---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you sit in a chair, you are not…"
description: "\"When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at a height of one angstrom (a hundred millionth of a centimetre),..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png"
---

#  When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting…

![“When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at a height of one angstrom (a hundred millionth of a centimetre), your electrons and its electrons implacably opposed to any closer intimacy.” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png)

> “When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at a height of one angstrom (a hundred millionth of a centimetre), your electrons and its electrons implacably opposed to any closer intimacy.”

[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.

Physical objects are composed of atoms that repel each other at extremely close distances, so we never truly touch anything.

**In simple terms:** We never actually touch things because atoms repel.

Key Takeaway

Remember the unseen space between you and everything.

Themes

physics perception quantum awareness

Mood

wonder curiosity humility

Type

scientific philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- everyday life
- science education
- meditation
- technology design

Key Concepts

atomic repulsion quantum mechanics philosophical perspective

Questions to Reflect On

- How does this view change your sense of connection?
- What practical implications arise from atomic repulsion?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may oversimplify complex forces and ignore macroscopic interactions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/)

## Related quotes

> [“Honestly, Im having trouble with the fact that youre having difficulty believing us. You are the only one in the room levitating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-cassidy/honestly-im-having-trouble-with-the-fact-that-youre-having-difficulty/)

[Dakota Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-cassidy/)

> [When it's played the way is supposed to be played, basketball happens in the air; flying, floating, elevated above the floor, levitating the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/when-it-s-played-the-way-is-supposed-to-be-played-basketball-happens/)

[John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/)

> [When I play, I open up. I'm in the heat of the performance and it's a healing thing. It's great! It's like a spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-nathanson/when-i-play-i-open-up-i-m-in-the-heat-of-the-performance-and-it-s-a/)

[Matt Nathanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-nathanson/)

> [I'm a magician. I've learned to do some really cool tricks like levitating myself and melting forks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-michael/i-m-a-magician-i-ve-learned-to-do-some-really-cool-tricks-like/)

[Blake Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-michael/)

> [“This first part may be a little rough.' He waved a hand and did his best to appear as if he'd had enormous experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pryor/this-first-part-may-be-a-little-rough-he-waved-a-hand-and-did-his/)

[Michael Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pryor/)

> [Protons give an atom its identity, electrons its personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/protons-give-an-atom-its-identity-electrons-its-personality/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [Mathematics is not only real, but it is the only reality. That is that entire universe is made of matter, obviously. And matter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/mathematics-is-not-only-real-but-it-is-the-only-reality-that-is-that/)

[Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/)

> [Yes, Jenna, I love you with all my heart. And with my atoms and molecules and electrons and whatever further breakdown you require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/yes-jenna-i-love-you-with-all-my-heart-and-with-my-atoms-and/)

[Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/)

> [Can a physicist visualize an electron? The electron is materially inconceivable and yet, it is so perfectly known through its effects that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/can-a-physicist-visualize-an-electron-the-electron-is-materially/)

[Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/)

> [Not sense data or atoms or electrons or packets of energy, but purposes, interests, and meanings, constitute the underlying facts of human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/not-sense-data-or-atoms-or-electrons-or-packets-of-energy-but/)

[Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/)

> [Whether we electrons, light quanta, benzol molecules, or stones, we shall always come up against these two characteristics, the corpuscular and the undular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/whether-we-electrons-light-quanta-benzol-molecules-or-stones-we-shall/)

[Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/)

> [It seems to be a natural consequence of our points of view to assume that the whole of space is filled with electrons and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-birkeland/it-seems-to-be-a-natural-consequence-of-our-points-of-view-to-assume/)

Kristian Birkeland

> [“When you ask what are electrons and protons I ought to answer that this question is not a profitable one to ask and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-a-m-dirac/when-you-ask-what-are-electrons-and-protons-i-ought-to-answer-that/)

[Paul A.M. Dirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-a-m-dirac/)

> [ My wife and I have long discussions about \[George\] Carlin, and we refuse to accept that he died an atheist. It's just, confounding. When… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/my-wife-and-i-have-long-discussions-about-george-carlin-and-we-refuse/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [“Electrons and photons are still worse. In graduate school I roomed for a time with a particle physicist. He ended one attempt to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-vogel/electrons-and-photons-are-still-worse-in-graduate-school-i-roomed-for/)

[Steven Vogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-vogel/)

## 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 Chairs quotes

> [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/)

[Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/)

> [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

> [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [Forget the noose. Forget the Iron Maiden. Forget the electric chair or the guillotine. The mind was mankind's most painful torture chamber, the blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/forget-the-noose-forget-the-iron-maiden-forget-the-electric-chair-or/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/)

[Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/)

> [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Keelhaul the poets in the vestry chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/keelhaul-the-poets-in-the-vestry-chairs/)

[Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/)

> [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. And he'll be less tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/he-s-earned-all-his-money-himself-with-his-fists-he-didn-t-steal-it/)

[Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/)

> [Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair and the first thing they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/dentists-tell-you-not-to-pick-your-teeth-with-any-sharp-metal-object/)

[Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/)

> [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/)

[Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/)

> [I'm not a big hijinker. I'm a big sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/i-m-not-a-big-hijinker-i-m-a-big-sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er/)

[Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/)

> [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/)

[Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/)

> [Of course, when we got home, we found that Dagda had peed on my down comforter. He had also eaten part of Mom's maidenhair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/of-course-when-we-got-home-we-found-that-dagda-had-peed-on-my-down/)

[Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/)

Browse all 1,120 Chairs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at a height of one angstrom (a hundred millionth of a centimetre), your electrons and its electrons implacably opposed to any closer intimacy.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bill Bryson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actually-sitting-there-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chairs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actually-sitting-there-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/bill-bryson-340_chairs_when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actu_948804.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at a height of one…” — 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": "When you sit in a chair,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actually-sitting-there-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-you-sit-in-a-chair-you-are-not-actually-sitting-there-but/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
