--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the most incredible fact about…" description: "\"I think the most incredible fact about the brain is that it is the only piece of biological real estate that can actually study itself. I can think abo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/john-medina-7046_amazement_i-think-the-most-incredible-fact-about-t_1593259.jpg" --- # I think the most incredible fact about the brain is that… ![“I think the most incredible fact about the brain is that it is the only piece of biological real estate that can actually study itself. I can think about that for decades - I have, actually - and still be in drop dead amazement.” quote by John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/john-medina-7046_amazement_i-think-the-most-incredible-fact-about-t_1593259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/john-medina-7046_amazement_i-think-the-most-incredible-fact-about-t_1593259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/john-medina-7046_amazement_i-think-the-most-incredible-fact-about-t_1593259.jpg) > “I think the most incredible fact about the brain is that it is the only piece of biological real estate that can actually study itself. I can think about that for decades - I have, actually - and still be in drop dead amazement.” [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The brain uniquely studies itself, enabling self‑awareness and endless curiosity. **In simple terms:** The brain can observe its own processes. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑reflection and curiosity. Themes self‑awareness curiosity neuroscience Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific educational When to use this quote - journaling - mindful observation - science education Key Concepts metacognition mindfulness learning Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑observation shape your life? - What limits does self‑analysis impose? A Different Perspective Self‑study can become obsessive or paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amazement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazement/) [Biological Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biological-real-6043933/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brain Piece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-piece-6043932/) [Decades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decades/) [Estates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estates/) [Fact Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-brain-3130542/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Incredible Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredible-fact-1854523/) [Incredibles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredibles/) [Piece Biological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piece-biological-3780105/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real estate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-estate/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The fact that 'True Blood' affects people in this way is incredible to me - the fact we have to go to such great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kwanten/the-fact-that-true-blood-affects-people-in-this-way-is-incredible-to/) [Ryan Kwanten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kwanten/) > [“He reaches under the desk and takes out a book. It is thick, with a worn cover and frayed edges. On it is printed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/he-reaches-under-the-desk-and-takes-out-a-book-it-is-thick-with-a/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“To be such a complicated, myterious piece of biological machinery! That is a special thing, unprecedented in all of evolutionary history. Our ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/to-be-such-a-complicated-myterious-piece-of-biological-machinery-that/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Here is a startling fact: Your brain is designed to spend as little time thinking as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-is-a-startling-fact-your-brain-is-designed-to-spend-as-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To be such a complicated, mysterious piece of biological machinery, and more amazing still, to have the capacity to analyze that machinery! That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/to-be-such-a-complicated-mysterious-piece-of-biological-machinery-and/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/we-are-not-interested-in-the-fact-that-the-brain-has-the-consistency/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [You gleefully say, "I just thought of something!", when in fact your brain performed an enormous amount of work before your moment of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/you-gleefully-say-i-just-thought-of-something-when-in-fact-your-brain/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [When one thinks of the wondrous glory of Christ, how astonishing that He can join with us! But more, when one thinks of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wigram/when-one-thinks-of-the-wondrous-glory-of-christ-how-astonishing-that/) [George Wigram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wigram/) > [Sometime in the last ten years the best brains of the Occident discovered to their amazement that we live in an Environment. This discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/sometime-in-the-last-ten-years-the-best-brains-of-the-occident/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [He sees with amazement that our defeats are but the stepping stones to victory and that all his victories are stepping stones to ruin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/he-sees-with-amazement-that-our-defeats-are-but-the-stepping-stones/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I think it wasn't so much that the White House altered me in any essential way as that I found the resources with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-ford/i-think-it-wasn-t-so-much-that-the-white-house-altered-me-in-any/) [Betty Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-ford/) > [The very fact that we make such a to-do over golden weddings indicates our amazement at human endurance. The celebration is more in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilka-chase/the-very-fact-that-we-make-such-a-to-do-over-golden-weddings/) [Ilka Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilka-chase/) > [With education symmetrical and true we will take the dead mass buried by slavery's hand and touch them to life. This beauteous angel, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-vernon/with-education-symmetrical-and-true-we-will-take-the-dead-mass-buried/) [William Tecumseh Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-vernon/) > [When I got on the set of 'Saving Private Ryan,' I discovered, to my amazement, that Steven Spielberg is a gamer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/when-i-got-on-the-set-of-saving-private-ryan-i-discovered-to-my/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in." "Yes!" Leo pumped his fist. \*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-started-this-together-leo-seems-only-right-you-come-along-you-find/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) ## More by John Medina > [Don't start with the details. Start with the key ideas, and in a hierarchical fashion, form the details around these larger notions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/don-t-start-with-the-details-start-with-the-key-ideas-and-in-a/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“The more handles one creates at the moment of learning, the more likely the information is to be assessed at a later date. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/the-more-handles-one-creates-at-the-moment-of-learning-the-more/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/if-you-wanted-to-create-an-education-environment-that-was-directly/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“Every time I lectured to a group of parents-to-be about baby brain development,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/every-time-i-lectured-to-a-group-of-parents-to-be-about-baby-brain/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [We must do a better job of encouraging lifelong curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/we-must-do-a-better-job-of-encouraging-lifelong-curiosity/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“reasoning is a uniquely human talent. It may have arisen from our need to understand one another’s intentions and motivations. This allowed us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/reasoning-is-a-uniquely-human-talent-it-may-have-arisen-from-our-need/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you would probably design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/if-you-wanted-to-create-an-education-environment-that-was-directly-2/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“Emotionally arousing events tend to be better remembered than neutral events. While”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/emotionally-arousing-events-tend-to-be-better-remembered-than-neutral/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“attention Brain Rule #6 We don’t pay attention to boring things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/attention-brain-rule-6-we-don-t-pay-attention-to-boring-things/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [Most brain scientists have not taught 4th grade, and don't know very much about the classroom, even though they might study learning in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/most-brain-scientists-have-not-taught-4th-grade-and-don-t-know-very/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“The more parents talk to their children, even in the earliest moments of life, the better their kids’ linguistic abilities become”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/the-more-parents-talk-to-their-children-even-in-the-earliest-moments/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [Even though we don't know squat about how the brain works, the little we do know suggests that if you wanted to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/even-though-we-don-t-know-squat-about-how-the-brain-works-the-little/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [“More research has since confirmed and extended these simple findings. In addition to satisfying relationships, other behaviors that predict happiness include:        •    a steady dose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/more-research-has-since-confirmed-and-extended-these-simple-findings/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [What you do and learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like—it literally rewires it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/what-you-do-and-learn-in-life-physically-changes-what-your-brain/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [Brain scientists and education scientists don't get together very often, and we end up living in our own little silos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/brain-scientists-and-education-scientists-don-t-get-together-very/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) [Explore all 93 John Medina quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) ## More Amazement quotes > [We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in." "Yes!" Leo pumped his fist. \*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-started-this-together-leo-seems-only-right-you-come-along-you-find/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [When I got on the set of 'Saving Private Ryan,' I discovered, to my amazement, that Steven Spielberg is a gamer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/when-i-got-on-the-set-of-saving-private-ryan-i-discovered-to-my/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [With education symmetrical and true we will take the dead mass buried by slavery's hand and touch them to life. This beauteous angel, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-vernon/with-education-symmetrical-and-true-we-will-take-the-dead-mass-buried/) [William Tecumseh Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-vernon/) > [The very fact that we make such a to-do over golden weddings indicates our amazement at human endurance. The celebration is more in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilka-chase/the-very-fact-that-we-make-such-a-to-do-over-golden-weddings/) [Ilka Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilka-chase/) > [I think it wasn't so much that the White House altered me in any essential way as that I found the resources with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-ford/i-think-it-wasn-t-so-much-that-the-white-house-altered-me-in-any/) [Betty Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-ford/) > [He sees with amazement that our defeats are but the stepping stones to victory and that all his victories are stepping stones to ruin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/he-sees-with-amazement-that-our-defeats-are-but-the-stepping-stones/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Sometime in the last ten years the best brains of the Occident discovered to their amazement that we live in an Environment. This discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/sometime-in-the-last-ten-years-the-best-brains-of-the-occident/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [When one thinks of the wondrous glory of Christ, how astonishing that He can join with us! But more, when one thinks of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wigram/when-one-thinks-of-the-wondrous-glory-of-christ-how-astonishing-that/) [George Wigram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wigram/) > [Other people's marriages are a perpetual source of amazement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/other-people-s-marriages-are-a-perpetual-source-of-amazement/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [Adlai Stevenson, himself a notable speaker, often reminisced about his last meeting with Churchill. I asked him on whom or what he had based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bourke-cockran/adlai-stevenson-himself-a-notable-speaker-often-reminisced-about-his/) [William Bourke Cockran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bourke-cockran/) > [I realized a long time ago, with a certain amazement, that no mattter how important something is in your life, no matter how huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/i-realized-a-long-time-ago-with-a-certain-amazement-that-no-mattter/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [Basically, I want to spend my time in retreat, but to my own amazement, I agreed to help with a project to start a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/basically-i-want-to-spend-my-time-in-retreat-but-to-my-own-amazement/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Ten times a day something happens to me like this - some strengthening throb of amazement - some good sweet empathic ping and swell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/ten-times-a-day-something-happens-to-me-like-this-some-strengthening/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [DREAM PREDICTION ELITE is the realization of true amazement in your audiences reactions. This is PURE GOLD - A REAL WINNER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banachek/dream-prediction-elite-is-the-realization-of-true-amazement-in-your/) [Banachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banachek/) > [Poetry is a language in which man explores his own amazement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/poetry-is-a-language-in-which-man-explores-his-own-amazement/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) [Browse all 241 Amazement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the most incredible fact about the brain is that it is the only piece of biological real estate that can actually study itself. 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