--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All records are riddles, and whatever you…" description: "\"All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people to think it's about, it may just be throwing them off. And you don't want it to get in the wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/tom-waits-916_learning_all-records-are-riddles-and-whatever-you_1729456.jpg" --- # All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people… ![“All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people to think it's about, it may just be throwing them off. And you don't want it to get in the way of what someone else's understanding is. It's not really about anything. At the same time, it will find some meaning.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/tom-waits-916_learning_all-records-are-riddles-and-whatever-you_1729456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/tom-waits-916_learning_all-records-are-riddles-and-whatever-you_1729456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/tom-waits-916_learning_all-records-are-riddles-and-whatever-you_1729456.jpg) > “All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people to think it's about, it may just be throwing them off. And you don't want it to get in the way of what someone else's understanding is. It's not really about anything. At the same time, it will find some meaning.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## 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 suggests that records (or information) can be deceptive, offering misleading clues, yet they may still hold hidden meaning. **In simple terms:** Records can mislead but also reveal meaning. Key Takeaway Question the surface and look deeper for truth. Themes deception interpretation meaning communication Mood skeptical curious Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - research - media analysis - legal evidence - personal relationships Key Concepts semiotics epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern genuine meaning? - When might a misleading record be useful? A Different Perspective Not all records are meaningless; some may be intentionally vague. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Records Riddles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records-riddles-1416669/) [Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riddle/) [Riddles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riddles/) [Riddles Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riddles-want-1416670/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Throwing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throwing/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I am a man of few words, but many riddles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gorshin/i-am-a-man-of-few-words-but-many-riddles/) [Frank Gorshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gorshin/) > ['The Hobbit' was one of the first biggish books I ever read. I remember vividly the 'riddles in the dark' passage, and it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/the-hobbit-was-one-of-the-first-biggish-books-i-ever-read-i-remember/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Some people have an unconquerable love of riddles. They may have the chance of listening to plain sense, or to such wisdom that explains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/some-people-have-an-unconquerable-love-of-riddles-they-may-have-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Susannah: (sotto voce) Everybody's a goddam critic. Jake: Blaine, I have one more. Blaine: EXCELLENT. Jake: Out of the eater came forth meat, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/susannah-sotto-voce-everybody-s-a-goddam-critic-jake-blaine-i-have/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You wanna hear a riddle, huh? Read my mind. My world. My life. Me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guardian-hommie-g/you-wanna-hear-a-riddle-huh-read-my-mind-my-world-my-life-me/) [Guardian/Hommie G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guardian-hommie-g/) > [But beyond the bright searchlights of science, Out of sight of the windows of sense, Old riddles still bid us defiance, Old questions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cecil-dampier/but-beyond-the-bright-searchlights-of-science-out-of-sight-of-the/) [William Cecil Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cecil-dampier/) > [No; but you came, and found the riddles waiting for you! Indeed you are yourself the only riddle. What you call riddles are truths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/no-but-you-came-and-found-the-riddles-waiting-for-you-indeed-you-are/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [The scientist should treasure the riddles he can't solve, not explain them away at the outset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-unger/the-scientist-should-treasure-the-riddles-he-can-t-solve-not-explain/) [Roberto Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-unger/) > [All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/all-of-life-s-riddles-are-answered-in-the-movies/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Anything which throws light upon the Universe, anything which reveals us to ourselves, should be welcome in this world of riddles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/anything-which-throws-light-upon-the-universe-anything-which-reveals/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [I think when I started to write 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' that I had that kind of thing in mind - the notion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trenton-lee-stewart/i-think-when-i-started-to-write-the-mysterious-benedict-society-that/) [Trenton Lee Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trenton-lee-stewart/) > [And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles. Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-you-would-know-god-be-not-therefore-a-solver-of-riddles-rather/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is an Anglo-Saxon form of riddling that plays with the polarities of words like bright and dark, cold and warm, throwing them against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-hausman/there-is-an-anglo-saxon-form-of-riddling-that-plays-with-the/) [Gerald Hausman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-hausman/) > [The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-riddles-of-god-are-more-satisfying-than-the-solutions-of-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are more riddles in a stone than in a philosopher's head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-knight/there-are-more-riddles-in-a-stone-than-in-a-philosopher-s-head/) [Damon Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-knight/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Learning quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Learning from the best, you will eventually become the best if you have the talent already, if you have that potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-orton/learning-from-the-best-you-will-eventually-become-the-best-if-you/) [Randy Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-orton/) > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) [H.D. 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Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Damen's understanding of Laurent rearranged itself, in order that he might despise him more accurately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/damen-s-understanding-of-laurent-rearranged-itself-in-order-that-he/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) [Browse all 22,300 Learning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people to think it's about, it may just be throwing them off. And you don't want it to get in the way of what someone else's understanding is. It's not really about anything. 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