--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We think of infinity as a really big…" description: "\"“We think of infinity as a really big number, but it’s not. It’s endlessness. Endlessness is a really strange idea in a universe that is defined by its..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/john-green-12_endlessness_we-think-of-infinity-as-a-really-big-num_2579492.jpg" --- # We think of infinity as a really big number, but it’s not… ![“We think of infinity as a really big number, but it’s not. It’s endlessness. Endlessness is a really strange idea in a universe that is defined by its endings.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/john-green-12_endlessness_we-think-of-infinity-as-a-really-big-num_2579492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/john-green-12_endlessness_we-think-of-infinity-as-a-really-big-num_2579492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/john-green-12_endlessness_we-think-of-infinity-as-a-really-big-num_2579492.jpg) > ““We think of infinity as a really big number, but it’s not. It’s endlessness. Endlessness is a really strange idea in a universe that is defined by its endings.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Infinity is not a large number but endlessness, a concept beyond finite endings. **In simple terms:** Infinity = endlessness, not size. Key Takeaway Embrace the boundless in a finite world. Themes philosophy cosmology existentialism Mood curious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - science education - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts mathematics literature Questions to Reflect On - How does thinking of endlessness affect your choices? - Can finite goals coexist with infinite wonder? A Different Perspective Endlessness can feel overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Endlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endlessness/) [Endlessness Endlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endlessness-endlessness-1765252/) [Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity/) [Infinity Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinity-really-1765251/) [John-green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-green/) [Think Infinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-infinity-1765250/) [Universes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universes/) ## Related quotes > [They asked me once my thoughts about infinity, and I told em with all I had to think about, infinity was not on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/they-asked-me-once-my-thoughts-about-infinity-and-i-told-em-with-all/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [“It's no fun to think about infinity and no cinche to write about it. Again, it helps to look for some human link.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/it-s-no-fun-to-think-about-infinity-and-no-cinche-to-write-about-it/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [. . . Endlessness is a really strange idea in a universe that is defined by its endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/endlessness-is-a-really-strange-idea-in-a-universe-that-is-defined-by/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Simplify your life and your mind. Think more of infinity and less of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/simplify-your-life-and-your-mind-think-more-of-infinity-and-less-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Who am I to say that these things might not be forever? Who is Peter Van Houten to assert as fact the conjecture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/who-am-i-to-say-that-these-things-might-not-be-forever-who-is-peter/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“But I was beginning to learn that your life is a story told about you, not one that you tell. Of course, you pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-was-beginning-to-learn-that-your-life-is-a-story-told-about-you/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“When she fucked up, all those years ago, just a little girl terrified. into paralysis, she collapsed into the enigma of herself. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-she-fucked-up-all-those-years-ago-just-a-little-girl-terrified/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I imagined the Augustus Waters analysis of that comment: If I am playing basketball in heaven, does that imply a physical location of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-imagined-the-augustus-waters-analysis-of-that-comment-if-i-am/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“You deserve a life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-deserve-a-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“You'd think solving mysteries would bring you closure, that closing the loop would comfort and quiet your mind. But it never does. The truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-d-think-solving-mysteries-would-bring-you-closure-that-closing/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“You're both the fire and the water that extinguishes it. You're the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You're the storyteller and the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-re-both-the-fire-and-the-water-that-extinguishes-it-you-re-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I'm a big believer in random capitalization. The rules of capitalization are so unfair to the words in the middle. (32)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-m-a-big-believer-in-random-capitalization-the-rules-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Margo was so beautiful that even her fake smiles were convincing. (54)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/margo-was-so-beautiful-that-even-her-fake-smiles-were-convincing-54/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“and even though I was in bed and he was in his basement, it really felt like we were back in that uncreated third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-even-though-i-was-in-bed-and-he-was-in-his-basement-it-really/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I go to seek a Great Perhaps. That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-go-to-seek-a-great-perhaps-that-s-why-i-m-going-so-i-don-t-have-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Endlessness quotes > [“Impatience, resentment, jealousy and endless "want" are not creative attractors and have no value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/impatience-resentment-jealousy-and-endless-want-are-not-creative/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Until it has scared you with its endlessness, sky is just sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hubbard/until-it-has-scared-you-with-its-endlessness-sky-is-just-sky/) [Jenny Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hubbard/) > [...that one most perilous and long voyage ended, only begins a second; and a second ended, only begins a third, and so on, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/that-one-most-perilous-and-long-voyage-ended-only-begins-a-second-and/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“The city had seemed like a great place to discover who you are. It just seemed that there was a lot to experience here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sari-botton/the-city-had-seemed-like-a-great-place-to-discover-who-you-are-it/) [Sari Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sari-botton/) > [“Such is the endlessness, yea, the intolerableness of all earthly effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/such-is-the-endlessness-yea-the-intolerableness-of-all-earthly-effort/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [We sat looking out at the ocean. There was just so much of it, and it never failed to take my breath away. Looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reinhardt/we-sat-looking-out-at-the-ocean-there-was-just-so-much-of-it-and-it/) [Dana Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reinhardt/) > [“Huge hills and mountains of casks on casks were piled upon her wharves, and side by side the world-wandering whale ships lay silent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/huge-hills-and-mountains-of-casks-on-casks-were-piled-upon-her/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“The oceans never stop. They know no beginning or end. The wind never finishes. Sometimes it disappears, but only to gather momentum from somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/the-oceans-never-stop-they-know-no-beginning-or-end-the-wind-never/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [. . . Endlessness is a really strange idea in a universe that is defined by its endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/endlessness-is-a-really-strange-idea-in-a-universe-that-is-defined-by/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Souraya thought those days that she knew so many songs about the misery of love because pain kept love within the boundaries of time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-storace/souraya-thought-those-days-that-she-knew-so-many-songs-about-the/) [Patricia Storace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-storace/) > [“I had come to New York when I was seventeen because—and maybe I was not fully conscious of this then—the city had seemed like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayhane-sanders/i-had-come-to-new-york-when-i-was-seventeen-because-and-maybe-i-was/) [Rayhane Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rayhane-sanders/) > [Eternity is said not to be an extension of time but an absence of time, and sometimes it seemed to me that her abandonment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/eternity-is-said-not-to-be-an-extension-of-time-but-an-absence-of/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [And to this day I love endless landscapes, big horizons, sunflowers, and narcissi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gisela-hausmann-naked-determination-41-stories-about-overcoming-fear/and-to-this-day-i-love-endless-landscapes-big-horizons-sunflowers-and/) [Gisela Hausmann "Naked Determination 41 Stories About Overcoming Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gisela-hausmann-naked-determination-41-stories-about-overcoming-fear/) > [“And, of course, that is what all of this is - all of this: the one song, ever changing, ever reincarnated, that speaks somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/and-of-course-that-is-what-all-of-this-is-all-of-this-the-one-song/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [There is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/there-is-one-transcending-level-and-this-is-the-most-excellent-of-all/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) [Browse all 25 Endlessness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endlessness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We think of infinity as a really big number, but it’s not. It’s endlessness. 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