--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm concerned about the unknowability of…" description: "\"I'm concerned about the unknowability of other people.\" — Carol Shields" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg" --- # I'm concerned about the unknowability of other people. ![“I'm concerned about the unknowability of other people.” quote by Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg) > “I'm concerned about the unknowability of other people.” [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding that others are ultimately unknowable creates concern about fully grasping their inner lives. **In simple terms:** People are unknowable. Key Takeaway Accept mystery in relationships. Themes uncertainty humanity empathy Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - friendships - family - workplace interactions Key Concepts psychology communication Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about others? - How can you improve mutual understanding? A Different Perspective It can lead to over‑cautiousness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Concerned Unknowability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned-unknowability-5907802/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Unknowability People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknowability-people-5907803/) ## Related quotes > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“Is something bothering you, Sam?” Nixon asked with a deep furrow between his concerned chocolate eyes. “You mean besides the dead body lying in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-dyllin/is-something-bothering-you-sam-nixon-asked-with-a-deep-furrow-between/) [D.T. Dyllin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-dyllin/) > [I was strictly after hits when it came down to the Jackson 5. That's all I was concerned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deke-richards/i-was-strictly-after-hits-when-it-came-down-to-the-jackson-5-that-s/) [Deke Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deke-richards/) > [I feel like I won the Lotto, as far as that show's concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/i-feel-like-i-won-the-lotto-as-far-as-that-show-s-concerned/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [The time has come when the whole world must be concerned about me. From now on, American Christianity must follow me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-must-be-concerned-about-me/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [What I was concerned about when I wrote the 'Downward Spiral' record was being a self-centred destructive force. The point was tearing down everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/what-i-was-concerned-about-when-i-wrote-the-downward-spiral-record/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) ## More by Carol Shields > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“He wondered exactly how lost a person could get. Lost at sea, lost in the woods. Fatally lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/he-wondered-exactly-how-lost-a-person-could-get-lost-at-sea-lost-in/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Dorrie gave Larry's hand an excited, distracted squeeze that said: almost home. They were about to be matter-of-factly claimed by familiar streets and houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dorrie-gave-larry-s-hand-an-excited-distracted-squeeze-that-said/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“…it's occurred to her that there are millions, billions, of other men and women in the world who wake up early in their separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/it-s-occurred-to-her-that-there-are-millions-billions-of-other-men/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [nothing she did or said was quite what she meant but still her life could be called a monument shaped in a slant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/nothing-she-did-or-said-was-quite-what-she-meant-but-still-her-life/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [So this is where the years of maturity deliver us - to this needy, selfish, unwieldy wish to be somebody else's first and primal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/so-this-is-where-the-years-of-maturity-deliver-us-to-this-needy/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [In a long and healthy life, which is what most of us have, there is plenty of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/in-a-long-and-healthy-life-which-is-what-most-of-us-have-there-is/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“This was during a period in my reading life when I was given to understand that "relating" to the fictional characters or situation was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/this-was-during-a-period-in-my-reading-life-when-i-was-given-to/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [Open a book this minute and start reading. Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/open-a-book-this-minute-and-start-reading-don-t-move-until-you-ve/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [A woman's life isn't worth a plateful of cabbage if she hasn't felt life stir under her heart. Taking a little one to nurse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/a-woman-s-life-isn-t-worth-a-plateful-of-cabbage-if-she-hasn-t-felt/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“I won't even mention the swift, transitory reward of lemon spray wax. Danielle Westerman and I have discussed the matter of housework. Not surprisingly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/i-won-t-even-mention-the-swift-transitory-reward-of-lemon-spray-wax/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“A Canadian journalist named Pinky Fulham was killed when a soft drinks vending machine overturned, crushing him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/a-canadian-journalist-named-pinky-fulham-was-killed-when-a-soft/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Men, it seemed to me in those days, were uniquely honored by the stories that erupted in their lives, whereas women were more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/men-it-seemed-to-me-in-those-days-were-uniquely-honored-by-the/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [Bookish people, who are often maladroit people, persist in thinking they can master any subtlety so long as it's been shaped into acceptable expository…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/bookish-people-who-are-often-maladroit-people-persist-in-thinking/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Safety was one thing, but what he really wanted was to be electrified, to be wounded, to be cast into the wilderness, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/safety-was-one-thing-but-what-he-really-wanted-was-to-be-electrified/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) [Explore all 67 Carol Shields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) ## More Concerned quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [What I was concerned about when I wrote the 'Downward Spiral' record was being a self-centred destructive force. The point was tearing down everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/what-i-was-concerned-about-when-i-wrote-the-downward-spiral-record/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The time has come when the whole world must be concerned about me. From now on, American Christianity must follow me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-must-be-concerned-about-me/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [I feel like I won the Lotto, as far as that show's concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/i-feel-like-i-won-the-lotto-as-far-as-that-show-s-concerned/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [I was strictly after hits when it came down to the Jackson 5. That's all I was concerned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deke-richards/i-was-strictly-after-hits-when-it-came-down-to-the-jackson-5-that-s/) [Deke Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deke-richards/) > [“Is something bothering you, Sam?” Nixon asked with a deep furrow between his concerned chocolate eyes. “You mean besides the dead body lying in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-dyllin/is-something-bothering-you-sam-nixon-asked-with-a-deep-furrow-between/) [D.T. Dyllin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-dyllin/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) [Browse all 3,551 Concerned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm concerned about the unknowability of other people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carol Shields" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of-other-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concerned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of-other-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carol-shields-9916_concerned_i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of_761962.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm concerned about the unknowability of other people.” — Carol Shields", "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": "Carol Shields", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm concerned about the unknowability of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of-other-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/i-m-concerned-about-the-unknowability-of-other-people/#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 } } ] } ```