--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing comforted Sabine like long…" description: "\"“Nothing comforted Sabine like long division. That was how she had passed time waiting for Phan and then Parsifal to come back from their tests. She fi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/ann-patchett-670_mathematics_nothing-comforted-sabine-like-long-divis_1714731.jpg" --- # Nothing comforted Sabine like long division. That was how… ![“Nothing comforted Sabine like long division. That was how she had passed time waiting for Phan and then Parsifal to come back from their tests. She figured the square root of the date while other people knit and read. Sabine blamed much of the world's unhappiness on the advent of calculators.” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/ann-patchett-670_mathematics_nothing-comforted-sabine-like-long-divis_1714731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/ann-patchett-670_mathematics_nothing-comforted-sabine-like-long-divis_1714731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/ann-patchett-670_mathematics_nothing-comforted-sabine-like-long-divis_1714731.jpg) > ““Nothing comforted Sabine like long division. That was how she had passed time waiting for Phan and then Parsifal to come back from their tests. She figured the square root of the date while other people knit and read. Sabine blamed much of the world's unhappiness on the advent of calculators.”” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sabine finds solace in complex calculations, using math as a mental escape from emotional uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Math provides comfort during waiting periods. Key Takeaway Embrace analytical hobbies to cope with anxiety. Themes solace math waiting escape Mood reflective introspective Type literary personal When to use this quote - studying for exams - long commutes - quiet evenings - stressful workdays Key Concepts cognitive coping personal ritual Questions to Reflect On - How does analytical thinking affect emotional resilience? - Can structured tasks replace social support? A Different Perspective Relying on math may isolate from social interaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Sabine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sabine/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“For twenty-two years Sabine had told her stories to one person, so that the action and the telling had become inseparable. What was left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/for-twenty-two-years-sabine-had-told-her-stories-to-one-person-so/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Nanny Piggins lost the Vegetable Peeling, Gutter Cleaning, and Long Division Explaining tests as well. She got caught telling Michael, 'Don't bother to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-spratt/nanny-piggins-lost-the-vegetable-peeling-gutter-cleaning-and-long/) [R. A. Spratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-spratt/) > [“Pimpin' ain't easy and neither is long division”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/pimpin-ain-t-easy-and-neither-is-long-division/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [“Real people have trouble with long division if they don’t have a calculator, sometimes forget their spouse’s birthday, and have a hangover on New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-h-thaler/real-people-have-trouble-with-long-division-if-they-don-t-have-a/) [Richard H. Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-h-thaler/) > [“Whoever had invented long division has a lot to answer for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-lingard/whoever-had-invented-long-division-has-a-lot-to-answer-for/) [Joan Lingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-lingard/) > [Mathematics is much more than computation with pencil and a paper and getting answers to routine exercises. In fact, it can easily be argued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-van-de-walle/mathematics-is-much-more-than-computation-with-pencil-and-a-paper-and/) John A. Van de Walle > [Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman numerals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/do-you-think-arabs-are-dumb-they-gave-us-our-numbers-try-doing-long/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Long Division has a lot of Afrosurrealist impulses. I think the book was more Afrofuturist when it was like 700 pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/long-division-has-a-lot-of-afrosurrealist-impulses-i-think-the-book/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“Nev tossed his pen down. “Fine. Here goes: Ren and Cals lives may be torrid for the young ones in Vail are quite horrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/nev-tossed-his-pen-down-fine-here-goes-ren-and-cals-lives-may-be/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [“In actual fact, creatures like Sabine and myself were the guilty ones: rather than approaching their kin and comforting one another, they loved beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelie-nothomb/in-actual-fact-creatures-like-sabine-and-myself-were-the-guilty-ones/) [Amélie Nothomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelie-nothomb/) > [“He calls you dear Sabine - Patronizing fart!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bantock/he-calls-you-dear-sabine-patronizing-fart/) [Nick Bantock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bantock/) > [“Sabine used to maintain that preparation for a dance is comparable to what goes on in the back room of a butcher's shop: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p/sabine-used-to-maintain-that-preparation-for-a-dance-is-comparable-to/) A.P > [“You said you wanted someone to know you. Maybe I just want to have someone know me too. Without you in this world, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-shirvington/you-said-you-wanted-someone-to-know-you-maybe-i-just-want-to-have/) [Jessica Shirvington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-shirvington/) > [“Life’s too short. If Ethan taught me anything, that would be it. I want to get on with living mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-shirvington/life-s-too-short-if-ethan-taught-me-anything-that-would-be-it-i-want/) [Jessica Shirvington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-shirvington/) > [“Ah, but she was a pastel wearer. She was forever dead to Sabine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/ah-but-she-was-a-pastel-wearer-she-was-forever-dead-to-sabine/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Mathematics quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [“π is a mathematician’s dessert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-maslakovic/is-a-mathematician-s-dessert/) Neve Maslakovic > [For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/for-the-execution-of-the-voyage-to-the-indies-i-did-not-make-use-of/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [Rule number something or other -- never tell anybody anything unless you're going to get something better in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/rule-number-something-or-other-never-tell-anybody-anything-unless-you/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [There's no reason for men to be better at maths than women - it's just about our perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/there-s-no-reason-for-men-to-be-better-at-maths-than-women-it-s-just/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. 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Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/) [Browse all 5,382 Mathematics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nothing comforted Sabine like long division. That was how she had passed time waiting for Phan and then Parsifal to come back from their tests. She figured the square root of the date while other people knit and read. 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