--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in a uniform civilization, within…" description: "\"“We live in a uniform civilization, within well-defined cultural models: furnishings, decorative elements, blankets, record player have all been chosen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/italo-calvino-402_culture_we-live-in-a-uniform-civilization-within_2174253.jpg" --- # We live in a uniform civilization, within well-defined… ![“We live in a uniform civilization, within well-defined cultural models: furnishings, decorative elements, blankets, record player have all been chosen among a certain number of given possibilities. What can they reveal to you about what she is really like?” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/italo-calvino-402_culture_we-live-in-a-uniform-civilization-within_2174253.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/italo-calvino-402_culture_we-live-in-a-uniform-civilization-within_2174253.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/italo-calvino-402_culture_we-live-in-a-uniform-civilization-within_2174253.jpg) > ““We live in a uniform civilization, within well-defined cultural models: furnishings, decorative elements, blankets, record player have all been chosen among a certain number of given possibilities. What can they reveal to you about what she is really like?”” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Every object reflects cultural choices, revealing deeper aspects of identity. **In simple terms:** Objects show who we are. Key Takeaway Observe surroundings for clues. Themes culture identity materialism Mood curious analytical Type observational interpretive When to use this quote - interior design - fashion - personal branding - archaeology Key Concepts semiotics anthropology Questions to Reflect On - What does your environment say about you? - How can you change your surroundings to reflect desired identity? A Different Perspective Objects can be misleading symbols. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-defined-4401711/) [Cultural Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-models-4668283/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Defined Cultural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined-cultural-4668285/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Observational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observational/) [Possibilities Reveal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities-reveal-4668284/) [Record Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-player/) [Uniform Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniform-civilization-4668282/) [Uniformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniformity/) ## Related quotes > [Barbarisation may be defined as a cultural process whereby an attained condition of high value is gradually overrun and supersededby elements of lower quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/barbarisation-may-be-defined-as-a-cultural-process-whereby-an/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Fear of change is a part of the state of fear man has ever lived in but out of which he has begun to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-clews-parsons/fear-of-change-is-a-part-of-the-state-of-fear-man-has-ever-lived-in/) [Elsie Clews Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-clews-parsons/) > [Civilization, after all, is defined by what we forbid, more than what we permit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/civilization-after-all-is-defined-by-what-we-forbid-more-than-what-we/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I observe everything around me and when something hits me and it's funny, that's what I talk about. I'm a more observational kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/i-observe-everything-around-me-and-when-something-hits-me-and-it-s/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [“On s’habitue aux défauts des autres quand on ne croit pas de son devoir de les corriger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/on-s-habitue-aux-d-fauts-des-autres-quand-on-ne-croit-pas-de-son/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [I never wanted to do observational humor because I never wanted to tell people what they were seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewis/i-never-wanted-to-do-observational-humor-because-i-never-wanted-to/) [Richard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewis/) > [“People underestimate the power of models. Observational evidence is not very useful, adding,…our approach is not entirely empirical. —John Mitchell, principal research scientist at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-carlin/people-underestimate-the-power-of-models-observational-evidence-is/) [Alan Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-carlin/) > [“Norway...looked to Roosevelt "as funny a kingdom as was ever imagined outside of opera bouffe…It is much as if Vermont should offhand try the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-morris/norway-looked-to-roosevelt-as-funny-a-kingdom-as-was-ever-imagined/) [Edmund Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morris/) > [“Middle-class prosperity is lapidary; the flow of cash rounds and smooths a person like water does riverbed stones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/middle-class-prosperity-is-lapidary-the-flow-of-cash-rounds-and/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“By noon, in a gray February world, we had come down through snow flurries to land at Albany, and had taken off again. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/by-noon-in-a-gray-february-world-we-had-come-down-through-snow/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“Time is but an extension of the Human desire for organization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-foland-jr/time-is-but-an-extension-of-the-human-desire-for-organization/) [Richard L. Foland Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-foland-jr/) > [“the smartest man in the room doesn't visit many rooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-mccoy/the-smartest-man-in-the-room-doesn-t-visit-many-rooms/) [Garrett McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-mccoy/) > [I'm such a product of my media diet... it's interesting that you say what I do is observational. It's observational as far as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sikoryak/i-m-such-a-product-of-my-media-diet-it-s-interesting-that-you-say/) [Robert Sikoryak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sikoryak/) > [“Shall we see the world as we sit, look around relax, look, look, look, disengage our intellects, perceive nature our common sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-askew/shall-we-see-the-world-as-we-sit-look-around-relax-look-look-look/) [R.J.Askew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-askew/) > [“Beauty shoudn't suffer but should be embraced.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-taviri/beauty-shoudn-t-suffer-but-should-be-embraced/) [Jackson Taviri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-taviri/) ## More by Italo Calvino > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We live in a uniform civilization, within well-defined cultural models: furnishings, decorative elements, blankets, record player have all been chosen among a certain number of given possibilities. 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