--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I don't know I don't know, I think I…" description: "\"If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't know I know, I think I don't know.\" — R. D. Laing" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/r-d-laing-4861_i-think_if-i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-i-think-i-k_2246536.jpg" --- # If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't… ![“If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't know I know, I think I don't know.” quote by R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/r-d-laing-4861_i-think_if-i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-i-think-i-k_2246536.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/r-d-laing-4861_i-think_if-i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-i-think-i-k_2246536.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/r-d-laing-4861_i-think_if-i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-i-think-i-k_2246536.jpg) > “If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't know I know, I think I don't know.” [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He explores paradoxical self‑knowledge: acknowledging ignorance can reveal true understanding, and vice versa. **In simple terms:** Knowing what you don’t know can be true knowledge. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty to gain insight. Themes selfknowledge paradox awareness psychology Mood thoughtful philosophical Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal reflection - learning new skills Key Concepts metacognition existentialism cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How does admitting ignorance affect learning? - When does confidence become delusion? A Different Perspective May cause confusion if not guided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [If I do not know that I do not know, I think I know. If I do not know that I know, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/if-i-do-not-know-that-i-do-not-know-i-think-i-know-if-i-do-not-know/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The more you know, The more you realize how much you don't know, The less you know, The more you think you know...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-more-you-know-the-more-you-realize-how-much-you-don-t-know-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“If you think you know everything; you know nothing. If you think you know nothing; you know something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayce-o-neal/if-you-think-you-know-everything-you-know-nothing-if-you-think-you/) [Jayce O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayce-o-neal/) > [“I know who you are. I don’t know who you think you are but I know who you are. I also know nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-know-who-you-are-i-don-t-know-who-you-think-you-are-but-i-know-who/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't know I know I know, I think I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/if-i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-i-think-i-know-if-i-don-t-know-i-know-i-2/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [If you think you know everything and think you've done everything, I know you're an idiot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-shepard/if-you-think-you-know-everything-and-think-you-ve-done-everything-i/) John C Shepard > [It's not what you know, it's what you think you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/it-s-not-what-you-know-it-s-what-you-think-you-know/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“What you think you know don’t mean nothin. There is a difference between thinking and knowing. You might think you know something; you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-burns/what-you-think-you-know-don-t-mean-nothin-there-is-a-difference/) Travis Burns > [You don't need to spend tens of millions of dollars on political consultants to tell you what you think when you already know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/you-don-t-need-to-spend-tens-of-millions-of-dollars-on-political/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) > [“If we cannot fully understand the acts of other people, until we know what they think they know, then in order to do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/if-we-cannot-fully-understand-the-acts-of-other-people-until-we-know/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [People look at you, and they think they know you. 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D. Laing > [To live in the past or in the future may be less satisfying than to live in the present, but it can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/to-live-in-the-past-or-in-the-future-may-be-less-satisfying-than-to/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [We must remember that we are living in an age in which the ground is shifting and the foundations are shaking. I cannot answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/we-must-remember-that-we-are-living-in-an-age-in-which-the-ground-is/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/we-live-in-a-moment-of-history-where-change-is-so-speeded-up-that-we/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Our behavior is a function of our experience. We act according to the way we see things. If our experience is destroyed, our behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/our-behavior-is-a-function-of-our-experience-we-act-according-to-the/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [How do we define, how do we describe, how do we explain and/or understand ourselves? What sort of creatures do we take ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/how-do-we-define-how-do-we-describe-how-do-we-explain-and-or/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [There is a great deal of pain in life and perhaps the only pain that can be avoided is the pain that comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/there-is-a-great-deal-of-pain-in-life-and-perhaps-the-only-pain-that/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-range-of-what-we-think-and-do-is-limited-by-what-we-fail-to/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-range-of-what-we-think-and-do-is-limited-by-what-we-fail-to-notice/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [In the society of men the truth resides now less in what things are than in what they are not. Our social realities are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/in-the-society-of-men-the-truth-resides-now-less-in-what-things-are/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The schizophrenic may indeed be mad. He is mad. He is not ill. I have been told by people who have been through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-schizophrenic-may-indeed-be-mad-he-is-mad-he-is-not-ill-i-have/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [What is to be done? We who are still half alive, living in the often fibrillating heartland of a senescent capitalism -- can we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/what-is-to-be-done-we-who-are-still-half-alive-living-in-the-often/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [From the alienated starting point of our pseudo-sanity, everything is equivocal. Our sanity is not "true" sanity. Their madness is not "true" madness. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/from-the-alienated-starting-point-of-our-pseudo-sanity-everything-is/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [In describing one way of going mad, I shall try to show that there is a comprehensible transition from the sane schizoid way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/in-describing-one-way-of-going-mad-i-shall-try-to-show-that-there-is/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Doctors have throughout time made fortunes on killing their patients with their cures. The difference in psychiatry is that it is the death of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/doctors-have-throughout-time-made-fortunes-on-killing-their-patients/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [A psychiatrist who professes to be a healer of souls, but who keeps people asleep, treats them for waking up, and drugs them asleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/a-psychiatrist-who-professes-to-be-a-healer-of-souls-but-who-keeps/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) [Explore all 105 R. D. Laing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) ## More I think quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. I think every Christian needs to make up his own mind about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-m-not-here-trying-to-convince-anybody-to-vote-for-donald-trump-i/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [I think you can get, as a player, stuck in the mindset of trying too hard to prove yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-rodman/i-think-you-can-get-as-a-player-stuck-in-the-mindset-of-trying-too/) [Trinity Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-rodman/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I think a person has to just be herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-nixon/i-think-a-person-has-to-just-be-herself/) [Pat Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-nixon/) > [I think I am against stereotype. Generally, Asian guys are more quiet - they study and have a good work ethic. Generally, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lee/i-think-i-am-against-stereotype-generally-asian-guys-are-more-quiet/) [Bobby Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lee/) > [I think taking a hookline of a hit song and making a new song is fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-kumar/i-think-taking-a-hookline-of-a-hit-song-and-making-a-new-song-is-fun/) [Tulsi Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-kumar/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I think it's a wonderful thing, turning 50. I think everyone should do it at least once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-duran/i-think-it-s-a-wonderful-thing-turning-50-i-think-everyone-should-do/) [Elvis Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-duran/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. 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