--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are different from our animal…" description: "\"“We are different from our animal ancestors in that we are not content to merely survive, but have been incredibly busy making up new itches that we ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/kevin-kelly-2418_discontent_we-are-different-from-our-animal-ancesto_344220.jpg" --- # We are different from our animal ancestors in that we are… ![“We are different from our animal ancestors in that we are not content to merely survive, but have been incredibly busy making up new itches that we have to scratch, creating new desires we’ve never had before. This discontent is the trigger for our ingenuity and growth.” quote by Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/kevin-kelly-2418_discontent_we-are-different-from-our-animal-ancesto_344220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/kevin-kelly-2418_discontent_we-are-different-from-our-animal-ancesto_344220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/kevin-kelly-2418_discontent_we-are-different-from-our-animal-ancesto_344220.jpg) > ““We are different from our animal ancestors in that we are not content to merely survive, but have been incredibly busy making up new itches that we have to scratch, creating new desires we’ve never had before. This discontent is the trigger for our ingenuity and growth.”” [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human discontent drives the creation of new desires, which fuels innovation and societal advancement. **In simple terms:** Our cravings spark new ideas and growth. Key Takeaway Channel dissatisfaction into creative pursuits. Themes innovation human nature desire Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - product development - personal growth - cultural trends Key Concepts psychology creativity progress Questions to Reflect On - What unmet needs inspire you? - How can desire be balanced? A Different Perspective Excessive desire can lead to overconsumption and stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discontent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) ## Related quotes > [“We know very well that we have ancestors. But our ancestors are not only human. We have animal ancestors; we have plant ancestors; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/we-know-very-well-that-we-have-ancestors-but-our-ancestors-are-not/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [Holiness gives us new desires and brings old desires into line with one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/holiness-gives-us-new-desires-and-brings-old-desires-into-line-with/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [With Shakespeare and poetry, a new world was born. New dreams, new desires, a self consciousness was born. I desired to know to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abrahams/with-shakespeare-and-poetry-a-new-world-was-born-new-dreams-new/) [Peter Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abrahams/) > [As you spend time in God's Word and understand his love, the Holy Spirit will create new desires within you to love and serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-ingram/as-you-spend-time-in-god-s-word-and-understand-his-love-the-holy/) [Chip Ingram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-ingram/) > [“Lord, deliver us from what we already knew we wanted . Give us some new desires, the weirder the better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/lord-deliver-us-from-what-we-already-knew-we-wanted-give-us-some-new/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [In matters of science, curiosity gratified begets not indolence, but new desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hutton/in-matters-of-science-curiosity-gratified-begets-not-indolence-but/) [James Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hutton/) > [Mind is cradle of new desires, a graveyard of the old ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid/mind-is-cradle-of-new-desires-a-graveyard-of-the-old-ones/) [Farid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Kevin Kelly > [We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-are-reaching-deep-within-ourselves-to-adjust-the-master-knob/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [This is the culmination of a lot of people's vision. I think this is just another step towards making Central Michigan football among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/this-is-the-culmination-of-a-lot-of-people-s-vision-i-think-this-is/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Existence, it seems, is chiefly maintenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/existence-it-seems-is-chiefly-maintenance/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“We have no certainty we’ll contact extraterrestrial beings from one of the billion earthlike planets in the sky in the next 200 years, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-no-certainty-we-ll-contact-extraterrestrial-beings-from-one/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/changing-things-from-the-top-down-works-when-things-are-stable/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/it-s-generally-much-easier-to-kill-an-organization-than-to-change-it/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The only organization capable of unprejudiced growth, or unguided learning, is a network. All othertopologies limit what can happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-only-organization-capable-of-unprejudiced-growth-or-unguided/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We have to get better at believing the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-to-get-better-at-believing-the-impossible/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Our most important mechanical inventions are not machines that do what humans do better, but machines that can do things we can’t do at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/our-most-important-mechanical-inventions-are-not-machines-that-do/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“In the universal library, no book will be an island. It’s all connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-the-universal-library-no-book-will-be-an-island-it-s-all-connected/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Singularity is the point at which "all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/singularity-is-the-point-at-which-all-the-change-in-the-last-million/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We tend to think of the mind of an organization residing in the CEO and the organization's top managers, perhaps with the help of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-tend-to-think-of-the-mind-of-an-organization-residing-in-the-ceo/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The smallest thought could not exist unless the entire universe and the laws of physics were in some way encouraging it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-smallest-thought-could-not-exist-unless-the-entire-universe-and/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“From the days of Sumerian clay tablets until now, humans have “published” at least 310 million books, 1.4 billion articles and essays, 180 million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/from-the-days-of-sumerian-clay-tablets-until-now-humans-have/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) [Explore all 167 Kevin Kelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## More Discontent quotes > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [You can spend your whole life complaining about how much you hate life or you can spend it finding new ways to love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-complaining-about-how-much-you-hate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I grieve and dare not show my discontent, I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, I do, yet dare not say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-grieve-and-dare-not-show-my-discontent-i-love-and-yet-am-forced-to/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Love is maintain'd by wealth: when all is spent, Adversity then breeds the discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/love-is-maintain-d-by-wealth-when-all-is-spent-adversity-then-breeds/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [Everything becomes so problematic because of basic faults: from a discontent with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-freud/everything-becomes-so-problematic-because-of-basic-faults-from-a/) [Anna Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-freud/) > [“One whisper, Judith, added to a thousand others will become a roar of discontent even”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/one-whisper-judith-added-to-a-thousand-others-will-become-a-roar-of/) [Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/) [Browse all 450 Discontent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are different from our animal ancestors in that we are not content to merely survive, but have been incredibly busy making up new itches that we have to scratch, creating new desires we’ve never had before. 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