---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mind seems to have become a kind of…"
description: "\"My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg"
---

#  My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for…

![“My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain that alone on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive. A man with a mind more highly organised or better…” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg)

> “My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain that alone on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive. A man with a mind more highly organised or better constituted than mine would not, I suppose, have thus suffered, and if I had to live my life over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept alive through use.”

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The mind can become a mechanical tool for analysis, neglecting artistic and emotional faculties, leading to atrophy of higher tastes.

**In simple terms:** Over‑analysis can dull creativity and feeling.

Key Takeaway

Balance analytical work with regular artistic exposure.

Themes

balance creativity mental health

Mood

reflective concerned

Type

philosophical advisory

When to use this quote

- academic research
- personal development
- daily routines

Key Concepts

cognitive overload neuroplasticity

Questions to Reflect On

- How often do you engage with art?
- Can creative activities improve analytical thinking?

A Different Perspective

Neglecting art may reduce empathy and imagination.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/)

## Related quotes

> [“If I had my life to live over again, I would make it a rule to read some poetry, listen to some music, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-would-make-it-a-rule-to-read/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [The main conclusion arrived at in this work, namely that man is descended from some lowly-organised form, will, I regret to think, be highly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-arrived-at-in-this-work-namely-that-man-is/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [Life is a series of diminishments. Each cessation of an activity either from choice or some variety of infirmity is a death, a putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/life-is-a-series-of-diminishments-each-cessation-of-an-activity/)

[Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/)

> [“If you can do everything in your job without struggling, not only will you get stuck in your slot but you’ll never flex your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wong/if-you-can-do-everything-in-your-job-without-struggling-not-only-will/)

[Brian Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wong/)

> [There can be no question, however, that prolonged commitment to mathematical exercises in economics can be damaging. It leads to the atrophy of judgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/there-can-be-no-question-however-that-prolonged-commitment-to/)

[John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/)

> [Skepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul. A man lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/skepticism-as-i-said-is-not-intellectual-only-it-is-moral-also-a/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [The psychological tools I've gained from bodybuilding will never atrophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-platz/the-psychological-tools-i-ve-gained-from-bodybuilding-will-never/)

[Tom Platz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-platz/)

> [I don't believe anything I write or say. I regard belief as a form of brain damage, the death of intelligence, the fracture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-don-t-believe-anything-i-write-or-say-i-regard-belief-as-a-form-of/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [There is always this interesting relationship we have with technology. When we invented writing Socrates used to say it was going to rot our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/there-is-always-this-interesting-relationship-we-have-with-technology/)

[Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/)

> [A road that perhaps more than any other leads to self atrophy is undedicated money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/a-road-that-perhaps-more-than-any-other-leads-to-self-atrophy-is/)

[E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/)

> [ The disinterest \[of my two great-aunts\] in anything that had to do with high society was such that their sense of hearing ... put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-disinterest-of-my-two-great-aunts-in-anything-that-had-to-do-with/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [The modern world’s tech-giddy control and facilitation makes us stupid. Awareness atrophies. Dumb gets dumber. Lists are everywhere – the five things you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-cohen/the-modern-world-s-tech-giddy-control-and-facilitation-makes-us/)

[Roger Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-cohen/)

> [Somewhere between the ages of eleven and fifteen, the average child begins to suffer from an atrophy, the paralysis of curiosity and the suspension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/somewhere-between-the-ages-of-eleven-and-fifteen-the-average-child/)

[Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/)

> [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/)

[Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/)

> [I prefer atrophy over exercise any day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-duffy/i-prefer-atrophy-over-exercise-any-day/)

[Karen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-duffy/)

## More by Charles Darwin

> [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universes, to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-can-allow-satellites-planets-suns-universe-nay-whole-systems-of/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [May we not suspect that the vague but very real fears of children, which are quite independent of experience, are the inherited effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/may-we-not-suspect-that-the-vague-but-very-real-fears-of-children/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are &amp; will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [...all nature is perverse &amp; will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

[Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

## More Alive quotes

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/)

Adam Ant

> [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/)

[David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/)

> [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/)

[Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/)

> [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/)

[David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/)

> [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/)

[James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/)

> [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/)

[Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/)

> [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/)

[Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/)

> [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

> [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/)

[William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/)

[Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain that alone on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive. A man with a mind more highly organised or better constituted than mine would not, I suppose, have thus suffered, and if I had to live my life over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept alive through use.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Darwin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-machine-for-grinding-general/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Alive"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-machine-for-grinding-general/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/charles-darwin-507_alive_my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-m_543455.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts…” — Charles Darwin",
                "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": "Charles Darwin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My mind seems to have become...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-machine-for-grinding-general/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/my-mind-seems-to-have-become-a-kind-of-machine-for-grinding-general/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
