--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The possession of knowledge does not kill…" description: "\"“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. —ANAÏS NIN”\" — Gregory Benford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/gregory-benford-6934_curiosity_the-possession-of-knowledge-does-not-kil_490127.jpg" --- # The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of… ![“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. —ANAÏS NIN” quote by Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/gregory-benford-6934_curiosity_the-possession-of-knowledge-does-not-kil_490127.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/gregory-benford-6934_curiosity_the-possession-of-knowledge-does-not-kil_490127.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/gregory-benford-6934_curiosity_the-possession-of-knowledge-does-not-kil_490127.jpg) > ““The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. —ANAÏS NIN”” [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge expands curiosity rather than diminishing it; wonder persists despite understanding. **In simple terms:** Knowing more keeps wonder alive. Key Takeaway Embrace learning while staying curious. Themes curiosity knowledge wonder Mood inquisitive reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - research - personal growth - exploration Key Concepts epistemology human nature Questions to Reflect On - How does learning affect your sense of awe? - Can knowledge ever fully explain everything? A Different Perspective Even with knowledge, mystery can feel elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Sense of wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-wonder/) ## Related quotes > [The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-possession-of-knowledge-does-not-kill-the-sense-of-wonder-and-2/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I certainly have had experiences of a sense of wonder at the world and a feeling that even though it could all be explained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/i-certainly-have-had-experiences-of-a-sense-of-wonder-at-the-world/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [It made me love talk that sought answers to questions that could help nobody, that could only keep alive in me that enthralling sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-made-me-love-talk-that-sought-answers-to-questions-that-could-help/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [The need to eat, sleep and dry out plays havoc with your sense of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/the-need-to-eat-sleep-and-dry-out-plays-havoc-with-your-sense-of/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-dignity-of-the-artist-lies-in-his-duty-of-keeping-awake-the-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're a kid you have this sense of wonder and wholeness and a strong sense of your own identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-weaving/when-you-re-a-kid-you-have-this-sense-of-wonder-and-wholeness-and-a/) [Hugo Weaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-weaving/) > [Aristotle said that philosophy begins in wonder. I believe it also ends in wonder. The ultimate way in which we relate to the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/aristotle-said-that-philosophy-begins-in-wonder-i-believe-it-also/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [It is not easy to convey a sense of wonder, let alone resurrection wonder, to another. It’s the very nature of wonder to catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/it-is-not-easy-to-convey-a-sense-of-wonder-let-alone-resurrection/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“I am constantly searching for places that rekindle my sense of wonder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-anderson-jeff-rovin/i-am-constantly-searching-for-places-that-rekindle-my-sense-of-wonder/) Gillian Anderson & Jeff Rovin > [One (practitioner of science) is the educated man who still has a controlled sense of wonder before the universal mystery, whether it hides in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/one-practitioner-of-science-is-the-educated-man-who-still-has-a/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“Hold on to your sense of wonder; if you do not have a sufficiently strong one, then develop it. For me, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-silber-jr/hold-on-to-your-sense-of-wonder-if-you-do-not-have-a-sufficiently/) Arthur Silber Jr > [Magicians lose the opportunity to experience a sense of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-copperfield/magicians-lose-the-opportunity-to-experience-a-sense-of-wonder/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-copperfield/) > [“One of the most terrible losses man endures in his lifetime is not even noticed by most people, much less mourned. Which is astonishing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/one-of-the-most-terrible-losses-man-endures-in-his-lifetime-is-not/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. You get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger. May you never take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ann-womack/i-hope-you-never-lose-your-sense-of-wonder-you-get-your-fill-to-eat/) [Lee Ann Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ann-womack/) > [“we have given up our sense of wonder at secrets left to be discovered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-have-given-up-our-sense-of-wonder-at-secrets-left-to-be-discovered/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## More by Gregory Benford > [“They thought the Allies would be desperate to “buy” their reactor research in the postwar era. Apparently they were not moved to check to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/they-thought-the-allies-would-be-desperate-to-buy-their-reactor/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“The war had funneled men and women into familiar channels. Anton’s girls were performing their impressions of what girls were supposed to be like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/the-war-had-funneled-men-and-women-into-familiar-channels-anton-s/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Ah, I see your point. I did assist on the Okinawa drop, as the British representative. Quite simple, after we’d seen the Berlin effects.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/ah-i-see-your-point-i-did-assist-on-the-okinawa-drop-as-the-british/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Dawidoff, Nicholas. The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg. New York: Vintage, 1994. de”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/dawidoff-nicholas-the-catcher-was-a-spy-the-mysterious-life-of-moe/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [Everybody feels he has a right to a life of luxury - or at least comfort - so there's a lot of frustration and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/everybody-feels-he-has-a-right-to-a-life-of-luxury-or-at-least/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“In fact, it took the resources of three countries to produce the bomb: the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. But there was more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/in-fact-it-took-the-resources-of-three-countries-to-produce-the-bomb/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“All our bright minds,” Feynman said sardonically, “and we can’t figure how to stop the enemy from dumping dirt on us.” Freeman said with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/all-our-bright-minds-feynman-said-sardonically-and-we-can-t-figure/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Moe Berg. Until he’s finished reading a paper, he considers it ‘alive’ and refuses to let anyone else touch it. When he’s done, it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/moe-berg-until-he-s-finished-reading-a-paper-he-considers-it-alive/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Tests showed there was no enrichment. “They’re just slinging purified uranium at us, straight from the mines,” Bob said. But the next week Bob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/tests-showed-there-was-no-enrichment-they-re-just-slinging-purified/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [One of the laws of nature," Gordon said, "is that half the people have got to be below average.""For a Gaussian distribution, yeah," Cooper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/one-of-the-laws-of-nature-gordon-said-is-that-half-the-people-have/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“I knew personally many figures in this novel: Harold Urey, who greeted me at the grad students reception at UCSD in 1963; Karl Cohen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/i-knew-personally-many-figures-in-this-novel-harold-urey-who-greeted/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Right. Isn’t that how science works?” Redwing grinned. “If you don’t understand, do an experiment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/right-isn-t-that-how-science-works-redwing-grinned-if-you-don-t/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Sour grapes, the champagne of the intelligentsia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/sour-grapes-the-champagne-of-the-intelligentsia/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Even their stable societies oscillated between banquets and barbarism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/even-their-stable-societies-oscillated-between-banquets-and-barbarism/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“Redwing had read somewhere that one of his favourite writers, Ernest Hemingway, had been asked what was the best training for a novelist. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/redwing-had-read-somewhere-that-one-of-his-favourite-writers-ernest/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) [Explore all 96 Gregory Benford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) ## More Curiosity quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [ “\[T\]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. \[...\] The point is, perhaps, that I am not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no-meaning-even-though-it-seems/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) Unknow > [There is nothing so carking as the pangs of unsatisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/there-is-nothing-so-carking-as-the-pangs-of-unsatisfied-curiosity/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [As long as your curiosity is greater than your fear, you will move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-long-as-your-curiosity-is-greater-than-your-fear-you-will-move/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) Robyn Irving [Browse all 2,721 Curiosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. 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