--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the flaws in the picture the truth…" description: "\"By the flaws in the picture the truth will emerge.\" — William S. Burroughs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/william-s-burroughs-528_flaws_by-the-flaws-in-the-picture-the-truth-wi_1026756.png" --- # By the flaws in the picture the truth will emerge. ![“By the flaws in the picture the truth will emerge.” quote by William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/william-s-burroughs-528_flaws_by-the-flaws-in-the-picture-the-truth-wi_1026756.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/william-s-burroughs-528_flaws_by-the-flaws-in-the-picture-the-truth-wi_1026756.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/william-s-burroughs-528_flaws_by-the-flaws-in-the-picture-the-truth-wi_1026756.png) > “By the flaws in the picture the truth will emerge.” [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Examining imperfections reveals deeper truths that are hidden by a polished surface. **In simple terms:** Flaws expose truth. Key Takeaway Look beyond perfection to understand reality. Themes truth perception imperfection Mood inquisitive analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art criticism - personal introspection - scientific analysis Key Concepts philosophy critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What hidden truths have you discovered by questioning appearances? - How can you balance appreciation of beauty with critical insight? A Different Perspective Focusing on flaws can lead to negativity if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The theory of the free press is not that the truth will be presented completely or perfectly in any one instance, but that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-theory-of-the-free-press-is-not-that-the-truth-will-be-presented/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If there was a god, he wouldn't let a guy walk right up and shoot you in the face now would he? That's right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-there-was-a-god-he-wouldn-t-let-a-guy-walk-right-up-and-shoot-you/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I almost always mess up. I fall too easily in love. I cry over boys. I'm not the prettiest girl you can find. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-almost-always-mess-up-i-fall-too-easily-in-love-i-cry-over-boys-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm attracted to playing characters that have flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-shahi/i-m-attracted-to-playing-characters-that-have-flaws/) [Sarah Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-shahi/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [“Perfection was a myth. Beauty was in the flaws." - Tommas de Rossi “Chicago War: The Complete Series”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-kris/perfection-was-a-myth-beauty-was-in-the-flaws-tommas-de-rossi-chicago/) [Bethany-Kris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-kris/) > [Heroes became heroes flaws and all gives us hope. "You mean I don't have to be perfect to fulfill my Dream, to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/heroes-became-heroes-flaws-and-all-gives-us-hope-you-mean-i-don-t/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [I'm perfectly flawed... I've got tons of flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-m-perfectly-flawed-i-ve-got-tons-of-flaws/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) ## More by William S. Burroughs > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Well as, one judge said to the other, 'Be just and if you can't be just be arbitrary.' Regret cannot observe customary obscenities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/well-as-one-judge-said-to-the-other-be-just-and-if-you-can-t-be-just/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-one-look-at-this-planet-any-visitor-from-outer-space-would-say/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-seven-days-she-lay-in-bed-looking-sullenly-at-the-ceiling-as/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When you stop growing you start dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-you-stop-growing-you-start-dying/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Life is a cutup. And to pretend that you write or paint in a timeless vacuum is just simply . . . not .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/life-is-a-cutup-and-to-pretend-that-you-write-or-paint-in-a-timeless/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When all lies, deceit, pretense is stripped away, what remains? The truth of a painting, or a book or a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-all-lies-deceit-pretense-is-stripped-away-what-remains-the-truth/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There is no final enough of wisdom, experience - any fucking thing. No Holy Grail, No Final Satori, no solution. Just conflict. Only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-is-no-final-enough-of-wisdom-experience-any-fucking-thing-no/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-john-dillinger-in-hope-he-is-still-alive-thanksgiving-day/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need a good bedside manner with doctors or you will get nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-need-a-good-bedside-manner-with-doctors-or-you-will-get-nowhere/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-couldn-t-be-a-society-of-people-who-didn-t-dream-they-d-be-dead/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-prefer-cats-to-people-for-the-most-part-most-people-aren-t-cute-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“It is not the intensity but the duration of pain that breaks the will to resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/it-is-not-the-intensity-but-the-duration-of-pain-that-breaks-the-will/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Explore all 484 William S. Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More Flaws quotes > [I'm perfectly flawed... I've got tons of flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-m-perfectly-flawed-i-ve-got-tons-of-flaws/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I almost always mess up. I fall too easily in love. I cry over boys. I'm not the prettiest girl you can find. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-almost-always-mess-up-i-fall-too-easily-in-love-i-cry-over-boys-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Heroes became heroes flaws and all gives us hope. "You mean I don't have to be perfect to fulfill my Dream, to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/heroes-became-heroes-flaws-and-all-gives-us-hope-you-mean-i-don-t/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [“Perfection was a myth. Beauty was in the flaws." - Tommas de Rossi “Chicago War: The Complete Series”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-kris/perfection-was-a-myth-beauty-was-in-the-flaws-tommas-de-rossi-chicago/) [Bethany-Kris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-kris/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I'm attracted to playing characters that have flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-shahi/i-m-attracted-to-playing-characters-that-have-flaws/) [Sarah Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-shahi/) > [Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/certain-flaws-are-necessary-for-the-whole-it-would-seem-strange-if/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Browse all 1,403 Flaws quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By the flaws in the picture the truth will emerge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William S. 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