--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people find clarity threatening…" description: "\"Some people find clarity threatening. They like muddle, confusion, obscurity. So when somebody does no more than speak clearly it sounds threatening.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/richard-dawkins-115_clarity_some-people-find-clarity-threatening-the_2612914.jpg" --- # Some people find clarity threatening. They like muddle… ![“Some people find clarity threatening. They like muddle, confusion, obscurity. So when somebody does no more than speak clearly it sounds threatening.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/richard-dawkins-115_clarity_some-people-find-clarity-threatening-the_2612914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/richard-dawkins-115_clarity_some-people-find-clarity-threatening-the_2612914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/richard-dawkins-115_clarity_some-people-find-clarity-threatening-the_2612914.jpg) > “Some people find clarity threatening. They like muddle, confusion, obscurity. So when somebody does no more than speak clearly it sounds threatening.” [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. Clear communication can feel dangerous to those who prefer ambiguity, because it exposes uncertainty and challenges comfort zones. **In simple terms:** Clear speech can threaten those who like confusion. Key Takeaway Embrace clarity, even if it unsettles others. Themes communication truth comfort zones clarity power dynamics Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - public speaking - teaching - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive bias psychology of ambiguity information theory Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity protect personal beliefs? - When does clarity become confrontational? A Different Perspective Clarity may be perceived as aggression, causing resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) ## Related quotes > [I like people who have clarity about their work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-gopal-varma/i-like-people-who-have-clarity-about-their-work/) [Ram Gopal Varma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-gopal-varma/) > [There is a responsibility as president to choose your words carefully, especially on foreign policy, and to speak as clearly as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-young/there-is-a-responsibility-as-president-to-choose-your-words-carefully/) [Todd Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-young/) > [“Edward," I said, managing to speak more clearly with a little effort, "there's no point to forever without you. I wouldn't want one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-meyers/edward-i-said-managing-to-speak-more-clearly-with-a-little-effort/) Stephanie Meyers > [You ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don't bump into the furniture and if you must have motivation, think of your pay packet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/you-ask-my-advice-about-acting-speak-clearly-don-t-bump-into-the/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [“Speak up and speak clearly. I want to hear what you have to say because it matters. Let's listen to each other and respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-johnson/speak-up-and-speak-clearly-i-want-to-hear-what-you-have-to-say/) Felicia Johnson > [I have been asked about terrorism many times, and each time I speak as clearly as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/i-have-been-asked-about-terrorism-many-times-and-each-time-i-speak-as/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [Never speak more clearly than you think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bernstein/never-speak-more-clearly-than-you-think/) Jeremy Bernstein > [Nobody has a right to speak more clearly than he thinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/nobody-has-a-right-to-speak-more-clearly-than-he-thinks/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully and with inevitability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dance-is-communication-and-so-the-great-challenge-is-to-speak-clearly/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You can't write about people out of textbooks, and you can't use jargon. You have to speak clearly and simply and purely in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/you-can-t-write-about-people-out-of-textbooks-and-you-can-t-use/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speak-clearly-if-you-speak-at-all-carve-every-word-before-you-let-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Read critically, write consciously; speak clearly; tell your truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/read-critically-write-consciously-speak-clearly-tell-your-truth/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [“Will you ever use common sense, I hear it comes pretty cheap. And if I speak more clearly, if I make more sense. Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/will-you-ever-use-common-sense-i-hear-it-comes-pretty-cheap-and-if-i/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [“Energy doesn't communicate in English, French, Chinese or Swahili, but it does speak clearly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-seiler/energy-doesn-t-communicate-in-english-french-chinese-or-swahili-but/) [Elaine Seiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-seiler/) > [In fact I'm in too much of a mental muddle to know where I am - an idealist or not. I'm a mere man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/in-fact-i-m-in-too-much-of-a-mental-muddle-to-know-where-i-am-an/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## 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 Clarity quotes > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Its a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/its-a-lack-of-clarity-that-creates-chaos-and-frustration-those/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Anything well written with good language and clarity and honesty is worth doing. It comes out of the same tradition as Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/anything-well-written-with-good-language-and-clarity-and-honesty-is/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It comes a moment that someone says something really small, but fits so perfect into your heart that everything start to make sense!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laylablack/it-comes-a-moment-that-someone-says-something-really-small-but-fits/) Laylablack > [“Replaying the past in your mind won't change the present; it only steals the clarity needed to shape what comes next.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-meyering-sr/replaying-the-past-in-your-mind-won-t-change-the-present-it-only/) Joseph Meyering Sr > [Rain is good for me. I feel like I achieve clarity actually when it rains. The longer I have to sit and wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/rain-is-good-for-me-i-feel-like-i-achieve-clarity-actually-when-it/) [Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/) > [It's my feeling that any writer can get an emotion into a story without being sentimental as long as the emotion is dealt with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/it-s-my-feeling-that-any-writer-can-get-an-emotion-into-a-story/) [Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/) > [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The law of polarity brings forth clarity to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/the-law-of-polarity-brings-forth-clarity-to-your-life/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [In meditation you withdraw from others and focus your attention inside to gain purity of mind and wisdom energy. Then you must become extroverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-n-goenka/in-meditation-you-withdraw-from-others-and-focus-your-attention/) [S. N. Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-n-goenka/) > [In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-stillness-the-muddied-water-returns-to-clarity/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. You're out in the open field. You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I decided to be a filmmaker when I was 12. I had utter clarity that this would be my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hooper/i-decided-to-be-a-filmmaker-when-i-was-12-i-had-utter-clarity-that/) [Tom Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hooper/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Browse all 1,601 Clarity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some people find clarity threatening. They like muddle, confusion, obscurity. 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