--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Next time somebody tells you that…" description: "\"“Next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: 'What kind of evidence is there for that?' And if they can't give you a good..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/richard-dawkins-115_answers_next-time-somebody-tells-you-that-someth_93104.jpg" --- # Next time somebody tells you that something is true, why… ![“Next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: 'What kind of evidence is there for that?' And if they can't give you a good answer, I hope you'll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/richard-dawkins-115_answers_next-time-somebody-tells-you-that-someth_93104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/richard-dawkins-115_answers_next-time-somebody-tells-you-that-someth_93104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/richard-dawkins-115_answers_next-time-somebody-tells-you-that-someth_93104.jpg) > ““Next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: 'What kind of evidence is there for that?' And if they can't give you a good answer, I hope you'll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.”” [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. Question claims by demanding evidence; if none is provided, pause before accepting the statement. **In simple terms:** Ask for proof before believing. Key Takeaway Skepticism protects against misinformation. Themes critical thinking evidence skepticism Mood inquisitive cautious Type max When to use this quote - media consumption - scientific discourse Key Concepts epistemology Practical Applications - Adopt a habit of asking 'What evidence?' Questions to Reflect On - When might blind trust be justified? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Carefully Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carefully-believe-1149666/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Evidence Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-good-993769/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-evidence-1149668/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [Think Carefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-carefully-1149667/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Why not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-not/) ## Related quotes > [“I've learned to choose my allies carefully and believe in them once I've made my choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-grant/i-ve-learned-to-choose-my-allies-carefully-and-believe-in-them-once-i/) [Teresa Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-grant/) > [In science, the kind of evidence matters; all unlikelihoods are not created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-hill/in-science-the-kind-of-evidence-matters-all-unlikelihoods-are-not/) [Kyle Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-hill/) > [If you were arrested for being kind to yourself..would there be enough evidence to convict you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/if-you-were-arrested-for-being-kind-to-yourself-would-there-be-enough/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [If the code does indeed have some logical foundation then it is legitimate to consider all the evidence, both good and bad, in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/if-the-code-does-indeed-have-some-logical-foundation-then-it-is/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [It is a sure evidence of a good book if it pleases us more and more as we grow older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/it-is-a-sure-evidence-of-a-good-book-if-it-pleases-us-more-and-more/) [Georg C. 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Think carefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-calm-don-t-let-your-feeling-controlled-your-heart-think-carefully/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we permit flawed machines to make life-changing decisions on our behalf - by allowing them to pinpoint a murder suspect, to diagnose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/if-we-permit-flawed-machines-to-make-life-changing-decisions-on-our/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [“Think it over carefully. This is very important," I say, "because to believe something, whatever it might be, is the doing of the mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/think-it-over-carefully-this-is-very-important-i-say-because-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Do you have a problem? Think carefully! Is it really a problem or is it just your mind’s invention, your mind’s exaggeration? Is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-you-have-a-problem-think-carefully-is-it-really-a-problem-or-is-it/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I have in the past tended to overestimate the amount of change I can affect in the short run and then not fully appreciate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-west/i-have-in-the-past-tended-to-overestimate-the-amount-of-change-i-can/) [Harry West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-west/) ## 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. 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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 Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. 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