--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that if there's one key insight…" description: "\"I think that if there's one key insight science can bring to fiction, it's that fiction - the study of the human condition - needs to broaden its defin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf0/charles-stross-896_fiction_i-think-that-if-there-s-one-key-insight_3051079.png" --- # I think that if there's one key insight science can bring… ![“I think that if there's one key insight science can bring to fiction, it's that fiction - the study of the human condition - needs to broaden its definition of the human condition. Because the human condition isn't immutable and doomed to remain uniform forever.” quote by Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf0/charles-stross-896_fiction_i-think-that-if-there-s-one-key-insight_3051079.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf0/charles-stross-896_fiction_i-think-that-if-there-s-one-key-insight_3051079.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf0/charles-stross-896_fiction_i-think-that-if-there-s-one-key-insight_3051079.png) > “I think that if there's one key insight science can bring to fiction, it's that fiction - the study of the human condition - needs to broaden its definition of the human condition. Because the human condition isn't immutable and doomed to remain uniform forever.” [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science shows that humanity is diverse and evolving, so fiction should expand its view of what it means to be human. **In simple terms:** Fiction must reflect humanity's changing nature. Key Takeaway Broaden characters and cultures in stories. Themes diversity evolution fiction human condition Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - science fiction writing - character development - worldbuilding - cultural representation Key Concepts anthropology biology philosophy literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How can writers balance universality with specificity? - What new perspectives can enrich narratives? A Different Perspective The human condition may be too broad to define concretely, risking vague storytelling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Uniform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniform/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Fiction is the study of the human condition under imagined circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/fiction-is-the-study-of-the-human-condition-under-imagined/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [The business of fiction is the study of the human condition, and gender is something that many humans are obsessed with, thus making it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/the-business-of-fiction-is-the-study-of-the-human-condition-and/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [We don't experience our lives as plots. If I asked you to tell me what your last week was like, you're not really gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/we-don-t-experience-our-lives-as-plots-if-i-asked-you-to-tell-me-what/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [I'm just interested in serialization in fiction. I'm fascinated by it. I love the 19th-century novels. I'm interested in ways to bring that back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-m-just-interested-in-serialization-in-fiction-i-m-fascinated-by-it/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Truth maybe stranger than fiction, but fiction is truer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/truth-maybe-stranger-than-fiction-but-fiction-is-truer/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [“Fiction though it is a fiction, should be written in a way that it feels like a reality, a reality every reader willingly or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arti-honrao/fiction-though-it-is-a-fiction-should-be-written-in-a-way-that-it/) [Arti Honrao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arti-honrao/) > [For me, it's a way to find a fiction within a fiction. To find a way to uncover that blunder within the "lie," because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-chejfec/for-me-it-s-a-way-to-find-a-fiction-within-a-fiction-to-find-a-way-to/) [Sergio Chejfec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-chejfec/) > [“Love Fiction for Fiction Lovers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selene-grace-silver/love-fiction-for-fiction-lovers/) Selene Grace Silver > [It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-no-wonder-that-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-fiction-has-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Truth, of course, must of necessity be stranger than fiction, for we have made fiction to suit ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truth-of-course-must-of-necessity-be-stranger-than-fiction-for-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You know, one of the interesting things you find about writing fiction is that any fiction you write has to be political. Otherwise, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/you-know-one-of-the-interesting-things-you-find-about-writing-fiction/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [If all stories are fiction, fiction can be true -- not in detail or fact, but in some transformed version of feeling. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/if-all-stories-are-fiction-fiction-can-be-true-not-in-detail-or-fact/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I have never been a fan of science fiction. For me, fiction has to explore the combinatorial possibilities of people interacting under the constraints…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-fiction-for-me-fiction-has-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“Science fiction inspires scientists, but it doesn't exist to dictate what our future should look like. Great science fiction is fun to read and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/science-fiction-inspires-scientists-but-it-doesn-t-exist-to-dictate/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [Truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-rosten/truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-fiction-has-to-make-sense/) [Leo Rosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-rosten/) ## More by Charles Stross > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Generating ideas isn't some mystical talent that you have to be born with: it's a skill you can develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/generating-ideas-isn-t-some-mystical-talent-that-you-have-to-be-born/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Any replacement to the current copyright position (life plus 70 years) needs to have an answer lined up for this, and similar, messy edge cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/any-replacement-to-the-current-copyright-position-life-plus-70-years/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“- Toma un puro, Sherlock. - Lo siento; sólo echo humo cuando me enchufan a la red eléctrica.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/toma-un-puro-sherlock-lo-siento-s-lo-echo-humo-cuando-me-enchufan-a/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“To boldly go where no uploaded metahuman colony has gone before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/to-boldly-go-where-no-uploaded-metahuman-colony-has-gone-before/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was raised thinking that moral and ethical standards are universals that apply equally to everyone. And these values aren't easily compatible with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-was-raised-thinking-that-moral-and-ethical-standards-are-universals/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Some say the Internet is for porn but you know that in truth the Internet is for spam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/some-say-the-internet-is-for-porn-but-you-know-that-in-truth-the/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [If I forget, then it might as well never have happened. Memory is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-i-forget-then-it-might-as-well-never-have-happened-memory-is/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“If he wakes the ancient sleeping horrors I am going to have to brief the private secretary and the Joint Intelligence Oversight Committee so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-he-wakes-the-ancient-sleeping-horrors-i-am-going-to-have-to-brief/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“A historian who works for a bank: That’s not the most likely background for someone who capers around the cosmos having adventures, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/a-historian-who-works-for-a-bank-that-s-not-the-most-likely/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Explore all 331 Charles Stross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that if there's one key insight science can bring to fiction, it's that fiction - the study of the human condition - needs to broaden its definition of the human condition. 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