--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings are interested in two…" description: "\"Human beings are interested in two things. They are interested in the Reality and interested in telling about it.\" — Gertrude Stein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/gertrude-stein-667_human-beings_human-beings-are-interested-in-two-thing_1951601.jpg" --- # Human beings are interested in two things. They are… ![“Human beings are interested in two things. They are interested in the Reality and interested in telling about it.” quote by Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/gertrude-stein-667_human-beings_human-beings-are-interested-in-two-thing_1951601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/gertrude-stein-667_human-beings_human-beings-are-interested-in-two-thing_1951601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/gertrude-stein-667_human-beings_human-beings-are-interested-in-two-thing_1951601.jpg) > “Human beings are interested in two things. They are interested in the Reality and interested in telling about it.” [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans seek both reality and stories about it, blending fact with narrative. **In simple terms:** People crave reality and its stories. Key Takeaway Balance truth with storytelling. Themes truth storytelling human nature Mood curious analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - education - media production Key Concepts epistemology literature Questions to Reflect On - Why do we need stories about reality? - How can we keep narratives honest? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on narrative can distort facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-interested-578734/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Interested Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-reality-542633/) [Interested Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-telling-648496/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-interested-558058/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [I'm less interested in reality. I'm more interested in perception, the truth of the universe that we see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-m-less-interested-in-reality-i-m-more-interested-in-perception-the/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I'm interested in reality but I'm not interested in realism at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-m-interested-in-reality-but-i-m-not-interested-in-realism-at-all/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [I'm interested in reality, and I'm interested in survival. I'm interested in people who aren't the lucky ones, who maybe have a tougher time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-interested-in-reality-and-i-m-interested-in-survival-i-m/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I'm interested in reality but I'm not interested in realism at all. I'm interested in the ways that I think people want to relate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-m-interested-in-reality-but-i-m-not-interested-in-realism-at-all-i/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [Human beings are interested in the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/human-beings-are-interested-in-the-human-condition/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [The nature of how we are as human beings is that we're much more interested in being critical rather than praising something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/the-nature-of-how-we-are-as-human-beings-is-that-we-re-much-more/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [“... human beings interested her so much that it must always be an advantage to meet another one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-fitzgerald/human-beings-interested-her-so-much-that-it-must-always-be-an/) [Penelope Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-fitzgerald/) > [A writer is not interested in explaining reality, he’s only interested in capturing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-kennelly/a-writer-is-not-interested-in-explaining-reality-he-s-only-interested/) [Brendan Kennelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-kennelly/) > [Maybe it's because I was too much reality, but I'm not interested in seeing too much reality anymore. I'd rather watch a Dean Martin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-farina/maybe-it-s-because-i-was-too-much-reality-but-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dennis Farina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-farina/) > [I'm not that interested in recreating reality. I'm interested in recreating an emotional truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-not-that-interested-in-recreating-reality-i-m-interested-in/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I, myself, I am not interested in reality television; just me, myself, speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/i-myself-i-am-not-interested-in-reality-television-just-me-myself/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) > [Increasingly as I've gotten older, I'm much more interested in what the reality of the shoot is going to be versus what the result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-minghella/increasingly-as-i-ve-gotten-older-i-m-much-more-interested-in-what/) [Max Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-minghella/) > [“I think it should be obvious by now that I’m not necessarily interested in reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/i-think-it-should-be-obvious-by-now-that-i-m-not-necessarily/) [Elle Lothlorien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-lothlorien/) > [I was never interested in reality shows or dance shows, as they have become so common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shilpa-shinde/i-was-never-interested-in-reality-shows-or-dance-shows-as-they-have/) [Shilpa Shinde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shilpa-shinde/) > [The last thing I want to do is to write about real things. I am not interested in reality and in real human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-last-thing-i-want-to-do-is-to-write-about-real-things-i-am-not/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More by Gertrude Stein > [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“When is there some discharge when. There never is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/when-is-there-some-discharge-when-there-never-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [There is no such thing as repetition. Only insistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/there-is-no-such-thing-as-repetition-only-insistance/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I am I because my little dog knows me but, creatively speaking the little dog knowing that you are you and your recognising that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-am-i-because-my-little-dog-knows-me-but-creatively-speaking-the/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [How likely are definitions to be pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/how-likely-are-definitions-to-be-pleasurable/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [ “What is the answer?" \[ I \[Alice B Toklas\] was silent \] In that case, what is the question?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/what-is-the-answer-i-alice-b-toklas-was-silent-in-that-case-what-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [More and more I like to take a train. I understand why the French prefer it to automobiling it is so much more sociable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/more-and-more-i-like-to-take-a-train-i-understand-why-the-french/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Adventure is making the distant approach nearer but romance is having what is where it is which is not where you are stay where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/adventure-is-making-the-distant-approach-nearer-but-romance-is-having/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Forensics is eloquence and reduction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/forensics-is-eloquence-and-reduction/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Eating and sleeping are not like loving and breathing. Washing is not like eating and sleeping. Believing is like breathing and loving. Religion can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/eating-and-sleeping-are-not-like-loving-and-breathing-washing-is-not/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-strangers-dear-readers-are-an/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“A bag which was left and not only taken but turned away was not found. The place was shown to be very like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-bag-which-was-left-and-not-only-taken-but-turned-away-was-not-found/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I don't envisage collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always individualism, sometimes the rest vote and sometimes they do not, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-don-t-envisage-collectivism-there-is-no-such-animal-it-is-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) [Explore all 418 Gertrude Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## More Human beings quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) [Cruce Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cruce-stark/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Browse all 6,948 Human beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human beings are interested in two things. 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