--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've tended in our cosmologies to make…" description: "\"We've tended in our cosmologies to make things familiar. Despite all our best efforts, we've not been very inventive. In the West, Heaven is placid and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg" --- # We've tended in our cosmologies to make things familiar… ![“We've tended in our cosmologies to make things familiar. Despite all our best efforts, we've not been very inventive. In the West, Heaven is placid and fluffy, and Hell is like the inside of a volcano. In many stories, both realms are governed by dominance hierarchies headed by gods or devils…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg) > “We've tended in our cosmologies to make things familiar. Despite all our best efforts, we've not been very inventive. In the West, Heaven is placid and fluffy, and Hell is like the inside of a volcano. In many stories, both realms are governed by dominance hierarchies headed by gods or devils. Monotheists talked about the king of kings. In every culture we imagined something like our own political system running the Universe. Few found the similarity suspicious.” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human cultures project familiar social structures onto cosmic realms, limiting imaginative diversity. **In simple terms:** We copy earthly hierarchies onto heaven and hell. Key Takeaway Question imagination beyond familiar patterns. Themes mythology cosmology psychology culture creativity Mood reflective inquisitive critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Worldbuilding - religious teaching - science communication - creative writing Key Concepts Anthropomorphism symbolic thinking cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can we imagine truly alien cosmologies? - What biases shape our view of the universe? A Different Perspective Human tendency to anthropomorphize may hinder novel cosmological concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cosmology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmology/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Placid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/placid/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-system/) [Political systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-systems/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Suspicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicious/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Volcanoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volcanoes/) ## Related quotes > [“In every culture we imagined something like our own political system running the Universe Few found the similarity suspicious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-every-culture-we-imagined-something-like-our-own-political-system/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Chlorine is a deadly poison gas employed on European battlefields in World War I. Sodium is a corrosive metal which burns upon contact with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/chlorine-is-a-deadly-poison-gas-employed-on-european-battlefields-in/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“To abandon the idea of separation from and submission to God has always been feared as a threat to morals, but there is absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/to-abandon-the-idea-of-separation-from-and-submission-to-god-has/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [Buddhists talk about nirvana in very much the same terms as monotheists describe God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/buddhists-talk-about-nirvana-in-very-much-the-same-terms-as/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“Monotheists have tended to be far more fanatical and missionary than polytheists. A religion that recognises the legitimacy of other faiths implies either that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/monotheists-have-tended-to-be-far-more-fanatical-and-missionary-than-2/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Monotheists have tended to be far more fanatical and missionary than polytheists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/monotheists-have-tended-to-be-far-more-fanatical-and-missionary-than/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Most people grow out of this infantile delusion. Monotheists hold on to it till the day they die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/most-people-grow-out-of-this-infantile-delusion-monotheists-hold-on/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“To Judaism Christians ascribe the glory of having been the first religion to teach a pure monotheism. But monotheism existed long before the Jews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-remsburg/to-judaism-christians-ascribe-the-glory-of-having-been-the-first/) John E. Remsburg > [What is the result of our investigation of the Moslem idea of God? Is the statement of the Koran true, "Your God and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-marinus-zwemer/what-is-the-result-of-our-investigation-of-the-moslem-idea-of-god-is/) [Samuel Marinus Zwemer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-marinus-zwemer/) > [Evening is the delight of virtuous age; it seems an emblem of the tranquil close of busy life--serene, placid, and mild, with the impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/evening-is-the-delight-of-virtuous-age-it-seems-an-emblem-of-the/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [People who dream when they sleep at night know of a special kind of happiness which the world of the day holds not, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/people-who-dream-when-they-sleep-at-night-know-of-a-special-kind-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Placid waters hide lethal currents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cummins-miller/placid-waters-hide-lethal-currents/) Susan Cummins Miller > [Yeah, no one really grows up competing in the bobsled. You have to be 16 years old before you can even drive one. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-meyers/yeah-no-one-really-grows-up-competing-in-the-bobsled-you-have-to-be/) [Elana Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-meyers/) > [The unhappy are egoistic, spiteful, unjust, cruel, and less capable of understanding each other than fools. Unhappiness does not bring people together but draws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/the-unhappy-are-egoistic-spiteful-unjust-cruel-and-less-capable-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Best effort quotes > [Salvation is not some felicitous state to which we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps after the contemplation of sufficiently good examples. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/salvation-is-not-some-felicitous-state-to-which-we-can-lift-ourselves/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [Occupy yourself with what's in your life now. Address those situations and subjects as fully as possible with your best efforts. That is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/occupy-yourself-with-what-s-in-your-life-now-address-those-situations/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-it-s-worth-doing-it-s-worth-doing-well/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [With the empowerment of an advanced Teacher, and your own best efforts, you will be able to explore the mysteries of knowledge that lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/with-the-empowerment-of-an-advanced-teacher-and-your-own-best-efforts/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If people give me a year or two of their best effort, then I am their friend for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/if-people-give-me-a-year-or-two-of-their-best-effort-then-i-am-their/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [The best effort of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-best-effort-of-a-fine-person-is-felt-after-we-have-left-their/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Leadership is the ability to encourage the best efforts of others in working toward a desirable goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/leadership-is-the-ability-to-encourage-the-best-efforts-of-others-in/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [Success is a process for all of us, and as long as you are making consistent progress towards your goals - sincerely giving your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/success-is-a-process-for-all-of-us-and-as-long-as-you-are-making/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [You can only do what ONLY YOU can do. Do that. The universe will configure around your very best efforts. Willingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/you-can-only-do-what-only-you-can-do-do-that-the-universe-will/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [I agree that one can't dispense with the reins and the whip altogether, for knaves find their way even into literature, but no thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-agree-that-one-can-t-dispense-with-the-reins-and-the-whip/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Every time you compete, try harder to improve on your last performance. Give nothing short of your very best effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elgin-baylor/every-time-you-compete-try-harder-to-improve-on-your-last-performance/) Elgin Baylor > [Make a strong and permanent commitment to invest your talents only in pursuits that deserve your best efforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nido-r-qubein/make-a-strong-and-permanent-commitment-to-invest-your-talents-only-in/) [Nido R Qubein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nido-r-qubein/) > [If you make your best effort to be kinder, nurture compassion, make the world a better place, then you can say 'At least I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/if-you-make-your-best-effort-to-be-kinder-nurture-compassion-make-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“It is impossible to give your best effort without mindfulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/it-is-impossible-to-give-your-best-effort-without-mindfulness/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts… I've been hung in effigy. I've been spat upon. You just have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/i-have-no-apologies-no-regrets-i-gave-my-very-best-efforts-i-ve-been/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) Browse all 109 Best effort quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We've tended in our cosmologies to make things familiar. Despite all our best efforts, we've not been very inventive. In the West, Heaven is placid and fluffy, and Hell is like the inside of a volcano. In many stories, both realms are governed by dominance hierarchies headed by gods or devils. Monotheists talked about the king of kings. In every culture we imagined something like our own political system running the Universe. Few found the similarity suspicious.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make-things-familiar-despite-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Best effort" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make-things-familiar-despite-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/carl-sagan-160_best-effort_we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make_1850068.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We've tended in our cosmologies to make things familiar. Despite all our best efforts, we've not been very…” — Carl Sagan", "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": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We've tended in our cosmologies to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make-things-familiar-despite-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-ve-tended-in-our-cosmologies-to-make-things-familiar-despite-all/#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 } } ] } ```