--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... failing to look inscrutable to any…" description: "\"“... failing to look inscrutable to any but the habitually dismissive ...”\" — Thomas Pynchon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg" --- # ... failing to look inscrutable to any but the habitually… ![“... failing to look inscrutable to any but the habitually dismissive ...” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg) > ““... failing to look inscrutable to any but the habitually dismissive ...”” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that trying to appear mysterious only alienates those who already dismiss you, hindering genuine connection. **In simple terms:** Being mysterious can push away dismissive people. Key Takeaway Embrace openness to foster trust. Themes communication authenticity relationships Mood cautious reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - team meetings - networking events - first impressions - online profiles Key Concepts social perception defense mechanisms self-presentation Questions to Reflect On - How does mystery affect trust? - When is opacity useful? A Different Perspective If you seem inscrutable, others may assume disinterest, worsening isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ## Related quotes > [“Our dissatisfactions may be the result of failing to look properly at our lives rather than the result of anything inherently deficient about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/our-dissatisfactions-may-be-the-result-of-failing-to-look-properly-at/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Sometimes indifference can be so erotic. I think the people who are most dismissive of you get the most of your attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/sometimes-indifference-can-be-so-erotic-i-think-the-people-who-are/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [It's an Australian thing to be dismissive. We find that endearing. Americans don't. They believe what you say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/it-s-an-australian-thing-to-be-dismissive-we-find-that-endearing/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“This is the kind of behavior that I was dreading: she doesn't see that what she's doing is for her, not me. She doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/this-is-the-kind-of-behavior-that-i-was-dreading-she-doesn-t-see-that/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [The worst thing to call somebody is crazy. It's dismissive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-chappelle/the-worst-thing-to-call-somebody-is-crazy-it-s-dismissive/) [Dave Chappelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-chappelle/) > [I'd be the first to say that I'm a distant individual. I have a tendency to come across as being aloof and dismissive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-parish/i-d-be-the-first-to-say-that-i-m-a-distant-individual-i-have-a/) [Robert Parish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-parish/) > [When we accept dismissive judgments of our community we stop having generous hope for it. We cease to be capable of serving its best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/when-we-accept-dismissive-judgments-of-our-community-we-stop-having/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [When men act up by being degrading, dismissive, condescending, shut off, or sullen, that can often dumbfound you as a woman and get you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goulston/when-men-act-up-by-being-degrading-dismissive-condescending-shut-off/) [Mark Goulston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goulston/) > [A lot of people have been very dismissive of me. I'm hardly the darling of the NME. It used to get me down a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/a-lot-of-people-have-been-very-dismissive-of-me-i-m-hardly-the/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [“Reckless. Insatiable. Deceptive. Clingy. Vain. Dismissive. Trivial. Violent. Tactless. Controlling. Impractical. Fearful. Think of one example in your past where you exhibited each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-katehakis/reckless-insatiable-deceptive-clingy-vain-dismissive-trivial-violent/) [Alexandra Katehakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-katehakis/) > [I come across as being arrogant and dismissive, even if that is not the case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-parish/i-come-across-as-being-arrogant-and-dismissive-even-if-that-is-not/) [Robert Parish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-parish/) > [There are people who are very dismissive of games and gamers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/there-are-people-who-are-very-dismissive-of-games-and-gamers/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [You can't be dismissive of important things. You have to speak out, even if you don't get the results you would like to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-halford/you-can-t-be-dismissive-of-important-things-you-have-to-speak-out/) [Rob Halford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-halford/) > [I hope that people who don't believe depression is a real thing will stop calling people crazy, because that's dismissive and not a medical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerby-jean-raymond/i-hope-that-people-who-don-t-believe-depression-is-a-real-thing-will/) [Kerby Jean-Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerby-jean-raymond/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. I don’t know if the whole thing’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-don-t-know-where-the-universe-came-from-or-what-happens-to/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## More by Thomas Pynchon > [“How strange tonight, this city. As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Lovely morning, World War Two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/lovely-morning-world-war-two/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Listen to anything and take it apart again. Spectrum analysis, in my head. I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... failing to look inscrutable to any but the habitually dismissive ...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Pynchon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-the-habitually-dismissive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-the-habitually-dismissive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/thomas-pynchon-533_failure_failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-t_1479943.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... failing to look inscrutable to any but the habitually dismissive ...” — Thomas Pynchon", "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": "Thomas Pynchon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... failing to look inscrutable to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-the-habitually-dismissive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/failing-to-look-inscrutable-to-any-but-the-habitually-dismissive/#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 } } ] } ```