--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be foolish to describe the…" description: "\"It would be foolish to describe the logistics hub as merely ugly, for it has the horrifying, soulless, immaculate beauty characteristic of many of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg" --- # It would be foolish to describe the logistics hub as… ![“It would be foolish to describe the logistics hub as merely ugly, for it has the horrifying, soulless, immaculate beauty characteristic of many of the workplaces of the modern world.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg) > “It would be foolish to describe the logistics hub as merely ugly, for it has the horrifying, soulless, immaculate beauty characteristic of many of the workplaces of the modern world.” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes modern workplaces as both repulsive and oddly beautiful, reflecting a paradox of aesthetic and functional design. **In simple terms:** Modern offices can seem ugly yet possess a striking, eerie beauty. Key Takeaway Recognize the paradox in contemporary design. Themes design architecture modernity beauty paradox Mood reflective thoughtful observational Type design philosophy culture When to use this quote - office design - corporate culture - urban planning - interior design Key Concepts aesthetic theory environmental psychology urbanism Questions to Reflect On - Why do we find beauty in utilitarian spaces? - How does design affect worker wellbeing? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize harsh work environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Modern world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-world/) [Workplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workplace/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Curiosity might be pictured as being made up of chains of small questions extending outwards, sometimes over huge distances, from a central hub composed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/curiosity-might-be-pictured-as-being-made-up-of-chains-of-small/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [America is a nation with no truly national city, no Paris, no Rome, no London, no city which is at once the social center,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/america-is-a-nation-with-no-truly-national-city-no-paris-no-rome-no/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Water, the Hub of Life. Water is its mater and matrix, mother and medium. Water is the most extraordinary substance! Practically all its properties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/water-the-hub-of-life-water-is-its-mater-and-matrix-mother-and-medium/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [We do not step out of the world when we pray; we merely see the world in a different setting. The self is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/we-do-not-step-out-of-the-world-when-we-pray-we-merely-see-the-world/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [I tried to get the word out to people who are information hubs in their communities, because they could propagate the call quickly. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalo-hopkinson/i-tried-to-get-the-word-out-to-people-who-are-information-hubs-in/) [Nalo Hopkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalo-hopkinson/) > [I always have a positive reaction to Times Square - you've got so many people passing through here, so many cultures, and so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhani-jones/i-always-have-a-positive-reaction-to-times-square-you-ve-got-so-many/) [Dhani Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhani-jones/) > [We continued the hard work of integrating TWA, because at that time we still thought an efficient connecting hub in St. Louis could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-arpey/we-continued-the-hard-work-of-integrating-twa-because-at-that-time-we/) [Gerard Arpey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-arpey/) > [Passengers don't like changing planes. That means waiting time, stress, running around. There's a joke that the hub principle is supposed to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stelios-haji-ioannou/passengers-don-t-like-changing-planes-that-means-waiting-time-stress/) [Stelios Haji-Ioannou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stelios-haji-ioannou/) > [The biggest thing that has happened to hip-hop is the clinging on to the corporation as the all-mighty hub of the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/the-biggest-thing-that-has-happened-to-hip-hop-is-the-clinging-on-to/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [I want to make Jaunpur a shooting hub of Bhojpuri cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-kishan/i-want-to-make-jaunpur-a-shooting-hub-of-bhojpuri-cinema/) [Ravi Kishan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-kishan/) > [It is important to understand that while oxytocin may be the hub of the evolution of the social brain in mammals, it is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-churchland/it-is-important-to-understand-that-while-oxytocin-may-be-the-hub-of/) [Patricia Churchland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-churchland/) > [Because Chicago was to radio what Hollywood was to films and Broadway was to the theatre: it was the hub of radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-torme/because-chicago-was-to-radio-what-hollywood-was-to-films-and-broadway/) [Mel Torme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-torme/) > [I definitely think that with music my favorite thing about Nashville is that it's a music hub that accepts and allows all genres to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-definitely-think-that-with-music-my-favorite-thing-about-nashville/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Brooklyn is a hub; people move to Brooklyn because of what's already in Brooklyn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/brooklyn-is-a-hub-people-move-to-brooklyn-because-of-what-s-already/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would be foolish to describe the logistics hub as merely ugly, for it has the horrifying, soulless, immaculate beauty characteristic of many of the workplaces of the modern world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logistics-hub-as-merely-ugly-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logistics-hub-as-merely-ugly-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/alain-de-botton-221_beauty_it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logi_1678808.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would be foolish to describe the logistics hub as merely ugly, for it has the horrifying, soulless…” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It would be foolish to describe...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logistics-hub-as-merely-ugly-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-would-be-foolish-to-describe-the-logistics-hub-as-merely-ugly-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```