Curiosity Quote by Adele Logan Alexander
“Ultimately a historian has to put together a cohesive work. That doesn't mean that your curiosity is ever totally satisfied.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: "The Historian’s Burden" by Adele Logan Alexander, 1995
Historians must create coherent narratives, but curiosity can never be fully satisfied.
In simple terms: History never fully satisfies curiosity.
Key Takeaway
Embrace ongoing inquiry.
Themes
history
curiosity
incompletion
narrative
Mood
inquisitive
determined
Type
academic
reflective
When to use this quote
- research projects
- academic study
- personal learning
Key Concepts
epistemology
storytelling
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you handle unresolved questions?
- What drives you to keep researching?
A Different Perspective
Complete certainty is unattainable.
![“We have no clear ideas of the agency of [demonic] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but tells us plainly that he is always watching us, and desiring to sift us as wheat. I believe we give him no more than his due, when we charge him with having a…” quote by John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c75/john-newton-6629_abundance_we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of_2907.jpg)
![“[T]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. [...] The point is, perhaps, that I am not looking for a verbal answer, just as when I ask for a kiss, I do not want a piece of paper with "A kiss" written on it. It is rather that metaphysical wonder looks…” quote by Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/705/alan-w-watts-9497_curiosity_t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no_3984.jpg)
![“By profession a biologist, [Thomas Henry Huxley] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences. Absolutely nothing was uninteresting to him. His curiosity ranged from music to theology and from philosophy to history. He didn't simply know something…” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f46/h-l-mencken-245_absolutely-nothing_by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-h_5368.jpg)
