--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not true unless it makes you laugh…" description: "\"It's not true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.\" — Robert Anton Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg" --- # It's not true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't… ![“It's not true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.” quote by Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg) > “It's not true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.” [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth is subjective; humor reveals absurdities, and emotional resonance uncovers deeper meaning. **In simple terms:** Truth varies; humor and emotion reveal it. Key Takeaway Seek humor and feeling to test ideas. Themes truth humor emotion Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - debates - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts subjectivity psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When does laughter hinder understanding? - Can emotion replace logic? A Different Perspective Humor may mask seriousness, limiting critical analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [When I hear the bagpipes, it makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. It always makes me weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/when-i-hear-the-bagpipes-it-makes-the-hairs-on-my-neck-stand-on-end/) [Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/) > [An elephant funeral makes me weep every time, and so does an ad with a kid leaving home for college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/an-elephant-funeral-makes-me-weep-every-time-and-so-does-an-ad-with-a/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-fool-can-be-happy-it-takes-a-man-with-real-heart-to-make-beauty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the still of the early morning when I watch you sleep, the love I feel for you overflows my heart and makes me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryne-donovan/in-the-still-of-the-early-morning-when-i-watch-you-sleep-the-love-i/) Kathryne Donovan > [If you date someone who isn't very good-looking but makes you laugh, you will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-herrera/if-you-date-someone-who-isn-t-very-good-looking-but-makes-you-laugh/) [Carolina Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolina-herrera/) > [American humor ... is not subtle. It is something that makes you laugh the moment you hear it, you have not to think a scrap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-glyn/american-humor-is-not-subtle-it-is-something-that-makes-you-laugh-the/) [Elinor Glyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elinor-glyn/) > [If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that's a good picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-adams/if-it-makes-you-laugh-if-it-makes-you-cry-if-it-rips-out-your-heart/) [Eddie Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-adams/) > [You realize the bad guy isn't wearing a black cape or easy to spot; he's funny, makes you laugh, and has perfect hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/you-realize-the-bad-guy-isn-t-wearing-a-black-cape-or-easy-to-spot-he/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Comedy is important! When you're having a stressful day, and you come home, you want to watch something that makes you laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/comedy-is-important-when-you-re-having-a-stressful-day-and-you-come/) [Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/) > [I've always thought something that makes you laugh, it makes you laugh because there's a little bit of truth to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-ve-always-thought-something-that-makes-you-laugh-it-makes-you-laugh/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [If you're funny, if there's something that makes you laugh, then every day's going to be okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/if-you-re-funny-if-there-s-something-that-makes-you-laugh-then-every/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [You can't stay mad at somebody who makes you laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/you-can-t-stay-mad-at-somebody-who-makes-you-laugh/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Approaching a comedy character is fun because you get to sit down with the director and ask, "What makes you laugh?" Then you end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lewis/approaching-a-comedy-character-is-fun-because-you-get-to-sit-down/) [Matthew Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lewis/) > [I think that when you’re doing a comedy and it makes you laugh, there’s a certain… like you can reject it, and it’s okay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pena/i-think-that-when-you-re-doing-a-comedy-and-it-makes-you-laugh-there/) [Michael Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pena/) > [I always laugh the hardest at the stuff you see in day-to-day life. It's great when somebody can tell a joke that really makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-wilson/i-always-laugh-the-hardest-at-the-stuff-you-see-in-day-to-day-life-it/) [Luke Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-wilson/) ## More by Robert Anton Wilson > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [It is a great privilege to be conscious in this universe. Those who understand, shine like stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-is-a-great-privilege-to-be-conscious-in-this-universe-those-who/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-will-do-anything-including-highway-robbery-and-murder-to-avoid/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Masturbation is not the happiest form of sexuality, but the most advisable for him who wants to be alone and think. I detect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/masturbation-is-not-the-happiest-form-of-sexuality-but-the-most/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/cynics-regarded-everybody-as-equally-corrupt-idealists-regarded/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“When you're dealing with these forces or powers in a philosophic and scientific way, contemplating them from an armchair, that rationalistic approach is useful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/when-you-re-dealing-with-these-forces-or-powers-in-a-philosophic-and/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“And Spaceship Earth, that glorious and bloody circus, continued its four-billion-year-long spiral orbit about the Sun; the engineering, I must admit, was so exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/and-spaceship-earth-that-glorious-and-bloody-circus-continued-its/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Existence is larger than any model that is not itself the exact size of existence (which has no size).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/existence-is-larger-than-any-model-that-is-not-itself-the-exact-size/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-totally-convinced-and-the-totally-stupid-have-too-much-in-common/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Explore all 274 Robert Anton Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## More Comedy quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [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/) > [I wouldn't want people to laugh at me. That's why I have to give all that I can, and at least produce something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/i-wouldn-t-want-people-to-laugh-at-me-that-s-why-i-have-to-give-all/) [Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/) > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [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/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [There's a difference between delivering real funny and just silly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-rel-howery/there-s-a-difference-between-delivering-real-funny-and-just-silly/) [Lil Rel Howery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-rel-howery/) > [Oh to that corkscrew, the useful tool to unlock the treasure of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/oh-to-that-corkscrew-the-useful-tool-to-unlock-the-treasure-of-wit/) [Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I do love to laugh!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-giudice/i-do-love-to-laugh/) [Teresa Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-giudice/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) [Browse all 19,795 Comedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's not true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Anton Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh-but-you-don-t-understand-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comedy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh-but-you-don-t-understand-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/robert-anton-wilson-1198_comedy_it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh_3035182.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's not true unless it makes you laugh, but you don't understand it until it makes you weep.” — Robert Anton Wilson", "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": "Robert Anton Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's not true unless it makes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh-but-you-don-t-understand-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-s-not-true-unless-it-makes-you-laugh-but-you-don-t-understand-it/#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 } } ] } ```