في العمق، ليس العالم مزحةً. نحن نمزح عنه لنتجنّب مواجهة قضيةٍ مع أحدهم، ولنُفهمه أننا نعلم بوجوده وأسئلته؛ ولنُنزع سلاحه بأن نوحي بأننا سمعنا حجته وأنصفناها في جدالهما القائم.

“At bottom the world isn't a joke. We only joke about it to avoid an issue with someone, to let someone know that we know he's there with his questions; to disarm him by seeming to have heard and done justice to his side of the standing argument.”Robert Frost — The Letters of Robert Frost (2016)