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Not Knowing Quotes

Words on the risk, mystery, and freedom of not knowing.

These quotes sit comfortably with uncertainty, treating not knowing as both a source of risk and, oddly, what makes life bearable at all. The theme connects to Doing Quotes.

As I travelled around Australia, strangers in pubs, on airplanes, in beach parking lots would bring up Gina Rinehart, not knowing I was writing about her. Everybody had something to say, some of it thoughtful, some of it poorly informed,...

Quotes by William Finnegan

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.

Warren Buffett

The habit of common and continuous speech is a symptom of mental deficiency. It proceeds from not knowing what is going on in other people's minds.

Quotes by Walter Bagehot

The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.

Quotes by Ursula K. Le Guin

Always Quotes

It not knowing what to do, it's doing what you know.

Quotes by Tony Robbins

We can identify with Frodo and Sam, setting off not knowing quite where they are going and what they are to do.

Quotes by Timothy Radcliffe

Our greatest motivation in life comes from not knowing the future.

Quotes by Thomas Frey

You don't want to be starting a film not knowing what you want to do.

Quotes by Russell Crowe

I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there.

Quotes by Richard P. Feynman

Better Quotes

I like not knowing what's around the corner. It's always been that way, and maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm an actor.

Quotes by Richard Jenkins

I've always felt robbed of something by people not knowing I was a Jew.

Quotes by Piper Laurie

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering.

Paulo Coelho

An actor shouldn't undergo psychoanalysis, because there are a lot of things you're better off not knowing.

Quotes by Paul Lynde

Not knowing the thing that's chasing you is a lot scarier than seeing it right in front of you.

Quotes by Oren Peli

Doing Quotes

The Cylons are such a frightening concept - not knowing who is real. No way.

Quotes by Mary McDonnell

Unfortunately, the food industry has not yet faced this situation and begun taking measures to avoid exploiting our weakness for not knowing when we have had enough.

Quotes by Marvin Harris

When I'm happiest writing is just not knowing where it goes and just let the characters bring you there.

Quotes by Martin McDonagh

I think it's okay not knowing what you want to become.

Quotes by Manushi Chhillar

It's exciting not knowing what tomorrow, or the next month, or the next year holds.

Quotes by Lucy Boynton

Everything Quotes

The sense of not knowing where I came from let me be as smart as I wanted to be.

Quotes by Lisa Lutz

Frequently Asked Questions

What connects these "not knowing" quotes?
They treat uncertainty as central to the human experience, from the risks it creates to the odd comfort found in never seeing the future coming.
Is there a quote about being talked about without realizing it?
Yes, one describes strangers casually discussing someone in public, unaware the very person was standing there listening.
Does any quote link talking too much to not knowing?
One suggests constant chatter often comes from not understanding what's actually going on inside other minds.
Is uncertainty framed as a bad thing here?
Not entirely, one quote argues that permanent, nagging uncertainty is actually what makes life possible at all.
Where can I read related reflective quotes?
Visit Doing Quotes or Better Quotes for more on navigating uncertainty.

Other lines describe the strange experience of strangers discussing someone without realizing who they were, or the deficiency behind constant chatter. Continue with Always Quotes or Better Quotes.