--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The present is like the flatness of…" description: "\"“The present is like the flatness of Earth: an illusion. We”\" — Carlo Rovelli" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/carlo-rovelli-13099_anger_the-present-is-like-the-flatness-of-eart_1164633.jpg" --- # The present is like the flatness of Earth: an illusion. We ![“The present is like the flatness of Earth: an illusion. We” quote by Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/carlo-rovelli-13099_anger_the-present-is-like-the-flatness-of-eart_1164633.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/carlo-rovelli-13099_anger_the-present-is-like-the-flatness-of-eart_1164633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/carlo-rovelli-13099_anger_the-present-is-like-the-flatness-of-eart_1164633.jpg) > ““The present is like the flatness of Earth: an illusion. We”” [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception of reality can be misleading; what seems simple may hide complexity. **In simple terms:** Appearances can be deceptive. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about reality. Themes science philosophy perception Mood inquisitive skeptical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - public talks - media analysis Key Concepts relativity epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you take for granted? - How can you test the depth of a concept? A Different Perspective Complexity may be overstated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Flatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatness/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) ## Related quotes > [When I was a kid in London there was just something about the light and there's something about the way London went onto film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/when-i-was-a-kid-in-london-there-was-just-something-about-the-light/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [There is something intrinsically wrong about letters. For one thing they are not instantaneous. ... Nor is this the only trouble about letters. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/there-is-something-intrinsically-wrong-about-letters-for-one-thing/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [The sins of the Midwest: flatness, emptiness, a necessary acceptance of the familiar. Where is the romance in being buried alive? In growing old?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-sins-of-the-midwest-flatness-emptiness-a-necessary-acceptance-of/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [When you're on a highway, viewing the western U.S. with the mountains and the flatness and the desert and all that, it's very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-ruscha/when-you-re-on-a-highway-viewing-the-western-u-s-with-the-mountains/) [Edward Ruscha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-ruscha/) > [I wanted to avoid what some modern tellers have done, quite legitimately, to make fairy tales more like novels and short stories, to characterize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-wanted-to-avoid-what-some-modern-tellers-have-done-quite/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“When you are unemployed, weekends are seven days long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/when-you-are-unemployed-weekends-are-seven-days-long/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [...being written by someone who might not quite understand the subconscious nuance of the character leaves us in varying degrees of flatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/being-written-by-someone-who-might-not-quite-understand-the/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs, because you can tell what they miss out, what the camera misses out: usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-can-often-tell-when-drawings-are-done-from-photographs-because-you/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [ Anaximenes and Anaxagoras and Democritus say that its \[the earth's\] flatness is responsible for it staying still: for it does not cut the air… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/anaximenes-and-anaxagoras-and-democritus-say-that-its-the-earth-s/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [ If you look at the image \[ Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self \], it treads on a kind… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/if-you-look-at-the-image-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-shadow-of-his/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [“If flatness were funny, a dinner plate would be hilarious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/if-flatness-were-funny-a-dinner-plate-would-be-hilarious/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [All that stuff about flatness - it's this idea that painting is a specialized discipline and that modernist painting increasingly refers to painting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-martin/all-that-stuff-about-flatness-it-s-this-idea-that-painting-is-a/) [Chris Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-martin/) > [I call to mind flatness and dampness; and then all is madness - the madness of a memory which busies itself among forbidden things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-call-to-mind-flatness-and-dampness-and-then-all-is-madness-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [To women who please me only by their faces, I am the very devil when I find out they have neither souls nor hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/to-women-who-please-me-only-by-their-faces-i-am-the-very-devil-when-i/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [He who is able to accept everything gladly from the Lord - including darkness, dryness, flatness - and completely disregard self is he who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/he-who-is-able-to-accept-everything-gladly-from-the-lord-including/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) ## More by Carlo Rovelli > [“It must not be claimed that anyone can sense time by itself apart from the movement of things. LUCRETIUS, De rerum natura1”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/it-must-not-be-claimed-that-anyone-can-sense-time-by-itself-apart/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“The world of quantum mechanics is not a world of objects: it is a world of events.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/the-world-of-quantum-mechanics-is-not-a-world-of-objects-it-is-a/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“the particles are quanta of quantum fields; light is formed by quanta of a field; space is nothing more than a field, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/the-particles-are-quanta-of-quantum-fields-light-is-formed-by-quanta/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“The difference between past and future exists only when there is heat. The fundamental phenomenon that distinguishes the future from the past is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/the-difference-between-past-and-future-exists-only-when-there-is-heat/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [Rationality and the instinct of collaboration have already given us large regions and long periods of peace and prosperity. Ultimately, they will lead us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/rationality-and-the-instinct-of-collaboration-have-already-given-us/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“There is a feeling of deep universalism, in the wake of the splendid words of Democritus: “To a wise man, the whole earth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/there-is-a-feeling-of-deep-universalism-in-the-wake-of-the-splendid/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [The very foundation of science is to keep the door open to doubt. Precisely because we keep questioning everything, especially our own premises, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/the-very-foundation-of-science-is-to-keep-the-door-open-to-doubt/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“Space is a spin network whose nodes represent its elementary grains, and whose links describe their proximity relations. Spacetime”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/space-is-a-spin-network-whose-nodes-represent-its-elementary-grains/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“Every cubic centimeter of space, and every second that passes, is the result of this dancing foam of extremely small quanta.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/every-cubic-centimeter-of-space-and-every-second-that-passes-is-the/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“Space is created by the interaction of individual quanta of gravity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/space-is-created-by-the-interaction-of-individual-quanta-of-gravity/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“The quanta of gravity, that is, are not in space; they are themselves space. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/the-quanta-of-gravity-that-is-are-not-in-space-they-are-themselves/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [Don't trust your teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/don-t-trust-your-teachers/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“It is characteristic of genius to be aware of the limitations of its own findings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/it-is-characteristic-of-genius-to-be-aware-of-the-limitations-of-its/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“Scientific thinking explores and redraws the world, gradually offering us better and better images of it, teaching us to think in ever more effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/scientific-thinking-explores-and-redraws-the-world-gradually-offering/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) > [“Clues put us on the right path toward a correct theory. Strong evidence is that which subsequently allows us to trust whether the theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-rovelli/clues-put-us-on-the-right-path-toward-a-correct-theory-strong/) [Carlo Rovelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) [Explore all 45 Carlo Rovelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-rovelli/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The present is like the flatness of Earth: an illusion. 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