--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything which must be understood by…" description: "\"Anything which must be understood by millions of people is so hopelessly divorced from how it is that it becomes a form of fiction.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png" --- # Anything which must be understood by millions of people is… ![“Anything which must be understood by millions of people is so hopelessly divorced from how it is that it becomes a form of fiction.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png) > “Anything which must be understood by millions of people is so hopelessly divorced from how it is that it becomes a form of fiction.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass‑market ideas often become so detached from reality that they turn into fictional narratives. **In simple terms:** Popular ideas can become fiction. Key Takeaway Question mainstream narratives. Themes media culture misinformation Mood critical analytical Type philosophical commentary When to use this quote - marketing campaigns - political rhetoric - science communication - education curricula Key Concepts cognitive distortion public perception Questions to Reflect On - How do we keep ideas grounded? - When does simplification become deception? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divorced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorced/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-fiction-1010179/) [Hopelessly Divorced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopelessly-divorced-2600166/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Hopelessly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hopelessly-2600165/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-millions-1424449/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Hearing Mr. Trump in person, I finally understood why millions of voters, especially voters who have been ignored and left behind in this economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-schlapp/hearing-mr-trump-in-person-i-finally-understood-why-millions-of/) [Mercedes Schlapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-schlapp/) > [I think Donald Trump understood that there are many millions of people in America, the working middle class, who are really hurting. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-think-donald-trump-understood-that-there-are-many-millions-of/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [the wrongs of society can be more deeply impressed on a large class of readers in the form of fiction than by essays, sermons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-wrongs-of-society-can-be-more-deeply-impressed-on-a-large-class/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [“You can't write any form of fiction unless you enjoy reading it. You must be sincere in your approach. It's no good despising the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bingham/you-can-t-write-any-form-of-fiction-unless-you-enjoy-reading-it-you/) [Charlotte Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bingham/) > [“To my mind, the most important thing in any form of fiction is the human element, but only if it takes us beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-worthington/to-my-mind-the-most-important-thing-in-any-form-of-fiction-is-the/) [Graham Worthington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-worthington/) > [Reality shows are all the rage on TV at the moment, but that's not reality, it's just another aesthetic form of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-soderbergh/reality-shows-are-all-the-rage-on-tv-at-the-moment-but-that-s-not/) [Steven Soderbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-soderbergh/) > [Why is autobiography the most popular form of fiction for modern readers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-ker-conway/why-is-autobiography-the-most-popular-form-of-fiction-for-modern/) [Jill Ker Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-ker-conway/) > [The only form of fiction in which real characters do not seem out of place is history. In novels they are detestable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-form-of-fiction-in-which-real-characters-do-not-seem-out-of/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“For my purpose, the non-fiction form of abstract knowledge doesn’t interest me; the final, applied form of fiction, of story, does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/for-my-purpose-the-non-fiction-form-of-abstract-knowledge-doesn-t/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [In some ways, I think it's the closest that we come to the truth — is in the form of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/in-some-ways-i-think-it-s-the-closest-that-we-come-to-the-truth-is-in/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [Memoirs are a well-known form of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-harris/memoirs-are-a-well-known-form-of-fiction/) [Frank Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-harris/) > [I believe that if it were possible to scrap the whole of existing literature, all writers would find themselves inevitably producing something very close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-believe-that-if-it-were-possible-to-scrap-the-whole-of-existing/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Our stories about our own lives are a form of fiction, I began to see and become more insistent as we grow older, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-angell/our-stories-about-our-own-lives-are-a-form-of-fiction-i-began-to-see/) [Roger Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-angell/) > [The obligation on us is to communicate the truth so that it is understood. The belief will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-obligation-on-us-is-to-communicate-the-truth-so-that-it-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. Really painful for me. But that's also a big part of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/my-parents-are-divorced-and-seeing-that-was-really-painful-for-me/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Divorced quotes > [My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. 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It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-psychological-condition-of-fear-is-divorced-from-any-concrete-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [My parents are divorced, and that was the last thing I wanted for myself. I waited until I was 36 to propose, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-duhamel/my-parents-are-divorced-and-that-was-the-last-thing-i-wanted-for/) [Josh Duhamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-duhamel/) > [We're all divorced from reality; the only question is whether you're paying alimony or receiving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/we-re-all-divorced-from-reality-the-only-question-is-whether-you-re/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I have a son, and I was married for twenty years, and I got divorced, and there's a new woman in my life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kraftsow/i-have-a-son-and-i-was-married-for-twenty-years-and-i-got-divorced/) [Gary Kraftsow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kraftsow/) > [Characterization is not divorced from plot, not a coat of paint you slap on after the structure of events is already built. Rather characterization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/characterization-is-not-divorced-from-plot-not-a-coat-of-paint-you/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [I always worry that people are going to be very confused; sometimes timelines get confused with how movies get made. So when I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-fischer/i-always-worry-that-people-are-going-to-be-very-confused-sometimes/) [Jenna Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-fischer/) > [It's a really weird thing, modern divorce. I found out I was getting divorced on television. That was kind of weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/it-s-a-really-weird-thing-modern-divorce-i-found-out-i-was-getting/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [I often say that if you want to really want to understand the contract of marriage, just ask anyone who has been divorced. 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It gives me an artistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-sort-of-gave-up-on-this-whole-human-adventure-a-long-time-ago/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) [Browse all 651 Divorced quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorced/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anything which must be understood by millions of people is so hopelessly divorced from how it is that it becomes a form of fiction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/anything-which-must-be-understood-by-millions-of-people-is-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divorced" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/anything-which-must-be-understood-by-millions-of-people-is-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/terence-mckenna-287_divorced_anything-which-must-be-understood-by-mil_264486.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anything which must be understood by millions of people is so hopelessly divorced from how it is that it…” — Terence McKenna", "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": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anything which must be understood by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/anything-which-must-be-understood-by-millions-of-people-is-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/anything-which-must-be-understood-by-millions-of-people-is-so/#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 } } ] } ```