--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the most exciting part of being…" description: "\"This is the most exciting part of being human. It is using our brains in the highest way. Otherwise we are just healthy animals\" — Edwin Land" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/edwin-land-7636_animal_this-is-the-most-exciting-part-of-being_947553.png" --- # This is the most exciting part of being human. It is using… ![“This is the most exciting part of being human. It is using our brains in the highest way. Otherwise we are just healthy animals” quote by Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/edwin-land-7636_animal_this-is-the-most-exciting-part-of-being_947553.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/edwin-land-7636_animal_this-is-the-most-exciting-part-of-being_947553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/844/edwin-land-7636_animal_this-is-the-most-exciting-part-of-being_947553.png) > “This is the most exciting part of being human. It is using our brains in the highest way. Otherwise we are just healthy animals” [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human fulfillment comes from using our intellect at its highest, distinguishing us from mere biological existence. **In simple terms:** Using our brains fully defines humanity. Key Takeaway Pursue intellectual challenges. Themes human potential intellect purpose Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - personal growth - education - innovation Key Concepts Cognitive development creativity self-actualization Questions to Reflect On - What does “highest way” mean to you? - How can we balance intellect with emotion? A Different Perspective It may undervalue emotional and physical experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Being human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-human/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brains Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brains-highest-1664607/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Exciting Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting-human-1664608/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Healthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Using Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-brains-294868/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I like ideas. I find them more exciting than human behavior for the most part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-like-ideas-i-find-them-more-exciting-than-human-behavior-for-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [It's very exciting to get to be a full human on a show, to get to act and not worry about my gender. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-r-fightmaster/it-s-very-exciting-to-get-to-be-a-full-human-on-a-show-to-get-to-act/) [E. R. Fightmaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-r-fightmaster/) > [Research indicates that, as long as we keep using our brains in an active way, we continue to build neural pathways as we get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/research-indicates-that-as-long-as-we-keep-using-our-brains-in-an/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [If we are not using our brains' capacity for challenge it feels to me as though it atrophies like an unused muscle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-perry/if-we-are-not-using-our-brains-capacity-for-challenge-it-feels-to-me/) [Philippa Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-perry/) > [It is not so much that we, using our brains, spin our yarns, as that our brains, using yarns, spin us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/it-is-not-so-much-that-we-using-our-brains-spin-our-yarns-as-that-our/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [I think the best learning is done with active manipulation. And we need to be able to work with our hands; it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-think-the-best-learning-is-done-with-active-manipulation-and-we/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [“Can we treat animal behavior with the same medicines, therapies, and approaches we use on humans? To me, the answer is an obvious yes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-dodman/can-we-treat-animal-behavior-with-the-same-medicines-therapies-and/) [Nicholas Dodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-dodman/) > [In making certain things easier for people, technology has actually demotivated people from using their brains. We have all these devices that keep us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilio-estevez/in-making-certain-things-easier-for-people-technology-has-actually/) [Emilio Estevez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilio-estevez/) > [Anyone who still wants to experience fairytales these days can’t afford to dither when it comes to using their brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/anyone-who-still-wants-to-experience-fairytales-these-days-can-t/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“anything that forces us to stop using our brains is a bad thing but especially when the thing that’s asking us not to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-lugeons/anything-that-forces-us-to-stop-using-our-brains-is-a-bad-thing-but/) [Noah Lugeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-lugeons/) > [The most exciting part of finding out who we are is discovering our own uniqueness, who we are outside the box, beyond the categories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-richo/the-most-exciting-part-of-finding-out-who-we-are-is-discovering-our/) [David Richo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-richo/) > [What is different and exciting is how much we have learned. We learned we were right that we don't need the chemical model of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/what-is-different-and-exciting-is-how-much-we-have-learned-we-learned/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) ## More by Edwin Land > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [It only takes a day to change someone from an anti-intellectual to an intellectual by persuading him that he might be one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/it-only-takes-a-day-to-change-someone-from-an-anti-intellectual-to-an/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Don't do anything that someone else can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/don-t-do-anything-that-someone-else-can-do/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The present is the past biting into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-present-is-the-past-biting-into-the-future/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The world belongs to the articulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-world-belongs-to-the-articulate/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Why do I want to believe what I believe?... Science, to put it somewhat vulgarly, is a technique to keep yourself from kidding yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/why-do-i-want-to-believe-what-i-believe-science-to-put-it-somewhat/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Who can object to a monopoly when any new company, if it is built around a scientific nucleus, can create a new monopoly of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/who-can-object-to-a-monopoly-when-any-new-company-if-it-is-built/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [I believe that each young person is different from any other who has ever lived, as different as his fingerprints: that he could bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/i-believe-that-each-young-person-is-different-from-any-other-who-has/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [There is no such thing as group originality, group creativity or group perspicacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/there-is-no-such-thing-as-group-originality-group-creativity-or-group/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A significant invention must be startling, unexpected. It must come to a world that is not prepared for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/a-significant-invention-must-be-startling-unexpected-it-must-come-to/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [I believe quite simply that the small company of the future will be as much a research organization as it is a manufacturing company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/i-believe-quite-simply-that-the-small-company-of-the-future-will-be/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A premature attempt to explain something that thrills you will destroy your perceptivity rather than increase it, because your tendency will be to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/a-premature-attempt-to-explain-something-that-thrills-you-will/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A significant inventionmust be startling, unexpected. It must come to a world that is not prepared for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/a-significant-inventionmust-be-startling-unexpected-it-must-come-to-a/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The world is like a fertile field that's waiting to be harvested. The seeds have been planted, and what I do is go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-world-is-like-a-fertile-field-that-s-waiting-to-be-harvested-the/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The most important thing about power is to make sure you don't have to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-most-important-thing-about-power-is-to-make-sure-you-don-t-have/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) [Explore all 89 Edwin Land quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is the most exciting part of being human. It is using our brains in the highest way. 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