--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know whether we think in moving…" description: "\"I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard drive, our series within our br..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png" --- # I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether… ![“I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard drive, our series within our brains, [exist] still photographs of very important moments in our lives. ... That we think in terms of still images and that what the photography is…” quote by Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png) > “I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard drive, our series within our brains, \[exist\] still photographs of very important moments in our lives. ... That we think in terms of still images and that what the photography is doing is making direct contact with the human hard drive and recording for all time a sense of what happened.” [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We process experiences as discrete visual snapshots, and photography captures and preserves those pivotal moments in our memory. **In simple terms:** Memory stores events as still images, and photos lock them in. Key Takeaway Photos act as permanent records of key experiences. Themes perception memory visual cognition technology identity history Mood nostalgic contemplative reflective Type philosophical observational analytical When to use this quote - reflecting on personal milestones - archiving family history - documenting cultural events - creating visual diaries - designing memory aids Key Concepts visual encoding episodic memory media representation Practical Applications - archival photography - memory therapy Questions to Reflect On - How do still images shape our recollection of events? - What role does photography play in constructing personal identity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-time/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact/) [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Exist Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist-photographs-379438/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Images Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/images-suspicion-379439/) [Images Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/images-think-379436/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-moments/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Moments in our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments-in-our-lives/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Moving Images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-images-379437/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Think Images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-images-379435/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think in any language. I think in images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-don-t-think-in-any-language-i-think-in-images/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I think of images as an immune system and a transit system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-think-of-images-as-an-immune-system-and-a-transit-system/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Without images we can neither think nor understand anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/without-images-we-can-neither-think-nor-understand-anything/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I’m trying to please myself; certainly that’s a big criterion... though in a sense, I don’t take images just for myself. I take images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-trying-to-please-myself-certainly-that-s-a-big-criterion-though/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [The way we have been thinking about brain science is that people show you pretty pictures, pretty images, and you think that that tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hart/the-way-we-have-been-thinking-about-brain-science-is-that-people-show/) [Carl Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hart/) > [Much of the way we understand the world is through images. That's what I think good art does - it teaches you how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/much-of-the-way-we-understand-the-world-is-through-images-that-s-what/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Movies are movies. Some bend light through a lens. Some create moving images virtually. At the end of the day, movies are movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-zemeckis/movies-are-movies-some-bend-light-through-a-lens-some-create-moving/) [Robert Zemeckis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-zemeckis/) > [I don't like that we repeat a certain expression over and over again because I think it narrows the way that we look on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-ostlund/i-don-t-like-that-we-repeat-a-certain-expression-over-and-over-again/) [Ruben Ostlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-ostlund/) > [Photographs may be more memorable than moving images, because they are a neat slice of time, not a flow. Each still photograph is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-may-be-more-memorable-than-moving-images-because-they-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [You gotta understand, when moving images first started, people wanted sound, color, big screen and depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/you-gotta-understand-when-moving-images-first-started-people-wanted/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [We’re face to face with images all the time in a way that we never have been before... Young people need to understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/we-re-face-to-face-with-images-all-the-time-in-a-way-that-we-never/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The most important thing is, how can I move forward towards something that I can't articulate, that is new in storytelling with moving images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-most-important-thing-is-how-can-i-move-forward-towards-something/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [There is a divine moment in our lives when we all become one. It's called procreation, and it is reborn, continually and forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-benedict/there-is-a-divine-moment-in-our-lives-when-we-all-become-one-it-s/) [Dirk Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-benedict/) > [God leads us step by step, from event to event. Only afterward, as we look back over the way we have come and reconsider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tournier/god-leads-us-step-by-step-from-event-to-event-only-afterward-as-we/) [Paul Tournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tournier/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More by Jon Snow > [The only way to do my job without optimism would be as a cynic, and that's not my nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/the-only-way-to-do-my-job-without-optimism-would-be-as-a-cynic-and/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [“My name is Jon Snow. I know nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/my-name-is-jon-snow-i-know-nothing/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [Presentationally, Bill Clinton is a US President to die for. The truth is, far too many have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/presentationally-bill-clinton-is-a-us-president-to-die-for-the-truth/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [At Halloween a lot of young people were wearing Bush masks mocked up as an incarnation of the Devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/at-halloween-a-lot-of-young-people-were-wearing-bush-masks-mocked-up/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [But if that's not enough, then consider this: if the Night's Watch are truly brothers, then Lord Commander Mormont was our father. He lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/but-if-that-s-not-enough-then-consider-this-if-the-night-s-watch-are/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [I'm as embarrassed as hell about it. I purged myself of my shame by buying the Beatles 'all you need is love', one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-m-as-embarrassed-as-hell-about-it-i-purged-myself-of-my-shame-by/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [I want to fight for the side that fights for the living. Did I come to the right place?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-want-to-fight-for-the-side-that-fights-for-the-living-did-i-come-to/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [Winter is coming, we know what's coming with it. We can learn to live with the wildlings, or we can add them to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/winter-is-coming-we-know-what-s-coming-with-it-we-can-learn-to-live/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [My whole day is built around meetings that can be achieved around bike rides. My contract actually offers me a free car from my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/my-whole-day-is-built-around-meetings-that-can-be-achieved-around/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) [Explore all 10 Jon Snow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) ## More All time quotes > [To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/to-be-positive-at-all-times-is-to-ignore-all-that-is-important-sacred/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [I'm big on tomato mozzarella salad. That's my favorite all-time food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-fields/i-m-big-on-tomato-mozzarella-salad-that-s-my-favorite-all-time-food/) [Jan Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-fields/) > [If you are my friend,you are down for me at all times,not just when it's convenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-v/if-you-are-my-friend-you-are-down-for-me-at-all-times-not-just-when/) [Jasmine V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-v/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Perhaps if only once you did enjoy The thousandth part of all the happiness A heart beloved enjoys, returning love, Repentant, you would surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/perhaps-if-only-once-you-did-enjoy-the-thousandth-part-of-all-the/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [For all the concern about bodies and weight, 'Baywatch' has three huge catering trucks on the set at all times. One for entrees, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eggert/for-all-the-concern-about-bodies-and-weight-baywatch-has-three-huge/) [Nicole Eggert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eggert/) > ['Lost Boys' is one of my all-time faves. I just thought it would be great to be a vampire. I remember this movie called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-headey/lost-boys-is-one-of-my-all-time-faves-i-just-thought-it-would-be/) [Lena Headey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-headey/) > [I have a constant kind of soundtrack going on at all times. I almost always have a song in my head. I'm very musically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-davie/i-have-a-constant-kind-of-soundtrack-going-on-at-all-times-i-almost/) [Erin Davie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-davie/) > [Lord, make me less like Jonah and more like Jesus. Save me from being the kind of person who cares more about my comfort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/lord-make-me-less-like-jonah-and-more-like-jesus-save-me-from-being/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [The key is to be in a state of permanent connectedness with your inner body - to feel it at all times. This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-key-is-to-be-in-a-state-of-permanent-connectedness-with-your/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I believe politicians should aim to be accurate and truthful in what they say at all times. You can be truthful and inaccurate but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-believe-politicians-should-aim-to-be-accurate-and-truthful-in-what/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) [Browse all 1,525 All time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard drive, our series within our brains, [exist] still photographs of very important moments in our lives. ... That we think in terms of still images and that what the photography is doing is making direct contact with the human hard drive and recording for all time a sense of what happened.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Snow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/jon-snow-40883_all-time_i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving_15093.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that…” — Jon Snow", "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": "Jon Snow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't know whether we think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/#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 } } ] } ```