--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never been able to understand…" description: "\"I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet who lacks a need for knowledge. Is it not God's greatest gift to us all, this capacity to th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg" --- # I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet… ![“I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet who lacks a need for knowledge. Is it not God's greatest gift to us all, this capacity to think, to wonder, to imagine?” quote by Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg) > “I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet who lacks a need for knowledge. Is it not God's greatest gift to us all, this capacity to think, to wonder, to imagine?” [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual curiosity is a divine gift, essential for personal growth and societal progress. **In simple terms:** Curiosity is a divine gift. Key Takeaway Cultivate lifelong learning. Themes knowledge curiosity spirituality growth Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - school curricula - personal development - community workshops Key Concepts philosophy psychology education Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your desire to learn? - How can we inspire curiosity in others? A Different Perspective Not everyone values knowledge equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Greatest gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gift/) [Greatest gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gifts/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-god/) [Need Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-knowledge-772607/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-wonder-538050/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [We do need knowledge. And perhaps in a thousand years we might pick smaller cliffs to jump off. The books are to remind us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-do-need-knowledge-and-perhaps-in-a-thousand-years-we-might-pick/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [If you need knowledge, Keep adding something new to your mind everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/if-you-need-knowledge-keep-adding-something-new-to-your-mind-everyday/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [To understand something... we need knowledge, but to feel it...we need experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-mbululo/to-understand-something-we-need-knowledge-but-to-feel-it-we-need/) [Ally Mbululo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-mbululo/) > [You need knowledge and understanding to sharpen your wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ofosu-kwarteng-davis/you-need-knowledge-and-understanding-to-sharpen-your-wisdom/) [Ofosu Kwarteng Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ofosu-kwarteng-davis/) > [We do not need more knowledge, we need more character!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/we-do-not-need-more-knowledge-we-need-more-character/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [But we do need a breather. We do need knowledge. And perhaps in a thousand years we might pick smaller cliffs to jump off.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/but-we-do-need-a-breather-we-do-need-knowledge-and-perhaps-in-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Thank no one. You had the need, and I had the knowledge;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/thank-no-one-you-had-the-need-and-i-had-the-knowledge/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [What men need is, as much knowledge as they can assimilate and organize into a basis for action; give them more and it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/what-men-need-is-as-much-knowledge-as-they-can-assimilate-and/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“We do need knowledge. . . Most of us can't rush around, talk to everyone, know all the cities of the world, we haven't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-do-need-knowledge-most-of-us-can-t-rush-around-talk-to-everyone/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Be for ever a student. He and he alone is an old man who feels that he has learnt enough and has need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/be-for-ever-a-student-he-and-he-alone-is-an-old-man-who-feels-that-he/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [What men need is as much knowledge as they can organize for action; give them more and it may become injurious. Some men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/what-men-need-is-as-much-knowledge-as-they-can-organize-for-action/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I think that's one of the greatest gifts that I have: that I can get someone to open up, and all you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karamo-brown/i-think-that-s-one-of-the-greatest-gifts-that-i-have-that-i-can-get/) [Karamo Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karamo-brown/) > [“I often think that the ability to earn a living by doing the thing one loves must be one of life's greatest gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-often-think-that-the-ability-to-earn-a-living-by-doing-the-thing/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [The least grace is a better security for heaven than the greatest gifts or privileges whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/the-least-grace-is-a-better-security-for-heaven-than-the-greatest/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [My relationship with my parents is among the greatest gifts of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-castellani/my-relationship-with-my-parents-is-among-the-greatest-gifts-of-my-life/) [Christopher Castellani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-castellani/) ## More by Homer Hickam > [After marketing surveys by Universal Studios indicated that 'Rocket Boys' as a movie title would not attract the female over-age-thirty demographic, the film was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/after-marketing-surveys-by-universal-studios-indicated-that-rocket/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [As I wrote more I became more critical of myself and I think that you have to be your harshest judge. I don't ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/as-i-wrote-more-i-became-more-critical-of-myself-and-i-think-that-you/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [Writer's block to me is where you stop because you're afraid to go forward because you're not sure of what really should be happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/writer-s-block-to-me-is-where-you-stop-because-you-re-afraid-to-go/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [The best way to learn to write is to read in the genre you might be interested in; then, you need to actually sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/the-best-way-to-learn-to-write-is-to-read-in-the-genre-you-might-be/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [NASA's charter is to give Americans the means to get into the wild, black yonder, beyond even the grasp of the federal government that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/nasa-s-charter-is-to-give-americans-the-means-to-get-into-the-wild/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [If politicians want to save money, that's fine. They can look for all the wasteful spending they want, but not where the lives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/if-politicians-want-to-save-money-that-s-fine-they-can-look-for-all/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [A rocket won't fly unless somebody lights the fuse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/a-rocket-won-t-fly-unless-somebody-lights-the-fuse/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [My father lost an eye to a snapped cable while trying to rescue trapped miners, though he kept on working for fifteen years afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/my-father-lost-an-eye-to-a-snapped-cable-while-trying-to-rescue/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [When I was a boy, one of my favorite places to go was a pine-filled hollow high on the mountain behind our house. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/when-i-was-a-boy-one-of-my-favorite-places-to-go-was-a-pine-filled/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [“The way I see it, if everybody ran from bad things instead of trying to stop them, bad things would be all there is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/the-way-i-see-it-if-everybody-ran-from-bad-things-instead-of-trying/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [When the moon was first visited in 1969, the astronauts brought back a treasure trove of unique minerals. Contained within specimens was an isotope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/when-the-moon-was-first-visited-in-1969-the-astronauts-brought-back-a/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [You must completely dedicate yourselves to it. To do less will be to let down your country, your state, your parents, your teachers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/you-must-completely-dedicate-yourselves-to-it-to-do-less-will-be-to/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [The key to not getting rejected if you're writing for a magazine, is to know to read that magazine and know everything about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/the-key-to-not-getting-rejected-if-you-re-writing-for-a-magazine-is/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [Tired of burning fossil fuel and polluting the planet? The moon is covered with helium 3, an isotope from the sun that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/tired-of-burning-fossil-fuel-and-polluting-the-planet-the-moon-is/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [My father use to say if coal died, the country died. He was right. Our economy rests on the back of the coal miner.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/my-father-use-to-say-if-coal-died-the-country-died-he-was-right-our/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) [Explore all 64 Homer Hickam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [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/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet who lacks a need for knowledge. Is it not God's greatest gift to us all, this capacity to think, to wonder, to imagine?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Homer Hickam" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-anyone-on-this-planet-who-lacks/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-anyone-on-this-planet-who-lacks/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/homer-hickam-10698_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-any_2472277.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet who lacks a need for knowledge. Is it not God's…” — Homer Hickam", "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": "Homer Hickam", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have never been able to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-anyone-on-this-planet-who-lacks/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-anyone-on-this-planet-who-lacks/#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 } } ] } ```