Jane Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-davis/) > [“Just because you can solve a crossword puzzle or build an atom bomb doesn’t mean that you use your mind. Just as dogs love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/just-because-you-can-solve-a-crossword-puzzle-or-build-an-atom-bomb/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [“If we do not stop these mar-makers not,...it will soon be too late. We are the only nation that can halt this crusade. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aldridge/if-we-do-not-stop-these-mar-makers-not-it-will-soon-be-too-late-we/) [James Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aldridge/) > [“As the tail on our back disappeared as we no longer had any use for it, nuclear weapons will also disappear once we realize,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/as-the-tail-on-our-back-disappeared-as-we-no-longer-had-any-use-for/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“America's greatest revelation was not the atom bomb, not Fundamentalism, not fat farms, not Elvis, not even the quite astute observation that gentlemen prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/america-s-greatest-revelation-was-not-the-atom-bomb-not/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Being in service and being involved in something that is greater than you is what makes a person complete and whole. The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/being-in-service-and-being-involved-in-something-that-is-greater-than/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have to be a little cautious about not trying to kill a gnat with an atom bomb. 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