--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human contacts have been so highly valued…" description: "\"Human contacts have been so highly valued in the past only because reading was not a common accomplishment… The world, you must remember, is only just ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/aldous-huxley-97_accomplishment_human-contacts-have-been-so-highly-value_1204394.jpg" --- # Human contacts have been so highly valued in the past only… ![“Human contacts have been so highly valued in the past only because reading was not a common accomplishment… The world, you must remember, is only just becoming literate. As reading becomes more and more habitual and widespread, an ever-increasing number of people will discover that books will give…” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/aldous-huxley-97_accomplishment_human-contacts-have-been-so-highly-value_1204394.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/aldous-huxley-97_accomplishment_human-contacts-have-been-so-highly-value_1204394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/aldous-huxley-97_accomplishment_human-contacts-have-been-so-highly-value_1204394.jpg) > “Human contacts have been so highly valued in the past only because reading was not a common accomplishment… The world, you must remember, is only just becoming literate. As reading becomes more and more habitual and widespread, an ever-increasing number of people will discover that books will give them all the pleasures of social life and none of its intolerable tedium.” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading transforms solitary activity into a social experience, offering the benefits of companionship without its burdens. **In simple terms:** Books provide social pleasure without tedium. Key Takeaway Embrace reading for richer social insight. Themes literacy social connection culture solitude technology Mood reflective optimistic Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - education - personal development - community building - digital media consumption Key Concepts humanism media theory cognitive enrichment Questions to Reflect On - How does reading replace or complement face‑to‑face interaction? - What social needs does literature fulfill? A Different Perspective Reading alone may lack interactive feedback found in real conversations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Habitual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habitual/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Literate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literate/) [Literate Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literate-reading-3625173/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-common-1165394/) [Reading Habitual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-habitual-1564509/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Tedium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tedium/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Human contacts have been so highly valued in the past only because reading was not a common accomplishment and because books were scarce and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/human-contacts-have-been-so-highly-valued-in-the-past-only-because/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“As reading becomes more and more habitual and widespread, an ever-increasing number of people will discover that books will give them all the pleasures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/as-reading-becomes-more-and-more-habitual-and-widespread-an-ever/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“No, give me the past. It doesn’t change; it’s all there in black and white, and you can get to know about it comfortably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/no-give-me-the-past-it-doesn-t-change-it-s-all-there-in-black-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All these are readers, and their gestures, their craft, the pleasure, the responsibility and the power they derive from reading, are common with mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/all-these-are-readers-and-their-gestures-their-craft-the-pleasure-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“All readers have reading in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/all-readers-have-reading-in-common/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [Quotation... 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-berardinelli/despite-his-reputation-as-one-of-america-s-foremost-serious/) [James Berardinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-berardinelli/) > [The nowadays ruling that no word is unprintable has, I think, done nothing whatever for beautiful letters. The boys have gone hog-wild with liberty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-nowadays-ruling-that-no-word-is-unprintable-has-i-think-done-2/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Tedium is the bane of immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lowe/tedium-is-the-bane-of-immortality/) [Neil Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-lowe/) > [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. 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And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going on walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/then-what-s-time-for-asked-lenina-in-some-astonishment-apparently-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-right-then-said-the-savage-defiantly-i-m-claiming-the-right-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/speed-it-seems-to-me-provides-the-one-genuinely-modern-pleasure/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What you need is a gramme of soma.” “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-you-need-is-a-gramme-of-soma-all-the-advantages-of-christianity/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Quote of the day:Quote of the day: A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/quote-of-the-day-quote-of-the-day-a-democracy-which-makes-or-even/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Explore all 1,291 Aldous Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More Accomplishment quotes > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. 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No passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/our-purpose-on-this-earth-is-not-one-single-event-an-accomplishment/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/an-untrained-or-uneducated-marine-deployed-to-the-combat-zone-is-a/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) [Browse all 1,598 Accomplishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human contacts have been so highly valued in the past only because reading was not a common accomplishment… The world, you must remember, is only just becoming literate. 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