--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You asked me, 'Do you call this living?\"…" description: "\"“You asked me, 'Do you call this living?\" And I answer: Yes, it is exactly what I call living. And in my best hypothetical sense, I envy it very much.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/frederik-pohl-12573_hypothetical_you-asked-me-do-you-call-this-living-and_633835.jpg" --- # You asked me, 'Do you call this living?" And I answer… ![“You asked me, 'Do you call this living?" And I answer: Yes, it is exactly what I call living. And in my best hypothetical sense, I envy it very much.” quote by Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/frederik-pohl-12573_hypothetical_you-asked-me-do-you-call-this-living-and_633835.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/frederik-pohl-12573_hypothetical_you-asked-me-do-you-call-this-living-and_633835.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/frederik-pohl-12573_hypothetical_you-asked-me-do-you-call-this-living-and_633835.jpg) > ““You asked me, 'Do you call this living?" And I answer: Yes, it is exactly what I call living. And in my best hypothetical sense, I envy it very much.”” [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He embraces life fully, seeing it as the ultimate expression of living, and even envies that ideal. **In simple terms:** Living fully is the ultimate goal. Key Takeaway Pursue a full life. Themes existence joy envy Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - fictional narrative - personal essay - interview Key Concepts philosophical optimism life purpose creative imagination Questions to Reflect On - What does “living” mean to you? - Do you envy others’ lives? A Different Perspective The ideal of living may be unattainable yet motivating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [I've lost count of the times I've been asked what I do for a living. When I say rugby people say: 'Yes, but what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haskell/i-ve-lost-count-of-the-times-i-ve-been-asked-what-i-do-for-a-living/) [James Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haskell/) > [religion is about having the right answers, and some of their answers are right... but i am about the process that takes you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/religion-is-about-having-the-right-answers-and-some-of-their-answers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/now-everything-is-wonderful-and-hazardous-and-nothing-s-hypothetical/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“after a while you start to think the body is nothing but a hypothetical construct”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/after-a-while-you-start-to-think-the-body-is-nothing-but-a/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“As a hypothetical illustration, let us assume a conflict involving us in Afghanistan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-wylie/as-a-hypothetical-illustration-let-us-assume-a-conflict-involving-us/) [J.C. Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-wylie/) > [In my acting class there was this acting exercise going on, and I remember asking a buddy, "Do you ever do this at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-olsen/in-my-acting-class-there-was-this-acting-exercise-going-on-and-i/) [Elizabeth Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-olsen/) > [“Arthur shook his head. "You'd be an appalling mother, Morgana. You're a terrible example, you know," he said, handing her the bottle. "God help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fayjay/arthur-shook-his-head-you-d-be-an-appalling-mother-morgana-you-re-a/) FayJay > [If art doesn't require an audience, can an intimate conversation be a work of art? Can a thought be a work of art? Maybe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/if-art-doesn-t-require-an-audience-can-an-intimate-conversation-be-a/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [The alternative of hypothetical universalism, according to which Christ's work is sufficient for all but efficient only for the elect, was alive and well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/the-alternative-of-hypothetical-universalism-according-to-which/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [If ergonomists have their way, future products won't be built for some hypothetical average person but will conform to the biomechanical needs of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-ergonomists-have-their-way-future-products-won-t-be-built-for-some/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Certainly in order to understand the natural world one needs clarity, logic, and the capacity for theory building. But that understanding tends to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/certainly-in-order-to-understand-the-natural-world-one-needs-clarity/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [“Well did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chainsaw?-- Pam to Jessica, True Blood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/well-did-you-call-the-hypothetical-hardware-store-and-buy-a/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## More by Frederik Pohl > [“There are people who never pass a certain point in their emotional development. They cannot live a normal free-and-easy, give-and-take life with a sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/there-are-people-who-never-pass-a-certain-point-in-their-emotional/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [“Only you have to keep practicing and remembering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/only-you-have-to-keep-practicing-and-remembering/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [“Anyway, that's what life is, just one learning experience after another, and when you're through with all the learning experiences you graduate and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/anyway-that-s-what-life-is-just-one-learning-experience-after-another/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [A lot of the cosmologists and astrophysicists clearly had been reading science fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/a-lot-of-the-cosmologists-and-astrophysicists-clearly-had-been/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [Advertising reaches out to touch the fantasy part of people's lives. And you know, most people's fantasies are pretty sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/advertising-reaches-out-to-touch-the-fantasy-part-of-people-s-lives/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [A large fraction of the most interesting scientists have read a lot of SF at one time or another, either early enough that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/a-large-fraction-of-the-most-interesting-scientists-have-read-a-lot/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [“If a picture on the wall can remember, you remember that this is not the first time. If a picture on the wall can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/if-a-picture-on-the-wall-can-remember-you-remember-that-this-is-not/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [It's clear that science and science fiction have overlapping populations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/it-s-clear-that-science-and-science-fiction-have-overlapping/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [“Wealth ... or death. Those were the choices Gateway offered. Humans had discovered this artificial spaceport, full of working interstellar ships left behind by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/wealth-or-death-those-were-the-choices-gateway-offered-humans-had/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [When I sit down to the feast of life ... I'm so busy planning on how to pick up the check, and wondering what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/when-i-sit-down-to-the-feast-of-life-i-m-so-busy-planning-on-how-to/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [For someone to be taken seriously it was valuable to have the appearance of someone who deserved to be taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/for-someone-to-be-taken-seriously-it-was-valuable-to-have-the/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [The science fiction method is dissection and reconstruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/the-science-fiction-method-is-dissection-and-reconstruction/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [On this day I want to tell you about, which will be about a thousand years from now, there were a boy, a girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/on-this-day-i-want-to-tell-you-about-which-will-be-about-a-thousand/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [“There are times when I sit at the center of the world, and when I know that I can reach out to any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/there-are-times-when-i-sit-at-the-center-of-the-world-and-when-i-know/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [You look at the world around you, and you take it apart into all its components. Then you take some of those components, throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/you-look-at-the-world-around-you-and-you-take-it-apart-into-all-its/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) [Explore all 51 Frederik Pohl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) ## More Hypothetical quotes > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/now-everything-is-wonderful-and-hazardous-and-nothing-s-hypothetical/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Well did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chainsaw?-- Pam to Jessica, True Blood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/well-did-you-call-the-hypothetical-hardware-store-and-buy-a/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [Certainly in order to understand the natural world one needs clarity, logic, and the capacity for theory building. But that understanding tends to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/certainly-in-order-to-understand-the-natural-world-one-needs-clarity/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [If ergonomists have their way, future products won't be built for some hypothetical average person but will conform to the biomechanical needs of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-ergonomists-have-their-way-future-products-won-t-be-built-for-some/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [The alternative of hypothetical universalism, according to which Christ's work is sufficient for all but efficient only for the elect, was alive and well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/the-alternative-of-hypothetical-universalism-according-to-which/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [If art doesn't require an audience, can an intimate conversation be a work of art? Can a thought be a work of art? Maybe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/if-art-doesn-t-require-an-audience-can-an-intimate-conversation-be-a/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [“Arthur shook his head. "You'd be an appalling mother, Morgana. You're a terrible example, you know," he said, handing her the bottle. "God help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fayjay/arthur-shook-his-head-you-d-be-an-appalling-mother-morgana-you-re-a/) FayJay > [In my acting class there was this acting exercise going on, and I remember asking a buddy, "Do you ever do this at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-olsen/in-my-acting-class-there-was-this-acting-exercise-going-on-and-i/) [Elizabeth Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-olsen/) > [“As a hypothetical illustration, let us assume a conflict involving us in Afghanistan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-wylie/as-a-hypothetical-illustration-let-us-assume-a-conflict-involving-us/) [J.C. Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-wylie/) > [“after a while you start to think the body is nothing but a hypothetical construct”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/after-a-while-you-start-to-think-the-body-is-nothing-but-a/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Sometimes I make very selfish choices; like I did 'Once Upon A Time' for my inner 8-year-old and my hypothetical future child. I've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/sometimes-i-make-very-selfish-choices-like-i-did-once-upon-a-time-for/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [I will not discuss future hypothetical situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-barak/i-will-not-discuss-future-hypothetical-situations/) [Ehud Barak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-barak/) Browse all 132 Hypothetical quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You asked me, 'Do you call this living?\" And I answer: Yes, it is exactly what I call living. 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