--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you merely focus on what we already…" description: "\"If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or a few videos on Youtube, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/david-oyelowo-7952_documentaries_if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-k_42900.jpg" --- # If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not… ![“If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or a few videos on Youtube, and you're good.” quote by David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/david-oyelowo-7952_documentaries_if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-k_42900.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/david-oyelowo-7952_documentaries_if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-k_42900.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/david-oyelowo-7952_documentaries_if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-k_42900.jpg) > “If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or a few videos on Youtube, and you're good.” [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes that staying within familiar knowledge limits discovery; true insight requires venturing beyond existing information. **In simple terms:** Innovation demands stepping beyond known facts. Key Takeaway Avoid complacency in learning. Themes Innovation Curiosity Learning Exploration Discovery Mood Inspired Challenging Type Motivational Reflective When to use this quote - Academic research - Creative brainstorming - Product development - Strategic planning Key Concepts Knowledge boundaries Media consumption Critical thinking Practical Applications - Encourage interdisciplinary study - Foster experimental prototyping Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit your current perspective? - How can you seek information beyond mainstream sources? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Documentary Videos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary-videos-639349/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Know Revelatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-revelatory-639346/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Revelatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelatory-158566/) [Revelatory Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelatory-just-639348/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) [Watch Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watch-documentary-639347/) [Watches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watches/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Youtube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youtube/) ## Related quotes > [Reality TV has ruined people's ability to watch documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farrier/reality-tv-has-ruined-people-s-ability-to-watch-documentary/) [David Farrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farrier/) > [I only watched the documentary 'Diana: In Her Own Words,' which is now on Netflix. I didn't watch another documentary. I don't think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-corrin/i-only-watched-the-documentary-diana-in-her-own-words-which-is-now-on/) [Emma Corrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-corrin/) > [I, for one, personally like rom-coms, silly rom-coms, but at the same time, I also want to watch a documentary or an award-winning drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/i-for-one-personally-like-rom-coms-silly-rom-coms-but-at-the-same/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) > [My wife made me watch this documentary about the Iraq War, and there was a really powerful moment where they followed some civilian whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/my-wife-made-me-watch-this-documentary-about-the-iraq-war-and-there/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [I'll read a book. I'll watch a documentary or a film or whatever. I'll go to an art exhibit and just try and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-thought/i-ll-read-a-book-i-ll-watch-a-documentary-or-a-film-or-whatever-i-ll/) [Black Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-thought/) > [“Clinton has cheated on Hillary for years,’ I said (to his campaign manager James Carville). ‘I told you the story about the time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hinton/clinton-has-cheated-on-hillary-for-years-i-said-to-his-campaign/) [Karen Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hinton/) > [“Language is not primarily informational but revelatory. The Holy Scriptures give witness to a living voice sounding variously as Father, Son and Spirit, addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/language-is-not-primarily-informational-but-revelatory-the-holy/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“What will undo any boundary is the awareness that it is our vision, and not what we are viewing, that is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-carse/what-will-undo-any-boundary-is-the-awareness-that-it-is-our-vision/) [James P. Carse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-carse/) > [The revelatory or visionary is the province of the 'private' artist, who in order to render his personal world comprehensible or even tolerable, must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-coutts-smith/the-revelatory-or-visionary-is-the-province-of-the-private-artist-who/) [Kenneth Coutts-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-coutts-smith/) > [Unpacking books is a revelatory activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/unpacking-books-is-a-revelatory-activity/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“…the excitement of doing something for the first time had passed. I laid there in the back seat looking at the moon. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hinton/the-excitement-of-doing-something-for-the-first-time-had-passed-i/) [Karen Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hinton/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-the-spring-of-1984-i-went-to-the-northwest-of-france-to-normandy/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [When I speak a serious subject in an informal and humorous way, it has bigger impact. So much so, when BBC made a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunachalam-muruganantham/when-i-speak-a-serious-subject-in-an-informal-and-humorous-way-it-has/) [Arunachalam Muruganantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunachalam-muruganantham/) ## More by David Oyelowo > [At the end of the day, everyone knows what it is to be loved and to aspire to love someone, to want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/at-the-end-of-the-day-everyone-knows-what-it-is-to-be-loved-and-to/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I truly believe that one of the things that has been lacking in America is a spirit of repentance about the injustices of slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-truly-believe-that-one-of-the-things-that-has-been-lacking-in/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [As you know, Sunday at 11 o'clock is the most segregated hour in America. You have black churches; you have white churches; you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/as-you-know-sunday-at-11-o-clock-is-the-most-segregated-hour-in/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I basically enjoy doing films that are about something, that have complex roles that I can sink my teeth into. Basically, I gravitate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-basically-enjoy-doing-films-that-are-about-something-that-have/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [In my time since moving to the United States, I've found that there is a dearth of great writing for black people. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/in-my-time-since-moving-to-the-united-states-i-ve-found-that-there-is/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [We can't afford to deny our past in a bid to be empowered. But what we can do is contextualize the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/we-can-t-afford-to-deny-our-past-in-a-bid-to-be-empowered-but-what-we/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I don't have a tailor, but I do love clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-don-t-have-a-tailor-but-i-do-love-clothes/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I am a father, I am very aware of the things that I'm putting out in the world knowing that one day my children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-am-a-father-i-am-very-aware-of-the-things-that-i-m-putting-out-in/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I feel television is in a fantastically rich vein of what it's presenting both by opportunity to actors and to audiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-feel-television-is-in-a-fantastically-rich-vein-of-what-it-s/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I do think how two people dance with each other is indicative of how they feel about each other. It can tell a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-do-think-how-two-people-dance-with-each-other-is-indicative-of-how/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [Excellence is the best weapon against prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/excellence-is-the-best-weapon-against-prejudice/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [People have compact to go beyond our own culture and upbringing to a degree that I think we don't acknowledge enough really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/people-have-compact-to-go-beyond-our-own-culture-and-upbringing-to-a/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I truly believe that we cannot come to a place of reconciliation until there is individual repentance and corporate repentance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-truly-believe-that-we-cannot-come-to-a-place-of-reconciliation/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [Africa is trying to find its way back to a sense of itself, when much of that was lost through colonization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/africa-is-trying-to-find-its-way-back-to-a-sense-of-itself-when-much/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I'm one of those actors who says, "Point me toward the work that matters to me and I don't care where you're putting it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-m-one-of-those-actors-who-says-point-me-toward-the-work-that/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) [Explore all 85 David Oyelowo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) ## More Documentaries quotes > [I like the cinema of people like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. I am not keen on trying to reproduce reality - for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/i-like-the-cinema-of-people-like-terry-gilliam-and-tim-burton-i-am/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [...it is a very risky thing for anyone to go about proclaiming the truth simply because he finds himself in possession of concrete documentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-amado/it-is-a-very-risky-thing-for-anyone-to-go-about-proclaiming-the-truth/) [Jorge Amado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-amado/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [I'm in school every day. It depends on what it is that you do with all that free time when I'm not on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-lyte/i-m-in-school-every-day-it-depends-on-what-it-is-that-you-do-with-all/) [MC Lyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-lyte/) > [So I do tend to do documentaries where I can move in and out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-apted/so-i-do-tend-to-do-documentaries-where-i-can-move-in-and-out-of-them/) [Michael Apted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-apted/) > [Helen Weaver’s book was a revelation to me! Although I was a young woman in the fifties, I was there, but I wasn’t there!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-cassady/helen-weaver-s-book-was-a-revelation-to-me-although-i-was-a-young/) [Carolyn Cassady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-cassady/) > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [I've had frustrated storytelling juices that have been lying dormant for a long time, and I guess the documentary was a way of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-ve-had-frustrated-storytelling-juices-that-have-been-lying-dormant/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) > [I studied directing prior to acting and I've done music videos and documentaries and things that were sort of well-received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-gray-gubler/i-studied-directing-prior-to-acting-and-i-ve-done-music-videos-and/) [Matthew Gray Gubler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-gray-gubler/) [Browse all 718 Documentaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. 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