--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a laugh, though. To think that one…" description: "\"What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could ever really know another. You could get used to each other, get so habituated that you could ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/orson-scott-card-134_humans_what-a-laugh-though-to-think-that-one-hu_2622541.jpg" --- # What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could… ![“What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could ever really know another. You could get used to each other, get so habituated that you could speak their words right along with them, but you never know why other people said what they said or did what they did, because they never even know…” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/orson-scott-card-134_humans_what-a-laugh-though-to-think-that-one-hu_2622541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/orson-scott-card-134_humans_what-a-laugh-though-to-think-that-one-hu_2622541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/orson-scott-card-134_humans_what-a-laugh-though-to-think-that-one-hu_2622541.jpg) > “What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could ever really know another. You could get used to each other, get so habituated that you could speak their words right along with them, but you never know why other people said what they said or did what they did, because they never even know themselves. Nobody understands anybody.” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on the impossibility of truly understanding another person, despite close familiarity, highlighting human self‑ignorance. **In simple terms:** People can never fully know each other. Key Takeaway Accept limits of empathy. Themes communication identity misunderstanding Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - relationships - teamwork - self‑reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Can we ever truly know another? - How does self‑ignorance shape relationships? A Different Perspective Understanding others is constrained by our own self‑knowledge gaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-really-1898642/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Know People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-people/) [Laugh Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh-think/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Nobody understands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody-understands/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-said/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [They said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/they-said/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understands Anybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understands-anybody-2122358/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [Well, of course, people are only human... But it really does not seem much for them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/well-of-course-people-are-only-human-but-it-really-does-not-seem-much/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [I think it is impossible for one human being really to know another without first knowing and being at peace with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-think-it-is-impossible-for-one-human-being-really-to-know-another/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another's happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/no-human-being-can-really-understand-another-and-no-one-can-arrange-2/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/to-err-is-human-but-to-really-foul-things-up-you-need-a-computer/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [ “To be conformed to the one who has become human—that is what being really human means.\[77.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/to-be-conformed-to-the-one-who-has-become-human-that-is-what-being/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange anothers happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/no-human-being-can-really-understand-another-and-no-one-can-arrange/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [We treat our dogs as if they were "almost human": that is why they really become "almost human" in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-treat-our-dogs-as-if-they-were-almost-human-that-is-why-they/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If I dated as many people as they said I have, then I would be dead, because it's just not possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-lohan/if-i-dated-as-many-people-as-they-said-i-have-then-i-would-be-dead/) [Lindsay Lohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-lohan/) > [They said, "You know, this issue doesn't seem to resignate with the people." And I said, you know something? Whether it resignates or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/they-said-you-know-this-issue-doesn-t-seem-to-resignate-with-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [the seed of doubt was there, and it stayed, and every now and then sent out a little root. It changed everything, to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-seed-of-doubt-was-there-and-it-stayed-and-every-now-and-then-sent/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Some kids are so depressed at home and with how people treat them in school that they cut themselves. This happens all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/some-kids-are-so-depressed-at-home-and-with-how-people-treat-them-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [The bedrock of doubt is the total nothingness of death. Death is a leveler, not because everybody dies, but because nobody understands what death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-bedrock-of-doubt-is-the-total-nothingness-of-death-death-is-a/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Nobody understands love, the writer admits. It seems to be Universal. Timeless. Yet, it's also very individual, filtered by our own lives and expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nobody-understands-love-the-writer-admits-it-seems-to-be-universal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody understands another's sorrow, and nobody another's joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/nobody-understands-another-s-sorrow-and-nobody-another-s-joy/) [Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/) > [“The past five years had informed me about human sorrow. While no two griefs are the same, nobody understands suffering like those who've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-brown/the-past-five-years-had-informed-me-about-human-sorrow-while-no-two/) [Helen Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-brown/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? 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The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Humans quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Browse all 32,126 Humans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a laugh, though. 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