--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Technically, our name, to those who speak…" description: "\"“Technically, our name, to those who speak science, is Homo sapiens— wise person. But we have been described in many other ways. Homo narrans, juridicu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/china-mi-ville-1303_homo-sapiens_technically-our-name-to-those-who-speak_1361582.png" --- # Technically, our name, to those who speak science, is Homo… ![“Technically, our name, to those who speak science, is Homo sapiens— wise person. But we have been described in many other ways. Homo narrans, juridicus, ludens, diaspora: we are storytelling, legal, game-playing, scattered people, too. True but incomplete. That old phrase has the secret. We are…” quote by China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/china-mi-ville-1303_homo-sapiens_technically-our-name-to-those-who-speak_1361582.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/china-mi-ville-1303_homo-sapiens_technically-our-name-to-those-who-speak_1361582.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/china-mi-ville-1303_homo-sapiens_technically-our-name-to-those-who-speak_1361582.png) > ““Technically, our name, to those who speak science, is Homo sapiens— wise person. But we have been described in many other ways. Homo narrans, juridicus, ludens, diaspora: we are storytelling, legal, game-playing, scattered people, too. True but incomplete. That old phrase has the secret. We are all, have always been, will always be, Homo vorago aperientis: person before whom opens a vast & awesome hole.”” [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are defined by diverse capacities—reason, storytelling, law, play, migration—yet these labels are incomplete. **In simple terms:** People have many roles, but no single label captures all. Key Takeaway Embrace the complexity of human identity. Themes diversity human nature identity storytelling law play migration Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - literature - social science - education - personal growth Key Concepts multidisciplinary philosophical anthropology Questions to Reflect On - Which aspect of humanity resonates most with you? - How do you balance multiple identities? A Different Perspective Labels can limit understanding; embracing multiplicity is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Homo sapiens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homo-sapiens/) [Sapiens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“The anthropologists got it wrong when they named our species Homo sapiens ('wise man'). In any case it's an arrogant and bigheaded thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-anthropologists-got-it-wrong-when-they-named-our-species-homo/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It struck me as I listened to those two men that a truer nomination (name) for our species than Homo sapiens might be Homo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/it-struck-me-as-i-listened-to-those-two-men-that-a-truer-nomination/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Presumably, everyone reading this book is a Homo sapiens – the species sapiens (wise) of the genus Homo (man).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/presumably-everyone-reading-this-book-is-a-homo-sapiens-the-species/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Homo sapiens drove to extinction about half of the planet’s big beasts long before humans invented the wheel, writing or iron tools.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/homo-sapiens-drove-to-extinction-about-half-of-the-planet-s-big/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [That is the onslaught. It has been going on a long time, I argue, but in the 20th century humans have certainly perfected it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/that-is-the-onslaught-it-has-been-going-on-a-long-time-i-argue-but-in/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [When the first humans reached Australia about 45,000 years ago, they quickly drove to extinction 90% of its large animals. This was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-the-first-humans-reached-australia-about-45-000-years-ago-they/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“To understand the rise of Christianity or the French Revolution, it is not enough to comprehend the interaction of genes, hormones and organisms. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/to-understand-the-rise-of-christianity-or-the-french-revolution-it-is/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [We are probably one of the last generations of Homo sapiens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-are-probably-one-of-the-last-generations-of-homo-sapiens/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Seventy thousand years ago, Homo sapiens was still an insignificant animal minding its own business in a corner of Africa. In the following millennia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/seventy-thousand-years-ago-homo-sapiens-was-still-an-insignificant/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [The origin of Homo sapiens, as a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree, lies well below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twig-on-an-improbable-branch-of/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [ Homo sapiens \[are\] a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-improbable-branch-of-a-contingent/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“Humans nowadays completely dominate the planet not because the individual human is far smarter and more nimble-fingered than the individual chimp or wolf, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/humans-nowadays-completely-dominate-the-planet-not-because-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“You do not even think of your own past as quite real; you dress it up, you gild it or blacken it, censor it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/you-do-not-even-think-of-your-own-past-as-quite-real-you-dress-it-up/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [“Homo sapiens is only man, in the fullest sense of the word, when his grammar contains no question marks, only exclamation marks, commas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/homo-sapiens-is-only-man-in-the-fullest-sense-of-the-word-when-his/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## More by China Miéville > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Houses built on bridges are scandals. A bridge wants to not be. If it could choose its shape, a bridge would be no shape,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/houses-built-on-bridges-are-scandals-a-bridge-wants-to-not-be-if-it/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Remember the movements that don't look like moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/remember-the-movements-that-don-t-look-like-moving/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Either way, it is a curio of the moment that hard-left advocates of ‘all power to the soviets’ were delegated by a soviet opponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/either-way-it-is-a-curio-of-the-moment-that-hard-left-advocates-of/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [It felt like being a child again, though it was not. Being a child is like nothing. It's only being. Later, when we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/it-felt-like-being-a-child-again-though-it-was-not-being-a-child-is/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“We have to establish our credentials as an explorocracy; so to survive and rule ourselves, we have to explore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/we-have-to-establish-our-credentials-as-an-explorocracy-so-to-survive/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“So long as it fated, fate didn’t care what it fated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/so-long-as-it-fated-fate-didn-t-care-what-it-fated/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Everything's fit to be worshipped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/everything-s-fit-to-be-worshipped/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Death isn't what it used to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/death-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“almanacs, or what was left of them when those pages making incorrect predictions and offering unhelpful advice had been torn out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/almanacs-or-what-was-left-of-them-when-those-pages-making-incorrect/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“There are no telepaths in this universe, I think, but there are empathics, with languages so silent that they may as well be sharing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-are-no-telepaths-in-this-universe-i-think-but-there-are/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The poets and artists and philosophers, resistance activists, secret scouts and troublemakers, had become, as they must, soldiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-poets-and-artists-and-philosophers-resistance-activists-secret/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The city’s a heart, I said, and in that a heart and a city were sutured into a third thing, a heartish city, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-city-s-a-heart-i-said-and-in-that-a-heart-and-a-city-were-sutured/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“As he got older, Billy suspected, he would, Dicaprio-like, simply become like an increasingly wizened child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/as-he-got-older-billy-suspected-he-would-dicaprio-like-simply-become/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/scars-are-memory-like-sutures-they-stitch-the-past-to-me/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) [Explore all 257 China Miéville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## More Homo sapiens quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [“Homo sapiens is only man, in the fullest sense of the word, when his grammar contains no question marks, only exclamation marks, commas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/homo-sapiens-is-only-man-in-the-fullest-sense-of-the-word-when-his/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [I firmly believe that contemporary spiritual use of entheogenic drugs is one of humankind's brightest hopes for overcoming the ecological crisis from which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ott/i-firmly-believe-that-contemporary-spiritual-use-of-entheogenic-drugs/) Jonathan Ott > [“Archaic humans paid for their large brains in two ways. Firstly, they spent more time in search of food. Secondly, their muscles atrophied. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/archaic-humans-paid-for-their-large-brains-in-two-ways-firstly-they/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“The anthropologists got it wrong when they named our species Homo sapiens ('wise man'). In any case it's an arrogant and bigheaded thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-anthropologists-got-it-wrong-when-they-named-our-species-homo/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If I had my life to live over again I would not devote it to develop new industrial processes: I would try to add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-baekeland/if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-would-not-devote-it-to-develop/) [Leo Baekeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-baekeland/) > [When you think about what Homo sapiens are about, you almost feel that we are replacing ourselves. We won't be able to breathe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-think-about-what-homo-sapiens-are-about-you-almost-feel-that/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“technology. Homo sapiens is an obsolete algorithm. After all, what’s the advantage of”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/technology-homo-sapiens-is-an-obsolete-algorithm-after-all-what-s-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Life is a continuous flux. Our nonhuman ancestors bred, generation after generation, and incrementally begat what we now deem to be the species homo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/life-is-a-continuous-flux-our-nonhuman-ancestors-bred-generation/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“The biblical account of the origin of the cosmos in Genesis, for example, posits that a god created the physical universe particularly with human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-maudlin/the-biblical-account-of-the-origin-of-the-cosmos-in-genesis-for/) Tim Maudlin > [“The tragedy of my species xxx is that it does not live in its own time. Homo sapiens is locked on history's rearview mirror,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-morrow/the-tragedy-of-my-species-xxx-is-that-it-does-not-live-in-its-own/) [James K. Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-morrow/) > [“Overall, it seems now possible to draw a reasonably good explanation of why the human condition is a singularity, why the likes of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/overall-it-seems-now-possible-to-draw-a-reasonably-good-explanation/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [We are placed in the genus of Homo, which is Latin for man - Homo sapiens: supposedly wise men. I sometimes think - wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/we-are-placed-in-the-genus-of-homo-which-is-latin-for-man-homo/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [“O my brave Almighty Human, with the ever-effulgent flow of courage, conscience and compassion, turn yourself into a vivacious humanizer, and start walking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/o-my-brave-almighty-human-with-the-ever-effulgent-flow-of-courage/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 200 Homo sapiens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homo-sapiens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Technically, our name, to those who speak science, is Homo sapiens— wise person. But we have been described in many other ways. Homo narrans, juridicus, ludens, diaspora: we are storytelling, legal, game-playing, scattered people, too. True but incomplete. 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