--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The available worlds looked pretty grim…" description: "\"The available worlds looked pretty grim. They had little to offer him because he had little to offer them. He had been extremely chastened to realize t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/douglas-adams-122_ballet_the-available-worlds-looked-pretty-grim_3189364.jpg" --- # The available worlds looked pretty grim. They had little… ![“The available worlds looked pretty grim. They had little to offer him because he had little to offer them. He had been extremely chastened to realize that although he originally came from a world which had cars and computers and ballet and Armagnac, he didn't, by himself, know how any of it…” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/douglas-adams-122_ballet_the-available-worlds-looked-pretty-grim_3189364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/douglas-adams-122_ballet_the-available-worlds-looked-pretty-grim_3189364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/douglas-adams-122_ballet_the-available-worlds-looked-pretty-grim_3189364.jpg) > “The available worlds looked pretty grim. They had little to offer him because he had little to offer them. He had been extremely chastened to realize that although he originally came from a world which had cars and computers and ballet and Armagnac, he didn't, by himself, know how any of it worked. He couldn't do it. Left to his own devices he couldn't build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it.” [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. He feels out of place in a world of advanced technology because he lacks the practical skills to use it. **In simple terms:** He can't use modern tech without knowledge. Key Takeaway Learn basics before expecting mastery. Themes alienation technology skill gap Mood frustrated reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - new job - moving to a tech city - learning a new hobby Key Concepts self-efficacy learning curve Questions to Reflect On - What skill could you start learning today? - How does feeling inadequate affect motivation? A Different Perspective He may underestimate innate adaptability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I have to confess that I'm in a constant state of evolution in terms of the way I feel about it. When I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-newson/i-have-to-confess-that-i-m-in-a-constant-state-of-evolution-in-terms/) [Marc Newson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-newson/) > [I never went camping when I was a kid - I'm from Hounslow, it's a bit of a concrete jungle. 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And where does it go after it leaves the toaster?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/today-s-scientific-question-is-what-in-the-world-is-electricity-and/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Burn bread every day boy, no toaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/burn-bread-every-day-boy-no-toaster/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Many people continue to think of sharks as man-eating beasts. Sharks are enormously powerful and wild creatures, but youre more likely to be killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/many-people-continue-to-think-of-sharks-as-man-eating-beasts-sharks/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [When I need bread, I grab the toaster and stick niggas for they crumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akinyele/when-i-need-bread-i-grab-the-toaster-and-stick-niggas-for-they-crumbs/) Akinyele > [I remember when I was growing up, you would go to a bank to open a deposit, and they'd give you a toaster. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-el-erian/i-remember-when-i-was-growing-up-you-would-go-to-a-bank-to-open-a/) [Mohamed El-Erian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-el-erian/) > [Not unlike the toaster, I control darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/not-unlike-the-toaster-i-control-darkness/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [When you sit down to design something, it can be anything, a car, a toaster, a house, a tall building or a shoe, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinker-hatfield/when-you-sit-down-to-design-something-it-can-be-anything-a-car-a/) [Tinker Hatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinker-hatfield/) > [That's all I've ever dreamed of, Mr. Bones. To make the world a better place. To bring some beauty to the drab humdrum corners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/that-s-all-i-ve-ever-dreamed-of-mr-bones-to-make-the-world-a-better/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [But the toaster was quite satisfied with itself, thank you. Though it knew from magazines that there were toasters who could toast four slices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-disch/but-the-toaster-was-quite-satisfied-with-itself-thank-you-though-it/) [Thomas M. Disch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-disch/) > [Ian sighed wanly. "I once had the means to be gaga over art–before I found myself in a country where the standard of beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-korman/ian-sighed-wanly-i-once-had-the-means-to-be-gaga-over-art-before-i/) [Gordon Korman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-korman/) > [Does anyone really imagine for a moment that my wife gives two stuffs about global warming? She certainly did not appear to be all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/does-anyone-really-imagine-for-a-moment-that-my-wife-gives-two-stuffs/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' 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. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. 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 Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The available worlds looked pretty grim. They had little to offer him because he had little to offer them. He had been extremely chastened to realize that although he originally came from a world which had cars and computers and ballet and Armagnac, he didn't, by himself, know how any of it worked. He couldn't do it. Left to his own devices he couldn't build a toaster. 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