“Truth would quickly cease to be stranger than fiction”
— H. L. Mencken
Simplified Meaning:
Truth can sometimes be so unusual and surprising that it seems even more incredible than a made-up story. For example, imagine a real person who has survived a lightning strike, won the lottery, and then landed a plane without training. These events are so rare and impressive that if you read them in a book, you'd think the author had a wild imagination. However, if we could fully understand everything about life and the world, these strange truths might not seem so strange anymore. They’d become part of our knowledge, just like the fact that the Earth is round or that we can communicate with people on the other side of the world instantly. So, this idea reminds us that our world is full of amazing things that we might not fully grasp yet. It’s a reason to stay curious and keep learning. By doing this, we make the extraordinary seem ordinary, and we become less astonished by life’s surprises. This is why it's important to look beyond what we think we know and be open to the unexpected.