--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were the first human beings who would…" description: "\"“We were the first human beings who would never see anythign for the first time. We stare at the wonders of the world, dull-eyed, underwhelmed.”\" — Gil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/gillian-flynn-316_first-time_we-were-the-first-human-beings-who-would_1269061.jpg" --- # We were the first human beings who would never see… ![“We were the first human beings who would never see anythign for the first time. We stare at the wonders of the world, dull-eyed, underwhelmed.” quote by Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/gillian-flynn-316_first-time_we-were-the-first-human-beings-who-would_1269061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/gillian-flynn-316_first-time_we-were-the-first-human-beings-who-would_1269061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f54/gillian-flynn-316_first-time_we-were-the-first-human-beings-who-would_1269061.jpg) > ““We were the first human beings who would never see anythign for the first time. We stare at the wonders of the world, dull-eyed, underwhelmed.”” [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans become desensitized, repeatedly witnessing wonders, leading to a diminished sense of awe and curiosity. **In simple terms:** Repeated exposure dulls wonder. Key Takeaway Seek new perspectives to rekindle curiosity. Themes perception novelty desensitization Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - museum visits - learning new skills - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive habituation attention fatigue Questions to Reflect On - What can you do to stay amazed? - How does routine affect your sense of wonder? A Different Perspective Overexposure can cause disengagement and missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull/) [Dull Eyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull-eyed-4061629/) [Eyed Underwhelmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyed-underwhelmed-3789302/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Stare Wonders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stare-wonders-3789304/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-dull-248109/) ## Related quotes > [“We stare at the wonders of the world, dulled-eyed, underwhelmed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flynn-gillian/we-stare-at-the-wonders-of-the-world-dulled-eyed-underwhelmed/) [Flynn Gillian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flynn-gillian/) > [“We were the first human beings who would never see anything for the first time. We stare at the wonders of the world, dull-eyed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/we-were-the-first-human-beings-who-would-never-see-anything-for-the/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Too much anthropos makes the world a dull hole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-herbert-lawrence/too-much-anthropos-makes-the-world-a-dull-hole/) [David Herbert Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-herbert-lawrence/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Our society was utterly, ruinously derivative (although the word derivative as a criticism is itself derivative). We were the first human beings who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-society-was-utterly-ruinously-derivative-although-the-word/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“For several years, I had been bored. Not a whining, restless child's boredom (although I was not above that) but a dense, blanketing malaise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/for-several-years-i-had-been-bored-not-a-whining-restless-child-s/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“It seemed to me that there was nothing new to be discovered ever again. Our society was utterly, ruinously derivative...we were the first human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/it-seemed-to-me-that-there-was-nothing-new-to-be-discovered-ever/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/oh-wouldn-t-the-world-seem-dull-and-flat-with-nothing-whatever-to/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Entertainers and sports figures achieve fame and wealth but find the world empty and dull without the solace and stimulation of drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/entertainers-and-sports-figures-achieve-fame-and-wealth-but-find-the/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [You've got to deal with the world with all of its troubles, while you've still got this alternate image. It's not about being in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larkin-grimm/you-ve-got-to-deal-with-the-world-with-all-of-its-troubles-while-you/) [Larkin Grimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larkin-grimm/) > [ I saw the first one \[video with Hans Rosling \] when he did - I think it was his first one - in 2006,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-devlin/i-saw-the-first-one-video-with-hans-rosling-when-he-did-i-think-it/) [Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-devlin/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Whether one is twenty, forty, or sixty; whether one has succeeded, failed or just muddled along; whether yesterday was full of sun or storm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-mitchell-hodges/whether-one-is-twenty-forty-or-sixty-whether-one-has-succeeded-failed/) [Leigh Mitchell Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-mitchell-hodges/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) ## More by Gillian Flynn > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [The midwest is great because it hasn't been entirely claimed. There's more room to write about it; it's harder to write about New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-midwest-is-great-because-it-hasn-t-been-entirely-claimed-there-s/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Sometimes it is all too loud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/sometimes-it-is-all-too-loud/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/there-s-something-disturbing-about-recalling-a-warm-memory-and/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“My life has begun to feel like an epilogue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-life-has-begun-to-feel-like-an-epilogue/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“The Victorians, especially southern Victorians, needed a lot of room to stray away from each other, to duck tuberculosis and flu, to avoid rapacious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-victorians-especially-southern-victorians-needed-a-lot-of-room-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“You think: Oh, here is the rest of my life. It’s finally arrived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-think-oh-here-is-the-rest-of-my-life-it-s-finally-arrived/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [What a generous thing that is, I realize, for a husband to try to make his wife laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/what-a-generous-thing-that-is-i-realize-for-a-husband-to-try-to-make/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I am a great believer in jobs for teens. They teach important life lessons, build character, and inflict just the right amount of humiliation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-am-a-great-believer-in-jobs-for-teens-they-teach-important-life/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“you'd literally lie, cheat, and steal -hell, kill- to convince people you are a good guy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-d-literally-lie-cheat-and-steal-hell-kill-to-convince-people-you/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [My imagination is more tweaked by imagining the lives of the people who were there before us. I don't need to give myself the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-imagination-is-more-tweaked-by-imagining-the-lives-of-the-people/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Given my druthers now, I’d prefer a snapshot of Warren Harding’s wife, “the Duchess,” who recorded the smallest offenses in a little red notebook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/given-my-druthers-now-i-d-prefer-a-snapshot-of-warren-harding-s-wife/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [A town so suffocating and small, you tripped over people you hated every day. People who knew things about you. It's the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/a-town-so-suffocating-and-small-you-tripped-over-people-you-hated/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see men - friends, coworkers, strangers - giddy over these awful pretender women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/for-a-long-time-cool-girl-offended-me-i-used-to-see-men-friends/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) [Explore all 668 Gillian Flynn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) ## More Dull quotes > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Whether one is twenty, forty, or sixty; whether one has succeeded, failed or just muddled along; whether yesterday was full of sun or storm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-mitchell-hodges/whether-one-is-twenty-forty-or-sixty-whether-one-has-succeeded-failed/) [Leigh Mitchell Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-mitchell-hodges/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Soothing words can become just another drug we swallow to dull our pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/soothing-words-can-become-just-another-drug-we-swallow-to-dull-our/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The most fascinating powers don't mean a thing if the guy's poorly motivated or dull, and the most generic powers won't hurt a well-motivated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/the-most-fascinating-powers-don-t-mean-a-thing-if-the-guy-s-poorly/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/silence-is-the-universal-refuge-the-sequel-to-all-dull-discourses-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/a-good-movie-can-take-you-out-of-your-dull-funk-and-the-hopelessness/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [A thrumming of piano-strings beyond the gardens and through the elms. At length the melody steals into my being. I know not when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-thrumming-of-piano-strings-beyond-the-gardens-and-through-the-elms/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 1,407 Dull quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We were the first human beings who would never see anythign for the first time. 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