---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if we remember the past, odds are…"
description: "\"Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it.\" — Guy Gavriel Kay"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png"
---

#  Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still…

![“Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it.” quote by Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png)

> “Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it.”

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Remembering history doesn’t guarantee we won’t repeat it; awareness isn’t enough.

**In simple terms:** History repeats despite memory.

Key Takeaway

Learn actively, not just remember.

Themes

history learning patterns

Mood

reflective cautionary

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

- education
- policy making
- personal decisions
- media analysis

Key Concepts

cognitive bias human behavior

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do societies repeat mistakes?
- What steps prevent repetition?

A Different Perspective

Change requires action beyond recollection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“So there are no ill effects?” I asked. “Well, as I said, you could die.” I looked him in the eye, my one good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-messinger/so-there-are-no-ill-effects-i-asked-well-as-i-said-you-could-die-i/)

[Jonathan Messinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-messinger/)

> [“The odds may be good, but the goods may be odd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerusha-jones/the-odds-may-be-good-but-the-goods-may-be-odd/)

Jerusha Jones

> [When it comes to finding available men in Minnesota, the odds are good, but the goods are odd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/when-it-comes-to-finding-available-men-in-minnesota-the-odds-are-good/)

[Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/)

> [“You could roll the same side over and over again, the laws of the universe intact and unchanging with each turn. It's only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/you-could-roll-the-same-side-over-and-over-again-the-laws-of-the/)

[Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/)

> [“There's an old saying about those who cannot remember the past being condemned to repeat it. But those of us who refuse to forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/there-s-an-old-saying-about-those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-being/)

[Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/)

> [Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [“Any odds are good odds for the damned”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/any-odds-are-good-odds-for-the-damned/)

[christopher pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/)

> [“the odds are good, but the goods are odd”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/the-odds-are-good-but-the-goods-are-odd/)

[Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/)

> [As actors, if you get a pilot on HBO or on USA, your odds are good that it's going to get picked up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dekay/as-actors-if-you-get-a-pilot-on-hbo-or-on-usa-your-odds-are-good-that/)

[Tim DeKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dekay/)

> [Most of what we know about human life we know from asking people to remember the past, and as we know, hindsight is anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-waldinger/most-of-what-we-know-about-human-life-we-know-from-asking-people-to/)

[Robert J. Waldinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-waldinger/)

> [Remember your past mistakes just long enough to profit by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-d-mckinnon/remember-your-past-mistakes-just-long-enough-to-profit-by-them/)

Clinton D. McKinnon

> [“…LondonLane: I’m sure I don’t remember everything. I remember the future the way you remember the past. You remember the really good and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-patrick/londonlane-i-m-sure-i-don-t-remember-everything-i-remember-the-future/)

[Cat Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-patrick/)

> [I can't remember the past, or I can't see very clearly, or I've gotten older and the person I was isn't there anymore, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/i-can-t-remember-the-past-or-i-can-t-see-very-clearly-or-i-ve-gotten/)

[Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/)

> [From time to time I look at the picture when I am very sad. I just want to remember my past and that scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phan-thi-kim-phuc/from-time-to-time-i-look-at-the-picture-when-i-am-very-sad-i-just/)

[Phan Thi Kim Phuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phan-thi-kim-phuc/)

## More by Guy Gavriel Kay

> [“For all his frustrations and his chronic sense of being overburdened. He was proud of that; he’d always felt that it was worth doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/for-all-his-frustrations-and-his-chronic-sense-of-being-overburdened/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“Branching paths. The turning of days and seasons and years. Life offered you love sometimes, sorrow often. If you were very fortunate, true friendship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/branching-paths-the-turning-of-days-and-seasons-and-years-life/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [I never talk about books in progress. I could decide to change it to a series of seafood recipes, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/i-never-talk-about-books-in-progress-i-could-decide-to-change-it-to-a/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“He’d stopped permitting himself to be unhappy about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/he-d-stopped-permitting-himself-to-be-unhappy-about-it/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“The privacy of pride.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/the-privacy-of-pride/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“It had taken skill, tact, an ability to choose friends well, and a great deal of luck”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/it-had-taken-skill-tact-an-ability-to-choose-friends-well-and-a-great/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“The soul must bend to endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/the-soul-must-bend-to-endure/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“He sang one whole verse directly to her, then, in fidelity to the song, he sent his vision inward to where his purest music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/he-sang-one-whole-verse-directly-to-her-then-in-fidelity-to-the-song/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“Ambitions and dreams put you at a drinking table with unexpected companions. Cups were filled and refilled, making you drunk with the illusion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/ambitions-and-dreams-put-you-at-a-drinking-table-with-unexpected/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“We regard our own memories as truths, when they are often just the stories we have told ourselves over time. They become the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/we-regard-our-own-memories-as-truths-when-they-are-often-just-the/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [ “\[We let\] the universality of fantasy, of once upon a time, allow escapist fiction to be more than just that - to also bring… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/we-let-the-universality-of-fantasy-of-once-upon-a-time-allow-escapist/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“Battles are won en route, Shalhassan of Cathal though. A worthy thought: he raised his hand in a certain way, and a moment later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/battles-are-won-en-route-shalhassan-of-cathal-though-a-worthy-thought/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [After a while, you start to realize that you should write a book you would want to read. I try to write a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/after-a-while-you-start-to-realize-that-you-should-write-a-book-you/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“Daylight was coming outside, but it was not only that: courage cast its own light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/daylight-was-coming-outside-but-it-was-not-only-that-courage-cast-its/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

> [“But when a place has been an island the memory of water lingers, and of water magic, no matter how far away the sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/but-when-a-place-has-been-an-island-the-memory-of-water-lingers-and/)

[Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

[Explore all 150 Guy Gavriel Kay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/)

## More Even quotes

> [Most of the time, I get around perfectly well on my bike and public transportation, even in spite of the Bay Area's almost comically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/most-of-the-time-i-get-around-perfectly-well-on-my-bike-and-public/)

[Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/)

> [If you're a top 10 guy you should pay a top 10 guy or even a top 5 guy what he deserves, whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljamain-sterling/if-you-re-a-top-10-guy-you-should-pay-a-top-10-guy-or-even-a-top-5/)

[Aljamain Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aljamain-sterling/)

> [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/i-guess-i-ve-never-really-wanted-to-be-anything-else-i-ve-never-even/)

[Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/)

> [Even after years of observing, a new picture of Uranus from Keck Observatory can stop me in my tracks and make me say, 'Wow!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-hammel/even-after-years-of-observing-a-new-picture-of-uranus-from-keck/)

[Heidi Hammel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-hammel/)

> [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/)

[Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/)

> [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/)

[Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/)

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

> [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/)

[Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/)

> [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/)

[Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/)

> [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/)

[Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/)

> [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/)

[Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/)

> [Like in nature, I like things which are based on a few simple principles, even though their manifestation can be very rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabiola-gianotti/like-in-nature-i-like-things-which-are-based-on-a-few-simple/)

[Fabiola Gianotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabiola-gianotti/)

> [You can't even tell, but a lot of the time your favourite rappers are wearing a bunch of fake jewellery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/you-can-t-even-tell-but-a-lot-of-the-time-your-favourite-rappers-are/)

[Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/)

> [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/)

[Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/)

> [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/)

[Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/)

Browse all 8,987 Even quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Guy Gavriel Kay"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-good-we-ll-still-repeat-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Even"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-good-we-ll-still-repeat-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/guy-gavriel-kay-2769_even_even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-go_605634.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it.” — Guy Gavriel Kay",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Guy Gavriel Kay",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Even if we remember the past,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-good-we-ll-still-repeat-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/even-if-we-remember-the-past-odds-are-good-we-ll-still-repeat-it/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
