--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though the theories of plate tectonics…" description: "\"Though the theories of plate tectonics now provide us with a modus operandi, they still seem to me to be a periodic phenomenon. Nothing is world-wide, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/d-v-ager-42699_boredom_though-the-theories-of-plate-tectonics-n_2985336.jpg" --- # Though the theories of plate tectonics now provide us with… ![“Though the theories of plate tectonics now provide us with a modus operandi, they still seem to me to be a periodic phenomenon. Nothing is world-wide, but everything is episodic. In other words, the history of anyone part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of…” quote by D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/d-v-ager-42699_boredom_though-the-theories-of-plate-tectonics-n_2985336.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/d-v-ager-42699_boredom_though-the-theories-of-plate-tectonics-n_2985336.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/d-v-ager-42699_boredom_though-the-theories-of-plate-tectonics-n_2985336.jpg) > “Though the theories of plate tectonics now provide us with a modus operandi, they still seem to me to be a periodic phenomenon. Nothing is world-wide, but everything is episodic. In other words, the history of anyone part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of boredom and short periods of terror.” [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Geological and human histories are marked by long, calm periods interrupted by brief, intense events. **In simple terms:** Life alternates between boredom and terror. Key Takeaway Expect and prepare for sudden crises. Themes history geology human experience Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - military service - earthquake preparedness - career planning - personal resilience Key Concepts periodicity episodic events stress cycles Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize early signs of an upcoming crisis? - What strategies keep you steady during long quiet periods? A Different Perspective Boredom can mask underlying risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Modus operandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modus-operandi/) [Periodic Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periodic-phenomenon-4663407/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Plate Tectonics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plate-tectonics-985111/) [Plates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plates/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Tectonics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tectonics-899285/) [Tectonics Provide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tectonics-provide-4663406/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Theories Plate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theories-plate-4663408/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Wide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“Plate tectonics will be plate tectonics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/plate-tectonics-will-be-plate-tectonics/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [Mountains aren't eternal: even the most imposing massifs are smoothed away by weathering in a few hundred million years or less. Plate tectonics makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-imposing-massifs-are-smoothed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Planets that don't currently sport plate tectonics, such as Venus and Mars, are scarcely habitable. Tectonics might be a requirement of any world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/planets-that-don-t-currently-sport-plate-tectonics-such-as-venus-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“This is the yin and yang of the earth, an energetic feedback. What happens below relates directly to what is happening on the surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-childs/this-is-the-yin-and-yang-of-the-earth-an-energetic-feedback-what/) [Craig Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-childs/) > [Unfortunately, we haven't found many very old rocks on Earth because our planet's surface is constantly renewed by plate tectonics, coupled with erosion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duncan/unfortunately-we-haven-t-found-many-very-old-rocks-on-earth-because/) [Robert Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duncan/) > [“The Golden Bough captured the imagination of many artists in the early twentieth century. Eliot, certainly, was immersed in it, discussing it familiarly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel-spears-brooker/the-golden-bough-captured-the-imagination-of-many-artists-in-the/) [Jewel Spears Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel-spears-brooker/) > [I think a pretty good modus operandi is to believe that everything we know is wrong. The stomach will be the key to depression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclanahan/i-think-a-pretty-good-modus-operandi-is-to-believe-that-everything-we/) [Scott McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclanahan/) > [Now, when I started my theater, the modus operandi was having the actors stare right into the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-foreman/now-when-i-started-my-theater-the-modus-operandi-was-having-the/) [Richard Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-foreman/) > [Hacking into a victim of crime's phone is a sort of poetically elegant manifestation of a modus operandi the tabloids have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/hacking-into-a-victim-of-crime-s-phone-is-a-sort-of-poetically/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > ["Benghazi happened a long time ago. We are unaware of any agency blocking an employee who would like to appear before Congress to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/benghazi-happened-a-long-time-ago-we-are-unaware-of-any-agency/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“The modus operandi by which this astounding result was achieved is not hard to describe. It consisted of three very definite facts; first, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-modus-operandi-by-which-this-astounding-result-was-achieved-is/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Second, Jimmy lived in a universe that featured him. Everything was all about one all-important, all-offended being. Every scene in his film, every page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/second-jimmy-lived-in-a-universe-that-featured-him-everything-was-all/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“When Pat gave her ‘criminal-hero’ Tom Ripley a charmed and parentless life, a wealthy, socially poised Alter Ego (Dickie Greenleaf), and a guilt-free modus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-schenkar/when-pat-gave-her-criminal-hero-tom-ripley-a-charmed-and-parentless/) [Joan Schenkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-schenkar/) > [My goal from the very beginning was to make very visually lush, juicy films that you can really sink your teeth into. That's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/my-goal-from-the-very-beginning-was-to-make-very-visually-lush-juicy/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) ## More by D. V. Ager > [Experts always tend to obscure the obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/experts-always-tend-to-obscure-the-obvious/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [Palaeontologists cannot live by uniformitarianism alone. This may be termed the Phenomenon of the Fallibility of the Fossil Record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/palaeontologists-cannot-live-by-uniformitarianism-alone-this-may-be/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [It may be said of many palaeontologists, as Professor Hugh Trevor-Roper said recently of 18th century historians: "Their most serious error was to measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/it-may-be-said-of-many-palaeontologists-as-professor-hugh-trevor/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [In the preface to his great History of Europe, H. A. L. Fisher wrote: "Men wiser than and more learned than I have discerned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/in-the-preface-to-his-great-history-of-europe-h-a-l-fisher-wrote-men/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [Changes, cyclic or otherwise, within the solar system or within our galaxy, would seem to be the easy and incontrovertible solution for everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/changes-cyclic-or-otherwise-within-the-solar-system-or-within-our/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [Sedimentation in the past has often been very rapid indeed and very spasmodic. This may be called the "Phenomenon of the Catastrophic Nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/sedimentation-in-the-past-has-often-been-very-rapid-indeed-and-very/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [In fact, books are still being published by the lunatic fringe with the same explanation. In case this book should be read by some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/in-fact-books-are-still-being-published-by-the-lunatic-fringe-with/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [It must be significant that nearly all the evolutionary stories I learned as a student…have now been debunked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/it-must-be-significant-that-nearly-all-the-evolutionary-stories-i/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) > [Let us make an arbitrary decision (by a show of hands if necessary) to define the base of every stratigraphical unit in a selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-v-ager/let-us-make-an-arbitrary-decision-by-a-show-of-hands-if-necessary-to/) [D. V. Ager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) [Explore all 10 D. V. Ager quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-v-ager/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Though the theories of plate tectonics now provide us with a modus operandi, they still seem to me to be a periodic phenomenon. Nothing is world-wide, but everything is episodic. 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