--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only the human mind invents categories…" description: "\"Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.\" — Alfred Kinsey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg" --- # Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force… ![“Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.” quote by Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg) > “Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.” [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human minds create artificial divisions, forcing complex reality into simplistic categories. **In simple terms:** Categories are mental constructs that simplify reality. Key Takeaway Question and broaden your classifications. Themes cognition categorization bias Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inquisitive When to use this quote - education - policy making - media analysis - personal decision making Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - When have categories limited your understanding? - How can you think beyond binary labels? A Different Perspective Categories can help organize thought but may limit nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Gay pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-pride/) [Homosexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexual/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Lgbt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lgbt/) [Lgbt community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lgbt-community/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Taxonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxonomy/) ## Related quotes > [Understand that sexuality is as wide as the sea...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/understand-that-sexuality-is-as-wide-as-the-sea/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [“There are pigeonholes in the brain with labels on them such as: To be looked into when I feel like it; Never to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/there-are-pigeonholes-in-the-brain-with-labels-on-them-such-as-to-be/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Particles of raw inspiration sleet through the universe all the time. Every once in a while one of them hits a receptive mind, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/particles-of-raw-inspiration-sleet-through-the-universe-all-the-time/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Males do not represent two discrete populations; heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats, and not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/males-do-not-represent-two-discrete-populations-heterosexual-and-2/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The next time someone asks you why LGBT Pride marches exist or why Gay Pride Month is June tell them “A bisexual woman named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-limoncelli/the-next-time-someone-asks-you-why-lgbt-pride-marches-exist-or-why/) Tom Limoncelli > [No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/no-government-has-the-right-to-tell-its-citizens-when-or-whom-to-love-2/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [When all Americans are treated as equal we are all more free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/when-all-americans-are-treated-as-equal-we-are-all-more-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Hearing from fans is the best feeling in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-shaw/hearing-from-fans-is-the-best-feeling-in-the-world/) [Lindsey Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-shaw/) > [If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-a-bullet-should-enter-my-brain-let-that-bullet-destroy-every/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [The only people are those who don't love anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/the-only-people-are-those-who-don-t-love-anybody/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Death of a Salesman' is a brilliant taxonomy of the spiritual atrophy of mid-twentieth-century white America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/death-of-a-salesman-is-a-brilliant-taxonomy-of-the-spiritual-atrophy/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [I have worked really hard to defy categorization, to break down a taxonomy whenever it comes my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-have-worked-really-hard-to-defy-categorization-to-break-down-a/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [“It may be worth while to illustrate this view of classification, by taking the case of languages. If we possessed a perfect pedigree of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-worth-while-to-illustrate-this-view-of-classification-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) ## More by Alfred Kinsey > [Art alone develops weaklings, science alone, monsters. Somewhere, somehow, we must combine the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/art-alone-develops-weaklings-science-alone-monsters-somewhere-somehow/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The only unnatural sex act is that which you cannot perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-only-unnatural-sex-act-is-that-which-you-cannot-perform/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The range of variation in the female far exceeds the range of variation in the male.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-range-of-variation-in-the-female-far-exceeds-the-range-of/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [There is a tendency to consider anything in human behavior that is unusual, not well known, or not well understood, as neurotic, psychopathic, immature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/there-is-a-tendency-to-consider-anything-in-human-behavior-that-is/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheeps and goats. Not all things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/males-do-not-represent-two-discrete-populations-heterosexual-and/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [It is amazing to observe how many psychologists and psychiatrists have accepted this sort of propaganda, and have come to believe that homosexual males…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/it-is-amazing-to-observe-how-many-psychologists-and-psychiatrists/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The male's difficulties in his sexual relations after marriage include a lack of facility, of ease, or of suavity in establishing rapport in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-male-s-difficulties-in-his-sexual-relations-after-marriage/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [Cheese crumbs spread before a pair of copulating rats will distract the female but not the male.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/cheese-crumbs-spread-before-a-pair-of-copulating-rats-will-distract/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [Few males achieve any real freedom in their sexual relations even with their wives. Few males realise how badly inhibited they are on these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/few-males-achieve-any-real-freedom-in-their-sexual-relations-even/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The heterosexuality or homosexuality of many individuals is not an all-or-none proposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-heterosexuality-or-homosexuality-of-many-individuals-is-not-an/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [If all persons with any trace of homosexual history, or those who were predominantly homosexual, were eliminated from the population today, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/if-all-persons-with-any-trace-of-homosexual-history-or-those-who-were/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [It is ordinarily said that criminal law is designed to protect property and to protect persons, and if society's only interest in controlling sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/it-is-ordinarily-said-that-criminal-law-is-designed-to-protect/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The history of medicine proves that in so far as man seeks to know himself and face his whole nature, he has become free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-history-of-medicine-proves-that-in-so-far-as-man-seeks-to-know/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [We are the recorders and reporters of facts - not the judges of the behaviors we describe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/we-are-the-recorders-and-reporters-of-facts-not-the-judges-of-the/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [The very general occurrence of the homosexual in ancient Greece, and its wide occurrence today in some cultures in which such activity is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-very-general-occurrence-of-the-homosexual-in-ancient-greece-and/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) [Explore all 18 Alfred Kinsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) ## More Categories quotes > [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) > [As a politician - particularly as a politician in a coalition - you quickly realise that compromise is a part of the game. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-davey/as-a-politician-particularly-as-a-politician-in-a-coalition-you/) [Edward Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-davey/) > [I've worked with jazz artists, country artists, classical artists, pop artists. I never wanted there to be categories, because when I was a kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcknight/i-ve-worked-with-jazz-artists-country-artists-classical-artists-pop/) [Brian McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcknight/) > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [We don't need to complicate all the "reasons" behind our emotions. It's much simpler than that. Two categories .. good feelings, bad feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/we-don-t-need-to-complicate-all-the-reasons-behind-our-emotions-it-s/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [I put the truth out there, I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/i-put-the-truth-out-there-i-put-the-historical-facts-into-hip-hop-to/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [I am devoting my lecture in this seminar to a discussion of the possibility that we are now entering a Jewish century, a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-a-siegel/i-am-devoting-my-lecture-in-this-seminar-to-a-discussion-of-the/) Martin A. Siegel > [A top World War II ace once said that fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to kill and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-top-world-war-ii-ace-once-said-that-fighter-pilots-fall-into-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No, I don't like legend. I mean, I don't like the category. And to begin with, to me, a legend is something that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/no-i-don-t-like-legend-i-mean-i-don-t-like-the-category-and-to-begin/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [... the notions category and functor were not formulated or put in print until the idea of a natural transformation was also at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saunders-mac-lane/the-notions-category-and-functor-were-not-formulated-or-put-in-print/) Saunders Mac Lane > [Last guy I was interested in turned out to be an incestuous necrophiliac," she said. "So no, not currently dating, and definitely not doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/last-guy-i-was-interested-in-turned-out-to-be-an-incestuous/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I am disappointed by this controversy surrounding A Million Little Pieces because I rely on the publishers to define the category that a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-am-disappointed-by-this-controversy-surrounding-a-million-little/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) Browse all 927 Categories quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Kinsey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-and-tries-to-force-facts-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Categories" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-and-tries-to-force-facts-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/alfred-kinsey-29134_categories_only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-a_1181224.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.” — Alfred Kinsey", "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": "Alfred Kinsey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only the human mind invents categories...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-and-tries-to-force-facts-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-and-tries-to-force-facts-into/#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 } } ] } ```