--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm afraid that - not necessarily…" description: "\"I'm afraid that - not necessarily deliberately, but consistently - I've made a kind of laboratory out of my life, where I mix the stuff in the test tub..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/jay-mcinerney-7092_being-crazy_i-m-afraid-that-not-necessarily-delibera_3125609.jpg" --- # I'm afraid that - not necessarily deliberately, but… ![“I'm afraid that - not necessarily deliberately, but consistently - I've made a kind of laboratory out of my life, where I mix the stuff in the test tubes to create explosions - possibly resulting in interesting by-products. I mean, not deliberately - I'd be crazy to deliberately do that - or maybe…” quote by Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/jay-mcinerney-7092_being-crazy_i-m-afraid-that-not-necessarily-delibera_3125609.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/jay-mcinerney-7092_being-crazy_i-m-afraid-that-not-necessarily-delibera_3125609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/jay-mcinerney-7092_being-crazy_i-m-afraid-that-not-necessarily-delibera_3125609.jpg) > “I'm afraid that - not necessarily deliberately, but consistently - I've made a kind of laboratory out of my life, where I mix the stuff in the test tubes to create explosions - possibly resulting in interesting by-products. I mean, not deliberately - I'd be crazy to deliberately do that - or maybe not.” [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He treats life as a lab, mixing experiences that may cause unexpected outcomes. **In simple terms:** Life is an experimental mix of actions. Key Takeaway Embrace experimentation, accept uncertainty. Themes creativity risk self‑exploration Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What experiments have shaped you? - Do you fear unintended consequences? A Different Perspective Uncontrolled experiments can cause harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-crazy/) [Explosions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosions/) [Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) ## Related quotes > [In recent weeks we learned that scientists have created human embryos in test tubes solely to experiment on them. This is deeply troubling, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/in-recent-weeks-we-learned-that-scientists-have-created-human-embryos/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [ \[Chemistry\] laboratory work was my first challenge. ... I still carry the scars of my first discovery-that test-tubes are fragile. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/chemistry-laboratory-work-was-my-first-challenge-i-still-carry-the/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [Instead of an attic with a few test tubes, bits of wire and odds and ends, the attack on the atomic nucleus has required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-lawrence/instead-of-an-attic-with-a-few-test-tubes-bits-of-wire-and-odds-and/) [Ernest Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-lawrence/) > [I like the mix of stuff I do. I love movies, but I also enjoy performing live and writing songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-micucci/i-like-the-mix-of-stuff-i-do-i-love-movies-but-i-also-enjoy/) [Kate Micucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-micucci/) > [I don't come up with ideas in a test tube; I come up with ideas by breaking test tubes. That's how I've always been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-abloh/i-don-t-come-up-with-ideas-in-a-test-tube-i-come-up-with-ideas-by/) [Virgil Abloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-abloh/) > [In the increasingly mechanized, automated, cybernated environment of the modern world a cold, bodiless world of wheels, smooth plastic surfaces, tubes, pushbuttons, transistors, computers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/in-the-increasingly-mechanized-automated-cybernated-environment-of/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [I go into town every day on the tube. I've got an Oyster card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-flemyng/i-go-into-town-every-day-on-the-tube-i-ve-got-an-oyster-card/) [Jason Flemyng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-flemyng/) > [ \[Math is\] not at all like science. There's no experiment I can do with test tubes and equipment and whatnot that will tell me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/math-is-not-at-all-like-science-there-s-no-experiment-i-can-do-with/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [A comic, all they have to do is, if you do something funny in a comedy club and you put it up on you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/a-comic-all-they-have-to-do-is-if-you-do-something-funny-in-a-comedy/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [We know have the power of God in many ways: the atomic bomb, the ability to create life in a test tube, cloning, artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/we-know-have-the-power-of-god-in-many-ways-the-atomic-bomb-the/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Communists all seem to wear small caps, a look I consider better suited to tubes of toothpaste than to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/communists-all-seem-to-wear-small-caps-a-look-i-consider-better/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [So someday in the near future hopefully rather than having a foot or a leg amputated we'll just give you an injection of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lanza/so-someday-in-the-near-future-hopefully-rather-than-having-a-foot-or/) [Robert Lanza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lanza/) > [The Behaviorist cannot find consciousness in the test-tube of his science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-watson/the-behaviorist-cannot-find-consciousness-in-the-test-tube-of-his/) [John B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-watson/) > [I know how to set an irrigation tube, and I helped with the harvest. I learned the law of the harvest without even knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/i-know-how-to-set-an-irrigation-tube-and-i-helped-with-the-harvest-i/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [I've gradually fooled myself into becoming a real painter... I really just like to sit in my air-conditioned Rome painting studio surrounded by Medieval…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kostabi/i-ve-gradually-fooled-myself-into-becoming-a-real-painter-i-really/) [Mark Kostabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kostabi/) ## More by Jay McInerney > [“Taste is a matter of taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/taste-is-a-matter-of-taste/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [Most all of the writers I admired when I was in my teens and twenties died young. Fitzgerald lived the longest. He was 44.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/most-all-of-the-writers-i-admired-when-i-was-in-my-teens-and-twenties/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [I certainly think that the publishing houses have to learn more about this informal network of literary blogging and get over the idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-certainly-think-that-the-publishing-houses-have-to-learn-more-about/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [“She said that certain facts are accessible only from one point of view – the point of view of the creature who experiences them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/she-said-that-certain-facts-are-accessible-only-from-one-point-of/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [Your presence here is is only a matter of conducting an experiment in limits, reminding yourself of what you aren’t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/your-presence-here-is-is-only-a-matter-of-conducting-an-experiment-in/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [My former wife is a very eccentric woman, which is why I still love her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/my-former-wife-is-a-very-eccentric-woman-which-is-why-i-still-love-her/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [“Tears come to your eyes, and you feel such a rush of tenderness and pity that you stop beside a lamppost and hang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/tears-come-to-your-eyes-and-you-feel-such-a-rush-of-tenderness-and/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [Sometimes I think everything I touch turns into a Page Six item.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/sometimes-i-think-everything-i-touch-turns-into-a-page-six-item/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [Sometimes I think the difference between what we want and what we're afraid of is about the width of an eyelash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/sometimes-i-think-the-difference-between-what-we-want-and-what-we-re/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [“Suffering is supposed to be the raw stuff of art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/suffering-is-supposed-to-be-the-raw-stuff-of-art/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [I think it's dangerous to think you know what you're writing. I usually don't know, and usually I just discover it in the course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-think-it-s-dangerous-to-think-you-know-what-you-re-writing-i/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [I think, when I'm writing, I have a more clinical view than I do when I'm reading. I like pretending to be God and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-think-when-i-m-writing-i-have-a-more-clinical-view-than-i-do-when-i/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [Add anchovies to almost anything, in moderation, and it will taste better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/add-anchovies-to-almost-anything-in-moderation-and-it-will-taste/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [A creative writing program is only as good as its teachers, and I was fortunate in having two great writers as mentors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/a-creative-writing-program-is-only-as-good-as-its-teachers-and-i-was/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [I feel that there's a lot of would-be guardians of the culture who think that high-minded literary purpose and the life that gets chronicled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-feel-that-there-s-a-lot-of-would-be-guardians-of-the-culture-who/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) [Explore all 92 Jay McInerney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) ## More Being crazy quotes > [3 am phone call..hey you sleep... no I'm skydiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/3-am-phone-call-hey-you-sleep-no-i-m-skydiving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Insanity is beautiful, I'm absolutely glad to be crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/insanity-is-beautiful-i-m-absolutely-glad-to-be-crazy/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [If You want to be Awesome, You have to kick all the negative and boring people out of your life and arm yourself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajdeep-sarkar/if-you-want-to-be-awesome-you-have-to-kick-all-the-negative-and/) [Rajdeep Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajdeep-sarkar/) > [Going through unknown people's profiles and judging them by their pictures is totally normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-chandra/going-through-unknown-people-s-profiles-and-judging-them-by-their/) Pradeep Chandra > [For me. They all stood up at once. Staring. What?? Dallas laughed. I liked you better in the towel. I roll my eyes but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/for-me-they-all-stood-up-at-once-staring-what-dallas-laughed-i-liked/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [The point is to be free, not to be crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/the-point-is-to-be-free-not-to-be-crazy/) [Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/) > [Let your love drive you mad, mad about life, mad about the smell of Jasmine. Mad about the painting that reminds you of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/let-your-love-drive-you-mad-mad-about-life-mad-about-the-smell-of/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [I Thank God everyday for my crazy friends. Cause they may be psycho but I would be lost without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylee/i-thank-god-everyday-for-my-crazy-friends-cause-they-may-be-psycho/) [Kylee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylee/) > [I don't mid if people look at me like I'm crazy. I'm just being me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zendaya-coleman/i-don-t-mid-if-people-look-at-me-like-i-m-crazy-i-m-just-being-me/) [Zendaya Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zendaya-coleman/) > [You're crazy. You're impossible.' 'I'm crazy?' He tipped my chin up and planted a quick, rough kiss on my mouth. 'And I must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/you-re-crazy-you-re-impossible-i-m-crazy-he-tipped-my-chin-up-and/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [There is considerable danger that a man will be crazy between dinner and supper; but it will not directly answer any good purposethat I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-considerable-danger-that-a-man-will-be-crazy-between-dinner/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When you sleep 2 hours after being awake 22 something is going to be said/spelled/did wrong-today it just so happened to be my name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-dean/when-you-sleep-2-hours-after-being-awake-22-something-is-going-to-be/) [Jade Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-dean/) > [Being crazy isn't enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/being-crazy-isn-t-enough/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [It's the craziest thing, but I can't stop thinking about you.haha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee/it-s-the-craziest-thing-but-i-can-t-stop-thinking-about-you-haha/) [Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee/) [Browse all 406 Being crazy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-crazy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm afraid that - not necessarily deliberately, but consistently - I've made a kind of laboratory out of my life, where I mix the stuff in the test tubes to create explosions - possibly resulting in interesting by-products. 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