--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All of us... when we think we are talking…" description: "\"All of us... when we think we are talking most intimately to someone else, are actually addressing an image we have of the person to whom we believe we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/gene-wolfe-2530_believe_all-of-us-when-we-think-we-are-talking-m_2935245.jpg" --- # All of us... when we think we are talking most intimately… ![“All of us... when we think we are talking most intimately to someone else, are actually addressing an image we have of the person to whom we believe we speak.” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/gene-wolfe-2530_believe_all-of-us-when-we-think-we-are-talking-m_2935245.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/gene-wolfe-2530_believe_all-of-us-when-we-think-we-are-talking-m_2935245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/gene-wolfe-2530_believe_all-of-us-when-we-think-we-are-talking-m_2935245.jpg) > “All of us... when we think we are talking most intimately to someone else, are actually addressing an image we have of the person to whom we believe we speak.” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We converse with mental images of people, not the actual persons **In simple terms:** Communication is often with imagined versions of others Key Takeaway Be aware of projection in interactions Themes psychology communication perception Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts cognitive bias relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do mental images affect real communication? - What practices foster genuine listening? A Different Perspective May ignore authentic connection ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually Addressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually-addressing-4348116/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Intimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimately/) [Intimately Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimately-actually-4348115/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Talking Intimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-intimately-4348114/) [Think Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-talking-508791/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When you take forever to text back it makes me think that you are talking to someone more important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-take-forever-to-text-back-it-makes-me-think-that-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“How else would you be able to talk, kitten-cat, if you were not thinking, hmmm?' said George to his charge. 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A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-storms-by-the-swirling-of-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. 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Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep copiously swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“. . .Consciousness came and went. Consciousness went and came like the errant winds of spring, and I, who so often have had difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/consciousness-came-and-went-consciousness-went-and-came-like-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) [Explore all 160 Gene Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. 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