--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think it's possible to touch…" description: "\"I don't think it's possible to touch people's imagination today by aesthetic means.\" — J. G. Ballard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/j-g-ballard-2711_aesthetic_i-don-t-think-it-s-possible-to-touch-peo_1508425.jpg" --- # I don't think it's possible to touch people's imagination… ![“I don't think it's possible to touch people's imagination today by aesthetic means.” quote by J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/j-g-ballard-2711_aesthetic_i-don-t-think-it-s-possible-to-touch-peo_1508425.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/j-g-ballard-2711_aesthetic_i-don-t-think-it-s-possible-to-touch-peo_1508425.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/j-g-ballard-2711_aesthetic_i-don-t-think-it-s-possible-to-touch-peo_1508425.jpg) > “I don't think it's possible to touch people's imagination today by aesthetic means.” [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern aesthetics struggle to capture people's imagination, suggesting that visual appeal alone no longer suffices. **In simple terms:** Aesthetic appeal alone can't spark imagination today. Key Takeaway Seek deeper engagement beyond looks. Themes imagination modernity aesthetics Mood critical contemplative Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - advertising - artistic design - media consumption Key Concepts cultural shift media saturation creative communication Questions to Reflect On - What new methods can engage imagination? - How does technology change creative impact? A Different Perspective Aesthetic impact may be limited by information overload. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-today-480511/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-imagination-243783/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Think Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-possible/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-aesthetic-3438990/) ## Related quotes > [There's a logic today that places a greater value on celebrity the less it is accompanied by actual achievement. I don't think it's possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-s-a-logic-today-that-places-a-greater-value-on-celebrity-the/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Live in your imagination today, for tomorrow it can become your reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-eikenberry/live-in-your-imagination-today-for-tomorrow-it-can-become-your-reality/) [Kevin Eikenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-eikenberry/) > [“Perhaps we ought to feel with more imagination. As today the sky 70 degrees above zero with lines falling The way September moves a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/perhaps-we-ought-to-feel-with-more-imagination-as-today-the-sky-70/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The imagination of today is the reality of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-imagination-of-today-is-the-reality-of-tomorrow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [I think it's possible to climb the Dawn Wall in a single day. No matter what, it would be really, really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ondra/i-think-it-s-possible-to-climb-the-dawn-wall-in-a-single-day-no/) [Adam Ondra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ondra/) > [There is no number or level of success that would make me think, 'Wow, I didn't think that was possible.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/there-is-no-number-or-level-of-success-that-would-make-me-think-wow-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [“- “Do you think it’s possible to love more than one person? At the same time?” -“I think just about anything is possible when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-garvis-graves/do-you-think-it-s-possible-to-love-more-than-one-person-at-the-same/) [Tracey Garvis-Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-garvis-graves/) > [I find it fascinating the things that capture people's imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killian-scott/i-find-it-fascinating-the-things-that-capture-people-s-imagination/) [Killian Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killian-scott/) > [There are all sorts of topics and themes that just recur time and time again, which either means people have less imagination or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-henry/there-are-all-sorts-of-topics-and-themes-that-just-recur-time-and/) [Buck Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-henry/) > [To put up a show is to face life's injustices with one of the few weapons available to a desperate and brave people, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-barzini/to-put-up-a-show-is-to-face-life-s-injustices-with-one-of-the-few/) [Luigi Barzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-barzini/) > [“Reality is only for people with no imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-freeman/reality-is-only-for-people-with-no-imagination/) [Gavin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-freeman/) > [Our culture loves movies and TV, which is wonderful, but there's something a little bit passive sometimes about watching, because you're looking at other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-steenburgen/our-culture-loves-movies-and-tv-which-is-wonderful-but-there-s/) [Mary Steenburgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-steenburgen/) > [ The \[political\] left are people with an imagination and the right are those without an imagination. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-political-left-are-people-with-an-imagination-and-the-right-are/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Most people have no imagination. If they could imagine the sufferings of others, they would not make them suffer so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/most-people-have-no-imagination-if-they-could-imagine-the-sufferings/) [Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/) ## More by J. G. Ballard > [Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/science-and-technology-multiply-around-us-to-an-increasing-extent/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [A reality that is electronic... Once everybody's got a computer terminal in their home, to satisfy all their needs, all the domestic needs, there'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/a-reality-that-is-electronic-once-everybody-s-got-a-computer-terminal/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [If you're against globalisation, it doesn't achieve much by sort of bombing the head offices of Shell or Nestle. You unsettle people much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/if-you-re-against-globalisation-it-doesn-t-achieve-much-by-sort-of/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [The suburbs dream of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-suburbs-dream-of-violence/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I made a very slatternly mother, notably unkeen on housework, unaware that homes need to be cleaned now and then, and too often to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-made-a-very-slatternly-mother-notably-unkeen-on-housework-unaware/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will helpthe inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/electronic-aids-particularly-domestic-computers-will-helpthe-inner/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/perhaps-the-future-belongs-to-magic-and-it-s-we-women-who-control/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/any-fool-can-write-a-novel-but-it-takes-real-genius-to-sell-it/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I work for three or four hours a day, in the late morning and early afternoon. Then I go out for a walk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-work-for-three-or-four-hours-a-day-in-the-late-morning-and-early/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Even one's own home is a kind of anthology of advertisers, manufacturers, motifs and presentation techniques. There's nothing 'natural' about one's home these days.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/even-one-s-own-home-is-a-kind-of-anthology-of-advertisers/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was born in the city's general hospital on November 15, 1930, and we lived at 31 Amherst Avenue in the western suburbs. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-born-in-the-city-s-general-hospital-on-november-15-1930-and-we/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic. A Buick radiator grille is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-suspect-that-many-of-the-great-cultural-shifts-that-prepare-the-way/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Orwell's '1984' convinced me, rightly or wrongly, that Marxism was only a quantum leap away from tyranny. By contrast, Huxley's 'Brave New World' suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/orwell-s-1984-convinced-me-rightly-or-wrongly-that-marxism-was-only-a/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Explore all 151 J. G. Ballard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) [John Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-metcalf/) [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think it's possible to touch people's imagination today by aesthetic means.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J. G. 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