--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The upshot of all this is that we live in…" description: "\"The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose age we can't quite compute, surrounded by stars whose distances we don't altogether know, fi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png" --- # The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose… ![“The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose age we can't quite compute, surrounded by stars whose distances we don't altogether know, filled with matter we can't identify, operating in conformance with physical laws whose properties we don’t truly understand.” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png) > “The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose age we can't quite compute, surrounded by stars whose distances we don't altogether know, filled with matter we can't identify, operating in conformance with physical laws whose properties we don’t truly understand.” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The universe is vast and mysterious, with many unknowns about its age, stars, matter, and laws. **In simple terms:** We know little about the cosmos. Key Takeaway Stay curious about the unknown. Themes science cosmology uncertainty humility Mood wonder humble Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - education - research - public talks - writing Key Concepts epistemology physics Questions to Reflect On - What mysteries intrigue you most? - How do we accept uncertainty? A Different Perspective Complex concepts can overwhelm lay audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Live Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-universe-850174/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter Identify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-identify-4088869/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Universe Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-age-1223861/) ## Related quotes > [Just as an age was ready to receive the Copernican theory of the universe, so is our own age ready for the ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/just-as-an-age-was-ready-to-receive-the-copernican-theory-of-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [“We do not simply live in this universe. The universe lives within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-do-not-simply-live-in-this-universe-the-universe-lives-within-us-2/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“You believe that you live in the universe when in reality the universe lives in you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-chandler/you-believe-that-you-live-in-the-universe-when-in-reality-the/) [Steve Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-chandler/) > [“We are born of this universe, we live in this universe, and the universe is in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-are-born-of-this-universe-we-live-in-this-universe-and-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“like insects on a rubber sheet, we live in a universe whose true form is hidden from direct view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/like-insects-on-a-rubber-sheet-we-live-in-a-universe-whose-true-form/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“Maybe we live in a universe where all you have control over is your own kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-horvath/maybe-we-live-in-a-universe-where-all-you-have-control-over-is-your/) [Polly Horvath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-horvath/) > [For many, to live in a universe that may have no purpose, and no creator, is unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/for-many-to-live-in-a-universe-that-may-have-no-purpose-and-no/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“We do not simply live in this universe. The universe lives within us. That”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-do-not-simply-live-in-this-universe-the-universe-lives-within-us/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The Bible was written between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago, and it's filled with the knowledge that people had in that period of time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-bible-was-written-between-3-000-and-2-000-years-ago-and-it-s/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [From this distance, in the dimness, the model looked surreal, made up of parts filled with buildings, bordered by long stretches of empty space.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/from-this-distance-in-the-dimness-the-model-looked-surreal-made-up-of/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Carol Guess's poems are sexy, intuitive, angry, and hopeful. These lyrical narratives measure the impossibly small distance between love and fear. They are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-schomburg/carol-guess-s-poems-are-sexy-intuitive-angry-and-hopeful-these/) [Zachary Schomburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-schomburg/) > [Books were always important. I have to thank my father, he filled my life with books. He didn't write but he always read. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/books-were-always-important-i-have-to-thank-my-father-he-filled-my/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [I write my story in my books, It show that your name filled in my books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-write-my-story-in-my-books-it-show-that-your-name-filled-in-my-books/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-dining-table-was-a-plain-board-called-by-that-name-it-was-hung-on/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“From almost nothing, France in four years built up an aircraft industry that employed nearly 200,000 people and produced some 70,000 planes. Britain built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/from-almost-nothing-france-in-four-years-built-up-an-aircraft/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose age we can't quite compute, surrounded by stars whose distances we don't altogether know, filled with matter we can't identify, operating in conformance with physical laws whose properties we don’t truly understand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Bryson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-in-a-universe-whose-age-we-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-in-a-universe-whose-age-we-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/bill-bryson-340_age_the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-i_2084589.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The upshot of all this is that we live in a universe whose age we can't quite compute, surrounded by stars…” — Bill Bryson", "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": "Bill Bryson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The upshot of all this is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-in-a-universe-whose-age-we-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-upshot-of-all-this-is-that-we-live-in-a-universe-whose-age-we-can/#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 } } ] } ```