--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the means were available, we could…" description: "\"If the means were available, we could trace our ancestry - yours and mine - back to the first blob of life-like material that came into being on the pl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/clifford-d-simak-12884_ancestry_if-the-means-were-available-we-could-tra_2391650.jpg" --- # If the means were available, we could trace our ancestry… ![“If the means were available, we could trace our ancestry - yours and mine - back to the first blob of life-like material that came into being on the planet” quote by Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/clifford-d-simak-12884_ancestry_if-the-means-were-available-we-could-tra_2391650.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/clifford-d-simak-12884_ancestry_if-the-means-were-available-we-could-tra_2391650.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/clifford-d-simak-12884_ancestry_if-the-means-were-available-we-could-tra_2391650.jpg) > “If the means were available, we could trace our ancestry - yours and mine - back to the first blob of life-like material that came into being on the planet” [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We could map all life back to its first simple form **In simple terms:** Tracing all life to its earliest beginnings Key Takeaway Seek scientific curiosity about origins Themes science history humility Mood inquisitive reflective Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - genealogy research - education - museum visits - science documentaries Key Concepts Evolutionary biology cosmic perspective Questions to Reflect On - What does knowing our deep origins change about how we live? - Can we ever truly know the first spark of life? A Different Perspective Our tools may never fully reconstruct the exact first life form ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) ## Related quotes > [We really invented the genre of tracing family trees and going back as far as we could on the paper trail. When the paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/we-really-invented-the-genre-of-tracing-family-trees-and-going-back/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [People like to trace their ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/people-like-to-trace-their-ancestry/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I received a most amusing postcard the other morning. Unfortunately, it was not signed in a readable manner so I cannot answer it privately.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-received-a-most-amusing-postcard-the-other-morning-unfortunately-it/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [It turns out that every person alive today can trace his or her ancestry back to Africa. Everyone's DNA tells a story of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/it-turns-out-that-every-person-alive-today-can-trace-his-or-her/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [“And shortly after that the blob became a figure. And then, as Bruno got even closer, he saw that the thing was neither a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/and-shortly-after-that-the-blob-became-a-figure-and-then-as-bruno-got/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [The dot that became a speck that became a blob that became a figure that became a boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/the-dot-that-became-a-speck-that-became-a-blob-that-became-a-figure/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [“Who'd have this gob on a blob?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-earl/who-d-have-this-gob-on-a-blob/) [Rae Earl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-earl/) > [Latinos are not monochromatic. You know, they trace their ancestry back to South America, to Central America, to Mexico, like in my family, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-garcetti/latinos-are-not-monochromatic-you-know-they-trace-their-ancestry-back/) [Eric Garcetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-garcetti/) > [I've got German, Cornish and Scottish ancestry. It might help explain my affinity for forests, the sea, and fatty foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/i-ve-got-german-cornish-and-scottish-ancestry-it-might-help-explain/) [Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Being a mixed-blood person of Ojibway and European ancestry, I always found that I only heard one side of the story - that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-boyden/being-a-mixed-blood-person-of-ojibway-and-european-ancestry-i-always/) [Joseph Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-boyden/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Clifford D. Simak > [Must faith be exactly that, the willingness and ability to believe in the face of a lack of evidence? If one could find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/must-faith-be-exactly-that-the-willingness-and-ability-to-believe-in/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Time is still the great mystery to us. It is no more than a concept; we don't know if it even exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/time-is-still-the-great-mystery-to-us-it-is-no-more-than-a-concept-we/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [My reluctance to use alien invasion is due to the feeling that we are not likely to be invaded and taken over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/my-reluctance-to-use-alien-invasion-is-due-to-the-feeling-that-we-are/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Inside the time bubble we do not age. We age only when we are outside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/inside-the-time-bubble-we-do-not-age-we-age-only-when-we-are-outside/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [The chain of life runs smoothly from one generation to the next and none of the links stand out except here and there a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/the-chain-of-life-runs-smoothly-from-one-generation-to-the-next-and/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Man's inability to understand and appreciate the thought and viewpoint of another man would be a stumbling block which no amount of mechanical ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/man-s-inability-to-understand-and-appreciate-the-thought-and/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Here lies one from a distant star, but the soil is not alien to him, for in death he belongs to the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/here-lies-one-from-a-distant-star-but-the-soil-is-not-alien-to-him/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I have not long to live. I have lasted more than a man's average allotted span, and while I still am hale and hearty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/i-have-not-long-to-live-i-have-lasted-more-than-a-man-s-average/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I did not want to move. For I had the feeling that this was a place, once seen, that could not be seen again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/i-did-not-want-to-move-for-i-had-the-feeling-that-this-was-a-place/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Money here on Earth is more than the paper or the metal that you use for money, more than the rows of figures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/money-here-on-earth-is-more-than-the-paper-or-the-metal-that-you-use/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Bridgeport, Wis. July 11, 1987 I write this letter to myself, so that the postmark may prove beyond controversy the day and year that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/bridgeport-wis-july-11-1987-i-write-this-letter-to-myself-so-that-the/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [It is only of life on Earth, however, that one can speak with any certainty. It seems to me that all life on Earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/it-is-only-of-life-on-earth-however-that-one-can-speak-with-any/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [This is the very center of everything there is. A huge black hole eating up the galaxy. The end of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/this-is-the-very-center-of-everything-there-is-a-huge-black-hole/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [When I talk of the purpose of life, I am thinking not only of human life, but of all life on Earth and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/when-i-talk-of-the-purpose-of-life-i-am-thinking-not-only-of-human/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned with where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/i-have-tried-at-times-to-place-humans-in-perspective-against-the/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) [Explore all 52 Clifford D. Simak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) ## More Ancestry quotes > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Being a mixed-blood person of Ojibway and European ancestry, I always found that I only heard one side of the story - that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-boyden/being-a-mixed-blood-person-of-ojibway-and-european-ancestry-i-always/) [Joseph Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-boyden/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [I've got German, Cornish and Scottish ancestry. It might help explain my affinity for forests, the sea, and fatty foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/i-ve-got-german-cornish-and-scottish-ancestry-it-might-help-explain/) [Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/) > [“I have always found it difficult not to be moved by Jerusalem, even when I hated it—and God knows I have hated it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/i-have-always-found-it-difficult-not-to-be-moved-by-jerusalem-even/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [I've never felt grounded because of my ancestry or my gender. I think until women get away from that they're not going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-ve-never-felt-grounded-because-of-my-ancestry-or-my-gender-i-think/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I get anxious. That lovely Jewish guilt that comes with ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rudolph/i-get-anxious-that-lovely-jewish-guilt-that-comes-with-ancestry/) [Maya Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rudolph/) > [The function of the artist is to disturb. His duty is to arouse the sleeper, to shake the complacent pillars of the world. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-bethune/the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-disturb-his-duty-is-to-arouse-the/) Norman Bethune > [Both the ancestry and posterity of Grief go further than the ancestry and posterity of Joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/both-the-ancestry-and-posterity-of-grief-go-further-than-the-ancestry/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I wasn't trying to work out my own ancestry. I was trying to get people to feel slavery. I was trying to get across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasn-t-trying-to-work-out-my-own-ancestry-i-was-trying-to-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ancestry is not destiny,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/ancestry-is-not-destiny/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > […Even the idea of a city never entered his mind. It was as if he had walked under the millimeter of haze just above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/even-the-idea-of-a-city-never-entered-his-mind-it-was-as-if-he-had/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) [Browse all 256 Ancestry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the means were available, we could trace our ancestry - yours and mine - back to the first blob of life-like material that came into being on the planet", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clifford D. 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