--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think of the universe as an engine…" description: "\"“I think of the universe as an engine. Perhaps we are a very small, yet very important part of this engine. What this engine drives—its purpose for exp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/aaron-b-powell-12193_origin-of-life_i-think-of-the-universe-as-an-engine-per_1792063.jpg" --- # I think of the universe as an engine. Perhaps we are a… ![“I think of the universe as an engine. Perhaps we are a very small, yet very important part of this engine. What this engine drives—its purpose for expanding and contracting—that’s what I’m curious about. It’s unlikely that human beings are even capable of understanding purpose; like a tiny cell in…” quote by Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/aaron-b-powell-12193_origin-of-life_i-think-of-the-universe-as-an-engine-per_1792063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/aaron-b-powell-12193_origin-of-life_i-think-of-the-universe-as-an-engine-per_1792063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/aaron-b-powell-12193_origin-of-life_i-think-of-the-universe-as-an-engine-per_1792063.jpg) > ““I think of the universe as an engine. Perhaps we are a very small, yet very important part of this engine. What this engine drives—its purpose for expanding and contracting—that’s what I’m curious about. It’s unlikely that human beings are even capable of understanding purpose; like a tiny cell in our body, it has no idea why it functions, it simply does.”” [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The universe is likened to an engine, with humanity as a tiny but vital component, questioning purpose beyond our comprehension. **In simple terms:** The cosmos works like a machine; we are small parts, unsure of the ultimate goal. Key Takeaway Accept mystery, seek meaning. Themes purpose cosmos humanity philosophy Mood wonderful reflective humble Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - personal reflection - education - artistic creation Key Concepts systems theory existentialism anthropic principle Questions to Reflect On - What role can we play in a vast unknown? - How does recognizing our smallness affect purpose? A Different Perspective Human curiosity may never fully grasp cosmic purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Origin of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origin-of-life/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-found-the-key-to-the-universe-in-the-engine-of-an-old-parked-car/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [A great purposelessness has descended upon modern civilizations. People at large have lost any sense of the meaning and purpose of life; and without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/a-great-purposelessness-has-descended-upon-modern-civilizations/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [It's very important that we all have a common understanding of our purpose as a business - what we aspire to - and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-muilenburg/it-s-very-important-that-we-all-have-a-common-understanding-of-our/) [Dennis Muilenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-muilenburg/) > [There will be no major solution to the suffering of humanity until we reach some understanding of who we are, what the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/there-will-be-no-major-solution-to-the-suffering-of-humanity-until-we/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Sometimes people think they are looking for the meaning of life, when really they are looking for an understanding of why they are here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/sometimes-people-think-they-are-looking-for-the-meaning-of-life-when/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) > [Tribulations often enrich, refine, and guide us to a deeper understanding of the purpose of our existence here in mortality and of the Atonement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-a-teixeira/tribulations-often-enrich-refine-and-guide-us-to-a-deeper/) Jose A. Teixeira > [When you see what you really are, good or bad, there is a fearlessness to understanding your purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-richard/when-you-see-what-you-really-are-good-or-bad-there-is-a-fearlessness/) [Dawn Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-richard/) > [“companies more than ever need to have a clear understanding of their purpose in order to make work meaningful and thereby attract, motivate, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/companies-more-than-ever-need-to-have-a-clear-understanding-of-their/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [Our great whirling planet, our human individuality, were not given to us merely that we might exist for a time and then vanish into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/our-great-whirling-planet-our-human-individuality-were-not-given-to/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“No soul in the world is without a particular mission to perform and accomplish, and the misery of every soul is in not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-hand-of-poetry-five-mystic-poets-of-persia-translations-from-the-poems-of-sanai-attar-rumi-saadi/no-soul-in-the-world-is-without-a-particular-mission-to-perform-and/) The Hand of Poetry Five Mystic Poets of Persia Translations from the Poems of Sanai Attar Rumi Saadi > [I think every being in the universe is connected somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-think-every-being-in-the-universe-is-connected-somehow/) Gza > [To think the universe is only composed of the physical universe is to be rather shortsighted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/to-think-the-universe-is-only-composed-of-the-physical-universe-is-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Time and space were, from Death's point of view, merely things that he'd heard described. When it came to Death, they ticked the box…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/time-and-space-were-from-death-s-point-of-view-merely-things-that-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I love to think of the whole universe together as one eternal fact. I love to think that everything is alive; that crystallization is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-love-to-think-of-the-whole-universe-together-as-one-eternal-fact-i/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“Sometimes I think the universe has decided I'm not allowed to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-watt/sometimes-i-think-the-universe-has-decided-i-m-not-allowed-to-be-happy/) [Erin Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-watt/) ## More by Aaron B. Powell > [“Will this generation be able to turn things around and learn a valuable lesson from all of this? I hope so, but I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/will-this-generation-be-able-to-turn-things-around-and-learn-a/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“Once you get into your thirties, you stop giving a fuck what people think about your opinions. You're more confident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/once-you-get-into-your-thirties-you-stop-giving-a-fuck-what-people/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“I’m just happy to have experienced life; to have had a beautiful son and to have loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/i-m-just-happy-to-have-experienced-life-to-have-had-a-beautiful-son/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“I want that little blonde bitch in the lobby to hear me screaming your name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/i-want-that-little-blonde-bitch-in-the-lobby-to-hear-me-screaming/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“Is it hot in here? I’m sweating like a Christian in science class.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/is-it-hot-in-here-i-m-sweating-like-a-christian-in-science-class/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“Our shortcomings drive us, motivate us – to work harder or realize another purpose/talent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/our-shortcomings-drive-us-motivate-us-to-work-harder-or-realize/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“There are three kinds of fighters: the aggressive fighter who charges in blindly trying to get the upper hand, the defensive fighter who blocks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/there-are-three-kinds-of-fighters-the-aggressive-fighter-who-charges/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“What if we were to subject public servants like politicians to a battery of psychological tests like the MMPI? Maybe we could determine which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/what-if-we-were-to-subject-public-servants-like-politicians-to-a/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“You want to be a marine; you need to learn how to fuck like one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/you-want-to-be-a-marine-you-need-to-learn-how-to-fuck-like-one/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“1. So, disturbed kids are taking guns to school and killing teachers and classmates. We better make sure kids can’t get guns. 2. So,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/1-so-disturbed-kids-are-taking-guns-to-school-and-killing-teachers/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“I never have time to write, and I always have a thousand distractions in my way. But still, I write. I write because I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/i-never-have-time-to-write-and-i-always-have-a-thousand-distractions/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“If you want a job making toys, move to China.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/if-you-want-a-job-making-toys-move-to-china/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“No one in this room is identical. We all have something unique to offer. It is the responsibility of each of us to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/no-one-in-this-room-is-identical-we-all-have-something-unique-to/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“The greatest trick Christianity ever pulled was convincing the world that Satan exists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/the-greatest-trick-christianity-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [“What do you believe reveals more about a man’s character, his arrogance or his attempt to disguise it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/what-do-you-believe-reveals-more-about-a-man-s-character-his/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) [Explore all 54 Aaron B. Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) ## More Origin of life quotes > [“If it be said that it is the mind that produces Karma (I ask), what is the mind? If you mean the heart, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/if-it-be-said-that-it-is-the-mind-that-produces-karma-i-ask-what-is/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-uniformity-of-the-earth-s-life-more-astonishing-than-its/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [All of us who study the origin of life find that the more we look into it, the more we feel it is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-urey/all-of-us-who-study-the-origin-of-life-find-that-the-more-we-look/) [Harold Urey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-urey/) > [One of the most significant events in our distant past is still perhaps the greatest mystery: the origins of life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/one-of-the-most-significant-events-in-our-distant-past-is-still/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Yet, unlike the causal specificity that obtains for microevolutionary processes, origin-of-life researchers have yet to specify the chemical pathways that supposedly originated life. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/yet-unlike-the-causal-specificity-that-obtains-for-microevolutionary/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Evolution does not attempt to explain the origin of life. It is simply a history of the process of life. With the secret cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/evolution-does-not-attempt-to-explain-the-origin-of-life-it-is-simply/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [The origin of life is one of the great outstanding mysteries of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/the-origin-of-life-is-one-of-the-great-outstanding-mysteries-of/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“The existence of consciousness is both one of the most familiar and one of the most astounding things about the world. No conception of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/the-existence-of-consciousness-is-both-one-of-the-most-familiar-and/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [A fountain is the memory of nature, this marvelous sound of a little river in the mountains translated to the city. For me, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaume-plensa/a-fountain-is-the-memory-of-nature-this-marvelous-sound-of-a-little/) Jaume Plensa > [In the southern countries and in the regions and continents like Africa, which is where the origin of life on earth began, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/in-the-southern-countries-and-in-the-regions-and-continents-like/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [There is no agreement on the extent to which metabolism could develop independently of a genetic material. In my opinion, there is no basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-orgel/there-is-no-agreement-on-the-extent-to-which-metabolism-could-develop/) Leslie Orgel > [As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency-or, rather, Agency-must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-greenstein/as-we-survey-all-the-evidence-the-thought-insistently-arises-that/) George Greenstein > [When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-look-at-that-nature-world-it-becomes-an-icon-it-becomes-a/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Why is it that skeptics are always being accused of arrogance? For the record, we're the guys who DON'T claim to have absolute knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-p-harrison/why-is-it-that-skeptics-are-always-being-accused-of-arrogance-for-the/) [Guy P. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-p-harrison/) > [Give us detailed, testable, mechanistic accounts for the origin of life, the origin of the genetic code, the origin of ubiquitous bio macromolecules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/give-us-detailed-testable-mechanistic-accounts-for-the-origin-of-life/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) [Browse all 85 Origin of life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origin-of-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think of the universe as an engine. Perhaps we are a very small, yet very important part of this engine. 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