--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All through my life I've had this strange…" description: "\"All through my life I've had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no one woul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/douglas-adams-122_bigs_all-through-my-life-i-ve-had-this-strang_3108840.png" --- # All through my life I've had this strange unaccountable… ![“All through my life I've had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no one would tell me what it was." "No," said the old man, "that's just perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the Universe has that.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/douglas-adams-122_bigs_all-through-my-life-i-ve-had-this-strang_3108840.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/douglas-adams-122_bigs_all-through-my-life-i-ve-had-this-strang_3108840.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/douglas-adams-122_bigs_all-through-my-life-i-ve-had-this-strang_3108840.png) > “All through my life I've had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no one would tell me what it was." "No," said the old man, "that's just perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the Universe has that.” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a pervasive, unsettling feeling of hidden global events, dismissed as normal paranoia by an elder. **In simple terms:** People often feel something big is hidden, but it's called paranoia. Key Takeaway Question the nature of perceived conspiracies. Themes paranoia existential humor Mood wry reflective Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - science fiction storytelling - social commentary Key Concepts psychology universal anxiety narrative voice Questions to Reflect On - What “big” events might we overlook? - How does humor affect our view of paranoia? A Different Perspective Labeling paranoia as normal may ignore genuine concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [Normal Paranoia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-paranoia-4267280/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Paranoia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paranoia/) [Paranoia Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paranoia-universe-4267281/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sinister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinister/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Unaccountable Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unaccountable-feeling-5420649/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“All through my life I've had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/all-through-my-life-i-ve-had-this-strange-unaccountable-feeling-that/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“You know,” said Arthur thoughtfully, “all this explains a lot of things. All through my life I’ve had this strange unaccountable feeling that something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-know-said-arthur-thoughtfully-all-this-explains-a-lot-of-things/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The marriage of reason and nightmare which has dominated the 20th century has given birth to an ever more ambiguous world. Across the communications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-marriage-of-reason-and-nightmare-which-has-dominated-the-20th/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [“But unless we determine to take action,' said the old man querulously, as if struggling against something deeply insouciant in his nature, 'then we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-unless-we-determine-to-take-action-said-the-old-man-querulously/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Edward smiled, I smiled, even Bernardo smiled. 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And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. 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The infinite suns, the infinite distances between them, and yourself an invisible dot on an invisible dot, infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-universe-the-whole-infinite-universe-the-infinite-suns-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/any-man-who-can-hitch-the-length-and-breadth-of-the-galaxy-rough-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. So we'll have to tell you something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-come-to-me-for-advice-but-you-can-t-cope-with-anything-you-don-t/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Explore all 1,168 Douglas Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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