--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am simply impressed by the unexpected…" description: "\"I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which shower down on me when my job is to imagine, as contrasted with the woodenly familiar ideas whic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg" --- # I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which… ![“I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which shower down on me when my job is to imagine, as contrasted with the woodenly familiar ideas which clutter my desk when my job is to tell the truth.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg) > “I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which shower down on me when my job is to imagine, as contrasted with the woodenly familiar ideas which clutter my desk when my job is to tell the truth.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contrasts spontaneous insight with routine ideas, valuing imagination over factual reporting. **In simple terms:** Imagination yields surprising insights. Key Takeaway Prioritize imaginative thinking over routine reporting. Themes creativity imagination insight truth routine Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - brainstorming - research projects Key Concepts cognitive science literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How can imagination coexist with truth? - When does routine thinking become valuable? A Different Perspective May neglect the need for factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clutter/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Familiar Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar-ideas-5623233/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Impressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressed/) [Impressed Unexpected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressed-unexpected-5623232/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Job Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-imagine-244390/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Showers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/showers/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Unexpected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexpected/) [Unexpected Insights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexpected-insights-5623231/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [The designer's job is to imagine the world not how it is, but how it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-designer-s-job-is-to-imagine-the-world-not-how-it-is-but-how-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best way to enjoy your job is to imagine yourself without one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-best-way-to-enjoy-your-job-is-to-imagine-yourself-without-one/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [A writer's job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/a-writer-s-job-is-to-imagine-everything-so-personally-that-the/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Imagine that everything you are typing is being read by the person you are applying to for your first job. Imagine that it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/imagine-that-everything-you-are-typing-is-being-read-by-the-person/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [That's my job. To imagine harder than you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/that-s-my-job-to-imagine-harder-than-you-can/) [Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/) > [The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-way-to-appreciate-your-job-is-to-imagine-yourself-without-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As writers, it is our job not only to imagine, but to witness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-shapiro/as-writers-it-is-our-job-not-only-to-imagine-but-to-witness/) [Dani Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-shapiro/) > [I love the job and I can't imagine doing anything other than coaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hansi-flick/i-love-the-job-and-i-can-t-imagine-doing-anything-other-than-coaching/) [Hansi Flick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hansi-flick/) > [I wanted to be a snowplow driver when I was a kid. Growing up in the Rocky Mountains, that's the most glorious job you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/i-wanted-to-be-a-snowplow-driver-when-i-was-a-kid-growing-up-in-the/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [In the scope of a happy life, a messy desk or an overstuffed coat closet is a trivial thing, yet I find - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/in-the-scope-of-a-happy-life-a-messy-desk-or-an-overstuffed-coat/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/so-the-america-i-loved-still-exists-if-not-in-the-white-house-or-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/while-on-the-subject-of-burning-books-i-want-to-congratulate/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-america-i-love-still-exists-at-the-front-desks-of-our-public/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I hate clutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-barrie/i-hate-clutter/) [Barbara Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-barrie/) > [It's always something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/it-s-always-something/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Clutter quotes > [It's always something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/it-s-always-something/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [I hate clutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-barrie/i-hate-clutter/) [Barbara Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-barrie/) > [If one's mind is so full of clutter, so is one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnreyes/if-one-s-mind-is-so-full-of-clutter-so-is-one-s-life/) [JOHNREYES](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnreyes/) > [“Only when we acknowledge ourselves as we really are can we begin to take inventory of the physical, mental, and emotional clutter that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiqua-hamdan/only-when-we-acknowledge-ourselves-as-we-really-are-can-we-begin-to/) [Sadiqua Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiqua-hamdan/) > [I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/i-think-we-all-have-a-little-voice-inside-us-that-will-guide-us-it/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [The leader is one who, out of the clutter, brings simplicity... out of discord, harmony... and out of difficulty, opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-leader-is-one-who-out-of-the-clutter-brings-simplicity-out-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Simple messages travel faster, simpler designs reach the market faster and the elimination of clutter allows faster decision making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/simple-messages-travel-faster-simpler-designs-reach-the-market-faster/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [Clutter is the official language used by corporations to hide their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-official-language-used-by-corporations-to-hide-their/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [If you've had something for more than six months, and it's still not repaired, it's clutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/if-you-ve-had-something-for-more-than-six-months-and-it-s-still-not/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [Here's the general theory: To clarify, add detail. Imagine that. To clarify, add detail. And clutter and overload are not an attribute of information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-tufte/here-s-the-general-theory-to-clarify-add-detail-imagine-that-to/) [Edward Tufte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-tufte/) > [The absence of clutter is just a clutter-free product. That's not simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/the-absence-of-clutter-is-just-a-clutter-free-product-that-s-not/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [Out of clutter, find simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/out-of-clutter-find-simplicity/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Never underestimate the effect of clutter on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kingston/never-underestimate-the-effect-of-clutter-on-your-life/) [Karen Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kingston/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [On the whole, I think women wear too much and are to fussy. You can't see the person for all the clutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/on-the-whole-i-think-women-wear-too-much-and-are-to-fussy-you-can-t/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) [Browse all 347 Clutter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clutter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which shower down on me when my job is to imagine, as contrasted with the woodenly familiar ideas which clutter my desk when my job is to tell the truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected-insights-which-shower-down-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clutter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected-insights-which-shower-down-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/kurt-vonnegut-41_clutter_i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected_713759.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am simply impressed by the unexpected insights which shower down on me when my job is to imagine, as…” — Kurt Vonnegut", "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": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am simply impressed by the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected-insights-which-shower-down-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-am-simply-impressed-by-the-unexpected-insights-which-shower-down-on/#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 } } ] } ```