---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By all means let's be open-minded, but…"
description: "\"By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.\" — Richard Dawkins"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg"
---

#  By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded…

![“By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg)

> “By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Open-mindedness is valuable, but excessive openness can erode critical thinking and lead to intellectual chaos.

**In simple terms:** Balance curiosity with skepticism.

Key Takeaway

Guard your mind while exploring ideas.

Themes

critical thinking intellectual humility balance

Mood

thoughtful cautious

Type

philosophical advisory

When to use this quote

- academic discussions
- debates
- media consumption
- personal growth

Key Concepts

cognitive bias skepticism open-mindedness

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you know when to question a belief?
- When does openness become gullibility?

A Different Perspective

Too much openness may cause loss of discernment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Brains Drop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brains-drop-1372103/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded/) [Minded Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-brains-1046961/) [Minded Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-open-255820/) [Open mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mind/) [Open minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-minded/) [Open mindedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mindedness/)

## Related quotes

> [There's this thing called being so open-minded your brains drop out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/there-s-this-thing-called-being-so-open-minded-your-brains-drop-out/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Be open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-your-brains-fall-out/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out. -this quote is actually found in Carl Sagan's book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our-2/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [You don't want to be so open minded that your brains fall out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/you-don-t-want-to-be-so-open-minded-that-your-brains-fall-out/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [You mustn’t be so open-minded that your brains fall out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cheever/you-mustn-t-be-so-open-minded-that-your-brains-fall-out/)

[Susan Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cheever/)

> [Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-so-open-minded-that-your-brains-fall-out/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“he cannot afford to be so open-minded that his brains fall out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-johns/he-cannot-afford-to-be-so-open-minded-that-his-brains-fall-out/)

[Dan Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-johns/)

> [If you're too open-minded; your brains will fall out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/if-you-re-too-open-minded-your-brains-will-fall-out/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [People should be free to be open-minded or not open-minded. If they don't want to be open-minded, that is their freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-should-be-free-to-be-open-minded-or-not-open-minded-if-they/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“It's been suggested that if the super-naturalists really had the powers they claim, they'd win the lottery every week. I prefer to point out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-been-suggested-that-if-the-super-naturalists-really-had-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [You can see beauy everywhere, you just have to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/you-can-see-beauy-everywhere-you-just-have-to-be-open-minded/)

[EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/)

> [Always stay open-minded, never know what the step of LIFE!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tee-shepard/always-stay-open-minded-never-know-what-the-step-of-life/)

[Tee Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tee-shepard/)

> [A politician is not as narrow-minded as he forces himself to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/a-politician-is-not-as-narrow-minded-as-he-forces-himself-to-be/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/without-an-open-minded-mind-you-can-never-be-a-great-success/)

[Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/)

> [Don't be open-minded. Your brain might fall out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danialla/don-t-be-open-minded-your-brain-might-fall-out/)

[DaniAlla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danialla/)

## More by Richard Dawkins

> [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

[Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## More Funny quotes

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Sometimes I look at my awesome twitter followers &amp; think to myself, What the hell would I do without them :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sometimes-i-look-at-my-awesome-twitter-followers-think-to-myself-what/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/)

[Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/)

> [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/)

[Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/)

> [Penis goes in , sperms cums out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/penis-goes-in-sperms-cums-out/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/)

[Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/)

> [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/)

[Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/)

> [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/)

[Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/)

[Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Dawkins"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Funny"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/richard-dawkins-115_funny_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_552429.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.” — Richard Dawkins",
                "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": "Richard Dawkins",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "By all means let's be open-minded,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
