--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Universe, as has been observed…" description: "\"“The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people tend to ignore. Many wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/douglas-adams-122_birth-control_the-universe-as-has-been-observed-before_2566047.jpg" --- # The Universe, as has been observed before, is an… ![“The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people tend to ignore. Many would happily move to somewhere rather smaller of their own devising, and this is what most beings in fact do. For instance, in one corner of the…” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/douglas-adams-122_birth-control_the-universe-as-has-been-observed-before_2566047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/douglas-adams-122_birth-control_the-universe-as-has-been-observed-before_2566047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/douglas-adams-122_birth-control_the-universe-as-has-been-observed-before_2566047.jpg) > ““The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people tend to ignore. Many would happily move to somewhere rather smaller of their own devising, and this is what most beings in fact do. For instance, in one corner of the Eastern Galactic Arm lies the large forest planet Oglaroon, the entire "intelligent" population of which lives permanently in one fairly small and crowded nut tree. In which tree they are born, live, fall in love, carve tiny speculative articles in the bark on the meaning of life, the futility of death and the importance of birth control, fight a few extremely minor wars and eventually die strapped to the underside of some of the less accessible outer branches.”” [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 universe is vast, yet many prefer a comfortable, limited view, ignoring its enormity and choosing small, familiar spaces. **In simple terms:** People ignore the huge universe for comfort. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity about the larger world. Themes comfort ignorance scale Mood thoughtful humorous Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - daily life - education - travel - science communication Key Concepts existentialism human perspective Questions to Reflect On - What would you explore if you weren’t afraid? - How does comfort shape your worldview? A Different Perspective Focusing only on the small can limit growth and understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-control/) [Fall in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-in-love/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-of-life/) [Quiet life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-life/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“For instance, in one corner of the Eastern Galactic Arm lies the large forest planet Oglaroon, the entire “intelligent” population of which lives permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/for-instance-in-one-corner-of-the-eastern-galactic-arm-lies-the-large/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-universe-as-has-been-observed-before-is-an-unsettlingly-big-place/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [It was only about sixty years ago that the expansion of the universe was first observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/it-was-only-about-sixty-years-ago-that-the-expansion-of-the-universe/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [Fifty percent of the world's population lives in cities. 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I feel the heartbeat of the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-an/oh-love-whenever-i-hear-your-name-i-hear-the-heartbeat-of-every/) [Nicola An](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-an/) > [“We are all just playing some stupid role in a stupid movie that we all wrote.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-freestone/we-are-all-just-playing-some-stupid-role-in-a-stupid-movie-that-we/) [Jack Freestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-freestone/) > [Forgotten thought is the ultimate entropy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lintern/forgotten-thought-is-the-ultimate-entropy/) Neil Lintern ## 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. 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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 Birth control quotes > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. 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I could never, ever have an abortion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-shields/too-many-people-use-abortion-as-a-form-of-birth-control-and-that-s/) [Brooke Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-shields/) > [ \[W\]e declare it is a grievous sin before God to adopt restrictive measures in disobedience to God's divine command from the beginning of time… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-b-lee/w-e-declare-it-is-a-grievous-sin-before-god-to-adopt-restrictive/) [Harold B. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-b-lee/) > [Romney, Gingrich, Santorum spent their week lecturing America about the morality of birth control. 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