---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only the madman is absolutely sure."
description: "\"Only the madman is absolutely sure.\" — Robert Anton Wilson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg"
---

#  Only the madman is absolutely sure.

![“Only the madman is absolutely sure.” quote by Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg)

> “Only the madman is absolutely sure.”

[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.

Absolute certainty often stems from irrational or extreme belief, not from evidence.

**In simple terms:** Madness breeds certainty.

Key Takeaway

Question assumptions and seek evidence.

Themes

philosophy psychology skepticism

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- political debates
- religious discourse
- personal decision‑making

Key Concepts

cognitive bias extremism certainty belief

Questions to Reflect On

- When have you felt overly certain?
- How do you balance confidence with humility?

A Different Perspective

Overconfidence can be useful for confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Madman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madman/)

## Related quotes

> [Never hit anyone in anger, unless you're absolutely sure you can get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-hit-anyone-in-anger-unless-you-re-absolutely-sure-you-can-get/)

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

> [I am absolutely sure to be the most democratic man to ever become Prime Minister in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-am-absolutely-sure-to-be-the-most-democratic-man-to-ever-become/)

[Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/)

> [Don't lie to me unless you're absolutely sure that I will never find the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/don-t-lie-to-me-unless-you-re-absolutely-sure-that-i-will-never-find/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [“It was the time of saying "Are we absolutely sure about this?" but it was also and more so the time of thinking it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-stratford/it-was-the-time-of-saying-are-we-absolutely-sure-about-this-but-it/)

Jordan Stratford

> [Whatever else an American believes or disbelieves about himself, he is absolutely sure he has a sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/whatever-else-an-american-believes-or-disbelieves-about-himself-he-is/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [“But some of us have been educated by surprises out of much that we were 'absolutely sure' of...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/but-some-of-us-have-been-educated-by-surprises-out-of-much-that-we/)

[Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/)

> [I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/i-m-absolutely-sure-that-there-are-weapons-of-mass-destruction-there/)

[Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/)

> [I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-may-not-have-been-sure-about-what-really-did-interest-me-but-i-was/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [“There is no human soul, and I am absolutely for sure seriously not going to fucking cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/there-is-no-human-soul-and-i-am-absolutely-for-sure-seriously-not/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [Please don't lie to me, unless you're absolutely sure I'll never find out the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/please-don-t-lie-to-me-unless-you-re-absolutely-sure-i-ll-never-find/)

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

> [A lot of us are ruled by fear during our lives - afraid we'll get burgled, afraid a dog will bite us, afraid we'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/a-lot-of-us-are-ruled-by-fear-during-our-lives-afraid-we-ll-get/)

[Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/)

> [There are a lot of funny people in my family. Absolutely. There were a lot of jokes growing up around the dinner table, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-corddry/there-are-a-lot-of-funny-people-in-my-family-absolutely-there-were-a/)

[Nate Corddry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-corddry/)

> [The high notes always hard to hit. I mean, one has to understand how high notes even happen. The vocal cords have to vibrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/the-high-notes-always-hard-to-hit-i-mean-one-has-to-understand-how/)

[Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/)

> [I consider part of lower Manhattan to be hallowed ground. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the World Trade Center towers... and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shuster/i-consider-part-of-lower-manhattan-to-be-hallowed-ground-nearly-3-000/)

[David Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shuster/)

> [The country is not a democratic state. Therefore we fear that they might carry a recorder in their pocket or there may be bugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/the-country-is-not-a-democratic-state-therefore-we-fear-that-they/)

[Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/)

## 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 Absolutely quotes

> [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/)

[Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/)

> [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/)

[David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/)

> [I was brought up by the English side of my family, who are very repressed and working class. Absolutely lovely, but very English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/i-was-brought-up-by-the-english-side-of-my-family-who-are-very/)

[Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/)

> [Nobody ever wins by the cavalry coming to rescue you. It isn't a question of you're happy if you get married, or you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/nobody-ever-wins-by-the-cavalry-coming-to-rescue-you-it-isn-t-a/)

[Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/)

> [“None is absolutely true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-z-lavine/none-is-absolutely-true/)

[T.Z. Lavine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-z-lavine/)

> [The game business arose from computer programs that were written by and for young men in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-laurel/the-game-business-arose-from-computer-programs-that-were-written-by/)

[Brenda Laurel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-laurel/)

> [If I was a man, I would be a drag queen. Honestly, I would. I absolutely love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/if-i-was-a-man-i-would-be-a-drag-queen-honestly-i-would-i-absolutely/)

[Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/)

> [There's very little about being in a functional-M.R.I. scanner that is natural: you are flat on your back, absolutely still, with your head immobilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/there-s-very-little-about-being-in-a-functional-m-r-i-scanner-that-is/)

[Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/)

> [When you're still, and some actors are really brilliant at that, you bring a kind of energy to you as opposed to sending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/when-you-re-still-and-some-actors-are-really-brilliant-at-that-you/)

[Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/)

> [I'm absolutely an Elizabeth Taylor fan!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-m-absolutely-an-elizabeth-taylor-fan/)

[Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/)

> [You can absolutely be what you can't see! That's what innovators and disruptors do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-bryant/you-can-absolutely-be-what-you-can-t-see-that-s-what-innovators-and/)

[Kimberly Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-bryant/)

> [There were a lot of clubs interested in me - a lot, really. But Manchester United appeared and didn't go away. They absolutely wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-di-maria/there-were-a-lot-of-clubs-interested-in-me-a-lot-really-but/)

[Angel Di Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-di-maria/)

> [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I absolutely love 'TOWIE.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-collins/i-absolutely-love-towie/)

[Gemma Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-collins/)

> [Chucky is absolutely still a puppet. He will remain to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-dourif/chucky-is-absolutely-still-a-puppet-he-will-remain-to-be/)

[Fiona Dourif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-dourif/)

Browse all 1,136 Absolutely quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Only the madman is absolutely sure.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Anton Wilson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absolutely"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/robert-anton-wilson-1198_absolutely_only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure-30728_3072898.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Only the madman is absolutely sure.” — 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": "Only the madman is absolutely sure.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/only-the-madman-is-absolutely-sure/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
