--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It troubles him to consider the powerful…" description: "\"It troubles him to consider the powerful currents and fine-tuning that alter fate, the close and distant influences, the accidents of character and cir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png" --- # It troubles him to consider the powerful currents and… ![“It troubles him to consider the powerful currents and fine-tuning that alter fate, the close and distant influences, the accidents of character and circumstance.” quote by Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png) > “It troubles him to consider the powerful currents and fine-tuning that alter fate, the close and distant influences, the accidents of character and circumstance.” [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is shaped by unseen forces, personal traits, and random events that together steer destiny. **In simple terms:** Hidden influences and chance shape our lives. Key Takeaway Recognize and adapt to unseen factors. Themes fate chance character influence determinism complexity Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship choices - health outcomes - historical analysis Key Concepts Chaos theory psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do we identify hidden influences in our choices? - Can we mitigate random accidents? A Different Perspective Not all influences are controllable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Fine tuning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-tuning/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) ## Related quotes > [“Life is like that." papa turned once again to the Mekong. "Everything is connected, and sometimes we, like little fishes, are awept up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaddey-ratner/life-is-like-that-papa-turned-once-again-to-the-mekong-everything-is/) [Vaddey Ratner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaddey-ratner/) > [Can anyone alter fate? All of us combined... or one great figure... or someone strategically placed, who happens to be in the right spot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/can-anyone-alter-fate-all-of-us-combined-or-one-great-figure-or-2/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“Can anyone alter fate? All of us combined... or one great figure... or someone strategically placed, who happens to be in the right spot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-peralta/can-anyone-alter-fate-all-of-us-combined-or-one-great-figure-or/) [Samuel Peralta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-peralta/) > [The other way is the multiverse way. That says that maybe the universe we are in is one of a very large number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-other-way-is-the-multiverse-way-that-says-that-maybe-the-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Like cars, every relationship requires a bit of an occasional service, and fine-tuning should be compulsory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/like-cars-every-relationship-requires-a-bit-of-an-occasional-service/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency-or, rather, Agency-must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-greenstein/as-we-survey-all-the-evidence-the-thought-insistently-arises-that/) George Greenstein > [I write very raw, ugly, illiterate first drafts very quickly (novels are always in first draft in under a year) and then I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-write-very-raw-ugly-illiterate-first-drafts-very-quickly-novels-are/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [“Trial and error is your best friend. It's all about perspective and your willingness to become better with every lesson.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/trial-and-error-is-your-best-friend-it-s-all-about-perspective-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Conservatives have long argued, correctly, that 'fine-tuning' the economy is a chimera, but that argument seems to have disappeared from the conservative handbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-tabarrok/conservatives-have-long-argued-correctly-that-fine-tuning-the-economy/) [Alex Tabarrok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-tabarrok/) > [Traditional arguments for the existence of God and contemporary attempts to use fine-tuning and cosmology to back up the case for his existence always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/traditional-arguments-for-the-existence-of-god-and-contemporary/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [I like spending a lot of time fine-tuning all the small characters. I think it really pays off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-chenoweth/i-like-spending-a-lot-of-time-fine-tuning-all-the-small-characters-i/) Ellen Chenoweth > [“When one looks at the numbers, the situation becomes even more perplexing. The effect of lambda grows steadily with respect to the familiar Newtonian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/when-one-looks-at-the-numbers-the-situation-becomes-even-more/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“When things feel murky and unsure, fine tuning our hearing so as to distinguish the voice of our Innermost Self brings clarity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-bowman/when-things-feel-murky-and-unsure-fine-tuning-our-hearing-so-as-to/) [Kristi Bowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-bowman/) > [Just movies in general. It's such a wonderful business as much as you feel, you are fine tuning your craft, every movie is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-wiseman/just-movies-in-general-it-s-such-a-wonderful-business-as-much-as-you/) [Len Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-wiseman/) > [“The claim of fine tuning is subjective. As I stated before, no measurement in physics is perfect. The amount of precision we demand can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-jackson/the-claim-of-fine-tuning-is-subjective-as-i-stated-before-no/) [G.M. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-jackson/) ## More by Ian Mcewan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian Mcewan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/) [Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) [Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It troubles him to consider the powerful currents and fine-tuning that alter fate, the close and distant influences, the accidents of character and circumstance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Mcewan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful-currents-and-fine-tuning/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accidents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful-currents-and-fine-tuning/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/ian-mcewan-494_accidents_it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful_2510504.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It troubles him to consider the powerful currents and fine-tuning that alter fate, the close and distant…” — Ian Mcewan", "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": "Ian Mcewan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It troubles him to consider the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful-currents-and-fine-tuning/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-troubles-him-to-consider-the-powerful-currents-and-fine-tuning/#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 } } ] } ```