--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to know someone who is at some…" description: "\"“In order to know someone who is at some level unknowable, you must leave yourself wide open. If you don't, you foreclose the possibility of learning s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/camilla-gibb-30299_photography_in-order-to-know-someone-who-is-at-some_3162815.png" --- # In order to know someone who is at some level unknowable… ![“In order to know someone who is at some level unknowable, you must leave yourself wide open. If you don't, you foreclose the possibility of learning something critical about this person you need, your parent, the person upon whom your survival depends. It's like time-lapse photography; your lens…” quote by Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/camilla-gibb-30299_photography_in-order-to-know-someone-who-is-at-some_3162815.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/camilla-gibb-30299_photography_in-order-to-know-someone-who-is-at-some_3162815.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/camilla-gibb-30299_photography_in-order-to-know-someone-who-is-at-some_3162815.png) > ““In order to know someone who is at some level unknowable, you must leave yourself wide open. If you don't, you foreclose the possibility of learning something critical about this person you need, your parent, the person upon whom your survival depends. It's like time-lapse photography; your lens at maximum aperture in order to capture something fleeting and elusive. The problem becomes one of calibration. How to protect yourself in the process. How to capture something without going blind.”” [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding others deeply requires openness, but openness must be balanced with self‑protection to avoid being overwhelmed. **In simple terms:** Be open to learn, but guard yourself. Key Takeaway Open yourself, set boundaries. Themes empathy vulnerability self‑care Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - family counseling - new friendships - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts psychology relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay open without losing yourself? - What boundaries protect you? A Different Perspective Too much openness can lead to emotional burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calibration Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calibration-protect-5724785/) [Critical Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical-person-4863665/) [Parent Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent-person-2454945/) [Person Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-survival-534819/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Protect yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect-yourself/) [Unknowable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknowable/) ## Related quotes > [When you feel yourself being critical, whether it is of yourself or another person, stop yourself. Look for positive aspects to admire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/when-you-feel-yourself-being-critical-whether-it-is-of-yourself-or/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) > [Other-cheekism is not only a way of purifying the soul, it is also part of every weak person's survival kit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/other-cheekism-is-not-only-a-way-of-purifying-the-soul-it-is-also/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [A perfect parent is a person with excellent child-rearing theories and no actual children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/a-perfect-parent-is-a-person-with-excellent-child-rearing-theories/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“As children inch their way into adolescence, the parent changes. He is an authority, a source of answers, and a chastising voice. Depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-hashimi/as-children-inch-their-way-into-adolescence-the-parent-changes-he-is/) [Nadia Hashimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-hashimi/) > [“The Unknown is not the Unknowable; it need not remain the unknown for us, unless we choose ignorance or persist in our first limitations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/the-unknown-is-not-the-unknowable-it-need-not-remain-the-unknown-for/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [If the highest things are unknowable, then the highest capacity or virtue of man cannot be theoretical wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/if-the-highest-things-are-unknowable-then-the-highest-capacity-or/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [“Throughout it all, you are still, always, you: beautiful and bruised, known and unknowable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-sales/throughout-it-all-you-are-still-always-you-beautiful-and-bruised/) [Leila Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-sales/) > [There may be things that are completely unknowable to us, so we must be careful not to treat the limits of our knowledge as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/there-may-be-things-that-are-completely-unknowable-to-us-so-we-must/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [“If the essence of things is unknowable, the misery of man cannot be fathomed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/if-the-essence-of-things-is-unknowable-the-misery-of-man-cannot-be/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [There is only ever one answer to the question what did you do with your life, and it's the same--fleeting and unknowable--for every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-wiggins/there-is-only-ever-one-answer-to-the-question-what-did-you-do-with/) [Marianne Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-wiggins/) > [Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/music-can-name-the-unnameable-and-communicate-the-unknowable/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [The more unknowable the mystery, the more beautiful it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/the-more-unknowable-the-mystery-the-more-beautiful-it-is/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [“Identity confusion... is as if somebody lost their mental road map and has no appreciation of who they are or what is going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-chefetz/identity-confusion-is-as-if-somebody-lost-their-mental-road-map-and/) [Richard A. Chefetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-chefetz/) > [It is strange to reflect how much energy is thrown away in attempting to know the unknowable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/it-is-strange-to-reflect-how-much-energy-is-thrown-away-in-attempting/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) > [“Our lives were limitless and unknowable, not perfect, but ours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenna-yovanoff/our-lives-were-limitless-and-unknowable-not-perfect-but-ours/) [Brenna Yovanoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenna-yovanoff/) ## More by Camilla Gibb > [“Clench clench these strong teeth in this strong mouth. My mouth. Of my body. In my house. My mouth? Chapped lips swollen and bloody?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/clench-clench-these-strong-teeth-in-this-strong-mouth-my-mouth-of-my/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [It is his absence that is part of me and has been for years. This is who I am, perhaps who we all are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/it-is-his-absence-that-is-part-of-me-and-has-been-for-years-this-is/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“In tourism college they were taught that American notions of what constitutes a personal question are quite different from their own. Tư has learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/in-tourism-college-they-were-taught-that-american-notions-of-what/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“I marvelled at her capabilities as a mother - naturally empathic but no pushover, funny and generous, frank about her own limitations and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/i-marvelled-at-her-capabilities-as-a-mother-naturally-empathic-but-no/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“If someone eliminates the obstacles you believe to be in front of you, then you have no choice but to try. Fail spectacularly, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/if-someone-eliminates-the-obstacles-you-believe-to-be-in-front-of-you/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [It is not simply what one remembers, but why. There are sites of amputation where the past is severed from the body of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/it-is-not-simply-what-one-remembers-but-why-there-are-sites-of/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“She asked me if Christmas was a particularly tense time and whether my father had ever hit my mother while trimming the tree. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/she-asked-me-if-christmas-was-a-particularly-tense-time-and-whether/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“I suspect we can all be domesticated by love, but when love is threatened or broken, our suspicions and mistrust are confirmed. Experience has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/i-suspect-we-can-all-be-domesticated-by-love-but-when-love-is/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [That idea is strange to me. People keep on loving? People keep on loving even if you are not there in their face everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/that-idea-is-strange-to-me-people-keep-on-loving-people-keep-on/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“I never expected to be happy, to have a sense of belonging somewhere. I didn't grow up with a sense that this was possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/i-never-expected-to-be-happy-to-have-a-sense-of-belonging-somewhere-i/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“We come to know ourselves only through stories. We listen to the stories of others, we inherit the stories of those who came before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/we-come-to-know-ourselves-only-through-stories-we-listen-to-the/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“The history of Vietnam lies in this bowl, for it is in Hanoi, the Vietnamese heart, that phở was born, a combination of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/the-history-of-vietnam-lies-in-this-bowl-for-it-is-in-hanoi-the/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [“HOw do you protect a child from heartbreak? All I know is the egg wants to be held all the time, and perhaps if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/how-do-you-protect-a-child-from-heartbreak-all-i-know-is-the-egg/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [Once you step inside, history has to be rewritten to include you. A fiction develops a story that weaves you into the social fabric,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/once-you-step-inside-history-has-to-be-rewritten-to-include-you-a/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) > [But that is the thing about miracles: it is perception that determines them as such, not facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-gibb/but-that-is-the-thing-about-miracles-it-is-perception-that-determines/) [Camilla Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) [Explore all 17 Camilla Gibb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-gibb/) ## More Photography quotes > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-list/if-you-want-to-edit-your-photos-and-make-yourself-look-different-go/) [Peyton List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-list/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [As far as Vern and I go, we have had situations where people have tried to take photographs of me and cut Vernon out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/as-far-as-vern-and-i-go-we-have-had-situations-where-people-have/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [One of the reasons that I do a lot of different kinds of pictures is because I learn a lot when I'm doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-jason-leigh/one-of-the-reasons-that-i-do-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-pictures-is/) [Jennifer Jason Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-jason-leigh/) > [“She realized that the photograph had caused his reaction. It came to her almost as a revelation. Think of it: a photographer presses a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/she-realized-that-the-photograph-had-caused-his-reaction-it-came-to/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [“Now there was photographic evidence of me with a girl. Lindsey pack the camera in her duffel while I contemplated the film inside it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/now-there-was-photographic-evidence-of-me-with-a-girl-lindsey-pack/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [All the pictures on the walls, they all white as lilies and smiling like alligators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/all-the-pictures-on-the-walls-they-all-white-as-lilies-and-smiling/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) [Browse all 11,116 Photography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In order to know someone who is at some level unknowable, you must leave yourself wide open. If you don't, you foreclose the possibility of learning something critical about this person you need, your parent, the person upon whom your survival depends. 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