--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They have been sitting in this position…" description: "\"“They have been sitting in this position since they were born, so they think these shadows are all there are. Imagine”\" — Jostein Gaarder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/jostein-gaarder-676_imagine_they-have-been-sitting-in-this-position_1247041.png" --- # They have been sitting in this position since they were… ![“They have been sitting in this position since they were born, so they think these shadows are all there are. Imagine” quote by Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/jostein-gaarder-676_imagine_they-have-been-sitting-in-this-position_1247041.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/jostein-gaarder-676_imagine_they-have-been-sitting-in-this-position_1247041.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/jostein-gaarder-676_imagine_they-have-been-sitting-in-this-position_1247041.png) > ““They have been sitting in this position since they were born, so they think these shadows are all there are. Imagine”” [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often accept limited perspectives because they have never seen alternatives, leading to a narrow worldview. **In simple terms:** Limited views arise from never experience. Key Takeaway Seek broader perspectives. Themes perception knowledge growth Mood curious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - travel - diverse media consumption - cross‑cultural dialogue Key Concepts philosophy epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you holding? - How can you expose yourself to new ideas? A Different Perspective Changing viewpoint can be uncomfortable and meet resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/) ## Related quotes > [To think of shadows is a serious thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-think-of-shadows-is-a-serious-thing/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Most people think that shadows follow, precede or surround beings or objects. 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I think my shadows made it look bad, but my family says its really awesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-then-i-painted-it-i-think-my-shadows-made-it-look-bad-but-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I got a statistic for you right now. Grab your pencil, Doug. There are five billion trees in the world. I looked it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-got-a-statistic-for-you-right-now-grab-your-pencil-doug-there-are/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“You build your world around someone, and then what happens when he disappears? Where do you go- into pieces, into atoms, into the arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/you-build-your-world-around-someone-and-then-what-happens-when-he/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [There are only shades of gray. Black and white are nothing more than lofty ideals in our minds, the standards by which we try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/there-are-only-shades-of-gray-black-and-white-are-nothing-more-than/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“There is light in the shadow just as there is shadow in the light and although many disclaim these shadows as everything unpleasant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kensi-brianne-smith/there-is-light-in-the-shadow-just-as-there-is-shadow-in-the-light-and/) Kensi Brianne Smith > [The sun was trembling on the brink of the world, the shadows at their longest, and they still had several kilometers to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/the-sun-was-trembling-on-the-brink-of-the-world-the-shadows-at-their/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [“strike from the shadows, disapear into darkness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/strike-from-the-shadows-disapear-into-darkness/) [derek landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jostein Gaarder > [“I no longer feel the need to see and sense more than I've already experienced. I just want so desperately to hang on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/i-no-longer-feel-the-need-to-see-and-sense-more-than-i-ve-already/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The most subversive people are those who ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-most-subversive-people-are-those-who-ask-questions/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Where did the world come from? The question has an answer, even though I cannot get to it. It is a good question. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/where-did-the-world-come-from-the-question-has-an-answer-even-though/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“As soon as she concentrated on being alive now, the thought of dying also came into her mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/as-soon-as-she-concentrated-on-being-alive-now-the-thought-of-dying/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Po haljini sam mogao da vidim kako njeno telo diše, jer se haljina dizala i spuštala, dizala i spuštala, skoro kao da morski talasi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/po-haljini-sam-mogao-da-vidim-kako-njeno-telo-di-e-jer-se-haljina/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Since the Renaissance, people have had to get used to living their life on a random planet in the vast galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/since-the-renaissance-people-have-had-to-get-used-to-living-their/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“without imagination, nothing really new will ever be created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/without-imagination-nothing-really-new-will-ever-be-created/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“The German poet Goethe once said that "he who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth." I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-german-poet-goethe-once-said-that-he-who-cannot-draw-on-three/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Sophie left the den and wandered about in the large garden. She tried to forget what she had learned at school, especially in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/sophie-left-the-den-and-wandered-about-in-the-large-garden-she-tried/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [...long before the child learns to talk properly-and long before it learns to think philosophically-the world will have become a habit. A pity, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/long-before-the-child-learns-to-talk-properly-and-long-before-it/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“any one question can be more explosive than a thousand answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/any-one-question-can-be-more-explosive-than-a-thousand-answers/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“We can't own each other's past. The question is whether we have a future together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/we-can-t-own-each-other-s-past-the-question-is-whether-we-have-a/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Uno no muere en medio del quinto acto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/uno-no-muere-en-medio-del-quinto-acto/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“Wer das Schicksal durchschauen will, muss es überleben.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/wer-das-schicksal-durchschauen-will-muss-es-berleben/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) [Explore all 305 Jostein Gaarder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) ## More Imagine quotes > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [It seems an insult to nature and to the Creator to imagine that pregnancy was ever intended to be a sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-bisbee-duffey/it-seems-an-insult-to-nature-and-to-the-creator-to-imagine-that/) Eliza Bisbee Duffey > [A vacuum can only exist, I imagine, by the things which enclose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/a-vacuum-can-only-exist-i-imagine-by-the-things-which-enclose-it/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [Never in a million years would I imagine Calvin Klein flying me out to my first men's fashion show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dallas/never-in-a-million-years-would-i-imagine-calvin-klein-flying-me-out/) [Cameron Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dallas/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I can't imagine not working, really. I just think work's more fun than fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-quant/i-can-t-imagine-not-working-really-i-just-think-work-s-more-fun-than/) [Mary Quant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-quant/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [Imagine what you'd do if it absolutely didn't matter what people thought of you. Got it? Good. Never go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/imagine-what-you-d-do-if-it-absolutely-didn-t-matter-what-people/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [ Together he \[Girolamo Savonarola\] and his archenemy Lorenzo \[de' Medici\] would have been the stuff of gargoyles. One could almost imagine the diptych in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dunant/together-he-girolamo-savonarola-and-his-archenemy-lorenzo-de-medici/) [Sarah Dunant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dunant/) Browse all 6,768 Imagine quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They have been sitting in this position since they were born, so they think these shadows are all there are. 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