--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that something is written down…" description: "\"“The fact that something is written down is persuasive to people not used to asking questions like: ‘Who wrote it, and when?’ ‘How did they know what t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/richard-dawkins-115_asking-questions_the-fact-that-something-is-written-down_2569070.jpg" --- # The fact that something is written down is persuasive to… ![“The fact that something is written down is persuasive to people not used to asking questions like: ‘Who wrote it, and when?’ ‘How did they know what to write?’ ‘Did they, in their time, really mean what we, in our time, understand them to be saying?’ ‘Were they unbiased observers, or did they have…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/richard-dawkins-115_asking-questions_the-fact-that-something-is-written-down_2569070.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/richard-dawkins-115_asking-questions_the-fact-that-something-is-written-down_2569070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/richard-dawkins-115_asking-questions_the-fact-that-something-is-written-down_2569070.jpg) > ““The fact that something is written down is persuasive to people not used to asking questions like: ‘Who wrote it, and when?’ ‘How did they know what to write?’ ‘Did they, in their time, really mean what we, in our time, understand them to be saying?’ ‘Were they unbiased observers, or did they have an agenda that coloured their writing?”” [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. Written records are persuasive to those who never question authorship, context, or bias, leading to uncritical acceptance. **In simple terms:** People trust written words without asking who wrote them or why. Key Takeaway Question sources and motives before accepting written claims. Themes critical thinking skepticism history authority bias Mood cautious inquisitive skeptical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - media consumption - policy making - education - public discourse Key Concepts Epistemology source criticism historical context Questions to Reflect On - Who authored this text and what was their purpose? - How does context change meaning? A Different Perspective Not all written sources are reliable; some may be deliberately misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asking Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-question/) [Asking questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-questions/) [Know Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-write-306740/) [Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasive/) [Persuasive People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasive-people-1675029/) [Saying Unbiased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-unbiased-1675030/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-persuasive-1675028/) ## Related quotes > [The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be. Before people making a buying decision, they have many questions. For example, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-more-informative-your-advertising-the-more-persuasive-it-will-be-2/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In general, talking about human rights tends to be very persuasive for people who care about human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/in-general-talking-about-human-rights-tends-to-be-very-persuasive-for/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [If you can't be persuasive to get people to believe your crazy idea, you can just go ahead and build it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mckelvey/if-you-can-t-be-persuasive-to-get-people-to-believe-your-crazy-idea/) [Jim McKelvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mckelvey/) > [To know whom to write for is to know how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-know-whom-to-write-for-is-to-know-how-to-write/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“I'd like to know how anyone can write the truth about us if we've never met.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-miller/i-d-like-to-know-how-anyone-can-write-the-truth-about-us-if-we-ve/) [Sarah Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-miller/) > [Everyone thinks writers must know more about the inside of the human head, but that's wrong. They know less, that's why they write. 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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. 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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 Asking questions quotes > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [By questioning all the aspects of our business, we continuously inject improvement and innovation into our culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dell/by-questioning-all-the-aspects-of-our-business-we-continuously-inject/) [Michael Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dell/) > [“The breakdown of the neighborhoods also meant the end of what was essentially an extended family…With the breakdown of the extended family, too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/the-breakdown-of-the-neighborhoods-also-meant-the-end-of-what-was/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Wise are those who keep asking questions when everyone around them think they know the answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-bartell/wise-are-those-who-keep-asking-questions-when-everyone-around-them/) [J. Bartell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-bartell/) > [And when I started college, I think I was good at two things: arguing and asking questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hughes/and-when-i-started-college-i-think-i-was-good-at-two-things-arguing/) [Karen Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hughes/) > [Keep on asking the questions and learn to accept the answers, even if they are not the same as what you would have loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-on-asking-the-questions-and-learn-to-accept-the-answers-even-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Going online and asking questions is the best way to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/going-online-and-asking-questions-is-the-best-way-to-learn/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [If you look at most mainstream filmmaking, to be honest, some of these films aren't even asking questions anymore at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karyn-kusama/if-you-look-at-most-mainstream-filmmaking-to-be-honest-some-of-these/) [Karyn Kusama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karyn-kusama/) > [To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/to-go-beyond-the-mind-you-must-be-silent-and-quiet-peace-and-silence/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“Asking questions is an opportunity for creativity and personal expression, both for the person asking and the person answering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/asking-questions-is-an-opportunity-for-creativity-and-personal/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [In mathematics, the art of asking questions is more valuable than solving problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-cantor/in-mathematics-the-art-of-asking-questions-is-more-valuable-than/) [Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-cantor/) > [I think all good architecture should challenge you, make you start asking questions. You don't have to understand it. You may not like it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-all-good-architecture-should-challenge-you-make-you-start/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [“By this time it was well past midnight. You know how that is. 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