--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What interests me about thoughts is not…" description: "\"What interests me about thoughts is not the moment when it crystallises into formal ideas but its earlier stages.\" — Jean Dubuffet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg" --- # What interests me about thoughts is not the moment when it… ![“What interests me about thoughts is not the moment when it crystallises into formal ideas but its earlier stages.” quote by Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg) > “What interests me about thoughts is not the moment when it crystallises into formal ideas but its earlier stages.” [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Interest lies in the pre‑formal stages of thought, before ideas solidify. **In simple terms:** Fascinated by early, unformed thoughts. Key Takeaway Value and explore raw mental material. Themes creativity cognition process Mood introspective curious Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - brainstorming - creative workshops - research - education Key Concepts pre‑formal thinking artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How can you capture fleeting ideas? - What role does chaos play in creation? A Different Perspective Early thoughts may be chaotic and hard to capture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earlier Stages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earlier-stages-2078486/) [Formal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formal/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Earlier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-earlier-2078485/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Interests Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interests-thoughts-2078487/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Thoughts Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-moment-2078488/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [ “Put differently, oppressive actions and drives are inherent in the lower stages of development. \[…\] A lower, pre-worldcentric stage of development will step all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/put-differently-oppressive-actions-and-drives-are-inherent-in-the/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Books... are like lobster shells, we surround ourselves with 'em, then we grow out of 'em and leave 'em behind, as evidence of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/books-are-like-lobster-shells-we-surround-ourselves-with-em-then-we/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Dreams carry us back to the earlier stages of human culture and afford us a means of understanding it more clearly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/dreams-carry-us-back-to-the-earlier-stages-of-human-culture-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/write-down-the-thoughts-of-the-moment-those-that-come-unsought-for/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“Yes,” Bell admitted. “I have no idea how it could have happened, when she wasn’t even tripping.” “Clearly she was the one who was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/yes-bell-admitted-i-have-no-idea-how-it-could-have-happened-when-she/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [The past is over, so it has no power now. The thoughts of this moment create my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/the-past-is-over-so-it-has-no-power-now-the-thoughts-of-this-moment/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [“He had thought, no doubt, from the day he was born, much more than he had acted; except indeed that he remembered thoughts--a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-had-thought-no-doubt-from-the-day-he-was-born-much-more-than-he/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [There's a song that wants to sing itself through us. We just got to be available. Maybe the song that is to be sung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/there-s-a-song-that-wants-to-sing-itself-through-us-we-just-got-to-be/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [I'm not just interested in the thoughts I have, but also in others' thoughts, and why not carry those forward? That's why American fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-m-not-just-interested-in-the-thoughts-i-have-but-also-in-others/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [“While thinking is a practical necessity, the failure to recognize thoughts as thoughts, moment after moment, is what gives each of us the feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/while-thinking-is-a-practical-necessity-the-failure-to-recognize/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [I am going to get political on you. Because I am the most shallow person in the world, my mission is to see men's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cojocaru/i-am-going-to-get-political-on-you-because-i-am-the-most-shallow/) [Steven Cojocaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cojocaru/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I would love a sandwich,' said Tybalt, with enough gravity to make it sound like a formal proclamation. Resolved: that we will have ham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-love-a-sandwich-said-tybalt-with-enough-gravity-to-make-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ While I have devised various formal strategies for articulating \[my\] concerns, I think fundamentally the work is driven by a basic curiosity. I seek… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawoud-bey/while-i-have-devised-various-formal-strategies-for-articulating-my/) [Dawoud Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawoud-bey/) > [I've never had anything as formal as vocal lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/i-ve-never-had-anything-as-formal-as-vocal-lessons/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) ## More by Jean Dubuffet > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [What seems interesting to me is to reproduce in the figurative representation of an object the whole complex system of impressions we receive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-seems-interesting-to-me-is-to-reproduce-in-the-figurative/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Caprice, independence and rebellion, which are opposed to the social order, are essential to the good health of an ethnic group. We shall measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/caprice-independence-and-rebellion-which-are-opposed-to-the-social/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Art should be born from the materials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/art-should-be-born-from-the-materials/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I associated it (the word 'Hourloupe', as title of his longest series of work he made exclusively from 1962 to 1974, fh) by assonance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-associated-it-the-word-hourloupe-as-title-of-his-longest-series-of/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I would like people to see my work as a rehabilitation of scorned values and, in any case, make no mistake about it, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-would-like-people-to-see-my-work-as-a-rehabilitation-of-scorned/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I have always been haunted by the feeling that the painter has much to gain from making use of the forces that tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-have-always-been-haunted-by-the-feeling-that-the-painter-has-much/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [There is no such thing as abstract art, or else all art is abstract, which amounts to the same thing. Abstract art no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/there-is-no-such-thing-as-abstract-art-or-else-all-art-is-abstract/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [What I expect from any work of art is that it surprises me, that it violates my customary valuations of things and offers me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-i-expect-from-any-work-of-art-is-that-it-surprises-me-that-it/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I have tried to draw the human effigy (and all the other subjects dealt with in my paintings) in an immediate and effective way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-have-tried-to-draw-the-human-effigy-and-all-the-other-subjects/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [“People have seen that I intend to sweep away everything we have been taught to consider - without question - as grace and beauty;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/people-have-seen-that-i-intend-to-sweep-away-everything-we-have-been/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Normal means lack of imagination and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/normal-means-lack-of-imagination-and-creativity/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [What culture lacks is the taste for anonymous, innumerable germination. Culture is smitten with counting and measuring; it feels out of place and uncomfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-culture-lacks-is-the-taste-for-anonymous-innumerable-germination/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [For me, insanity is super sanity. The normal is psychotic. Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/for-me-insanity-is-super-sanity-the-normal-is-psychotic-normal-means/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [The things we truly love, the things forming the basis and roots of our being, are generally things we never look at. A huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/the-things-we-truly-love-the-things-forming-the-basis-and-roots-of/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Explore all 41 Jean Dubuffet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) ## More Formal quotes > [I've never had anything as formal as vocal lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/i-ve-never-had-anything-as-formal-as-vocal-lessons/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [ While I have devised various formal strategies for articulating \[my\] concerns, I think fundamentally the work is driven by a basic curiosity. I seek… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawoud-bey/while-i-have-devised-various-formal-strategies-for-articulating-my/) [Dawoud Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawoud-bey/) > [I would love a sandwich,' said Tybalt, with enough gravity to make it sound like a formal proclamation. Resolved: that we will have ham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-love-a-sandwich-said-tybalt-with-enough-gravity-to-make-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I am going to get political on you. Because I am the most shallow person in the world, my mission is to see men's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cojocaru/i-am-going-to-get-political-on-you-because-i-am-the-most-shallow/) [Steven Cojocaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cojocaru/) > [There are thus two tasks for the Mass Media division of Unesco, the one general, the other special. The special one is to enlist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/there-are-thus-two-tasks-for-the-mass-media-division-of-unesco-the/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [There's no way a photograph has to look... in a sense. There are no formal rules of design that can apply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-s-no-way-a-photograph-has-to-look-in-a-sense-there-are-no/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [“Mysteries are facts that haven't been formalized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/mysteries-are-facts-that-haven-t-been-formalized/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [You know, ballet might be too formal of a title for the type of dance I do, but I love to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/you-know-ballet-might-be-too-formal-of-a-title-for-the-type-of-dance/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [The job of formal methods is to elucidate the assumptions upon which formal correctness depends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/the-job-of-formal-methods-is-to-elucidate-the-assumptions-upon-which/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [A formal manipulator in mathematics often experiences the discomforting feeling that his pencil surpasses him in intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-formal-manipulator-in-mathematics-often-experiences-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [First, we want to establish the idea that a computer language is not just a way of getting a computer to perform operations but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-abelson/first-we-want-to-establish-the-idea-that-a-computer-language-is-not/) [Hal Abelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-abelson/) > [Since this was a formal undead gathering, there would be food—all kinds—drinks, dancing, and festivities, while those in power pondered whether or not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/since-this-was-a-formal-undead-gathering-there-would-be-food-all/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [We see an ever-increasing move toward inter and trans- disciplinary attacks upon problems in the real world ... The system scientist has a central…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-casti/we-see-an-ever-increasing-move-toward-inter-and-trans-disciplinary/) [John L. Casti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-casti/) > [It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and then turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-rational-to-choose-the-right-means-to-your-ends-to-develop-very/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) [Browse all 721 Formal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What interests me about thoughts is not the moment when it crystallises into formal ideas but its earlier stages.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean Dubuffet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not-the-moment-when-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Formal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not-the-moment-when-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a37/jean-dubuffet-15341_formal_what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not_1806676.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What interests me about thoughts is not the moment when it crystallises into formal ideas but its earlier…” — Jean Dubuffet", "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": "Jean Dubuffet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What interests me about thoughts is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not-the-moment-when-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-interests-me-about-thoughts-is-not-the-moment-when-it/#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 } } ] } ```