--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that could go back to the time…" description: "\"“I think that could go back to the time when people had to live in small groups of relatives—maybe fifty or a hundred people at the most. And evolution..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg" --- # I think that could go back to the time when people had to… ![“I think that could go back to the time when people had to live in small groups of relatives—maybe fifty or a hundred people at the most. And evolution or God or whatever arranged things genetically, to keep the little families going, to cheer them up, so that they could all have somebody to tell…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg) > ““I think that could go back to the time when people had to live in small groups of relatives—maybe fifty or a hundred people at the most. And evolution or God or whatever arranged things genetically, to keep the little families going, to cheer them up, so that they could all have somebody to tell stories around the campfire at night, and somebody else to paint pictures on the walls of the caves, and somebody else who wasn’t afraid of anything and so on. That’s what I think. And of course a scheme like that doesn’t make sense anymore, because simply moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person who would have been a community treasure a thousand years ago has to give up, has to go into some other line of work, since modern communications put him or her into daily competition with nothing but world’s champions.”” [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. Early human groups fostered storytelling and art, but modern media diminish the role of modest talents. **In simple terms:** Past societies valued storytellers; modern media marginalize them. Key Takeaway Support diverse voices in today’s media landscape. Themes storytelling media evolution talent Mood nostalgic critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - community workshops - indie publishing - educational curricula - media literacy programs Key Concepts cultural anthropology communication theory digital disruption Questions to Reflect On - How can small talents thrive today? - What role does community play in modern storytelling? A Different Perspective Technology can also amplify niche voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Printing press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printing-press/) [Small groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-groups/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“...simply moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/simply-moderate-giftedness-has-been-made-worthless-by-the-printing/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/moderate-giftedness-has-been-made-worthless-by-the-printing-press-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I was obviously born to draw better than most people, just as the widow Berman and Paul Slazinger were obviously born to tell stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-obviously-born-to-draw-better-than-most-people-just-as-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“A moderately gifted person who would have been a community treasure a thousand years ago has to give up, has to go into some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/a-moderately-gifted-person-who-would-have-been-a-community-treasure-a/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The craze of genealogy is connected with the epidemic for divorce. If we can't figure out who our living relatives are, then maybe we'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jane-howard/the-craze-of-genealogy-is-connected-with-the-epidemic-for-divorce-if/) [Elizabeth Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jane-howard/) > [When good friends praise a gifted person he often appears to be delighted with them out of politeness and goodwill, but in reality he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-good-friends-praise-a-gifted-person-he-often-appears-to-be/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“A good liar is a gifted person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-liar-is-a-gifted-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even the most gifted person needs someone to initiate him. The one that life puts in your path one day, that person must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/even-the-most-gifted-person-needs-someone-to-initiate-him-the-one/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [It would be a mistake to ascribe this creative power to an inborn talent. In art, the genius creator is not just a gifted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-would-be-a-mistake-to-ascribe-this-creative-power-to-an-inborn/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [My grandfather was a most gifted person, and amongst his many qualities, one of them had always particularly impressed me. While the past was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aga-khan-iv/my-grandfather-was-a-most-gifted-person-and-amongst-his-many/) [Aga Khan IV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aga-khan-iv/) > [“The entire planet can get along nicely now with maybe a dozen champion performers in each area of human giftedness. A moderately gifted person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-entire-planet-can-get-along-nicely-now-with-maybe-a-dozen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-me-that-a-gifted-person-ought/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Amazing, Heather thought, looking back at the email message. Who was this incredible, gifted person?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wells/amazing-heather-thought-looking-back-at-the-email-message-who-was/) [Mike Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wells/) > [A gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-barring-spelling-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“...spiritually speaking, here's an important analogy: we're not accountable for how our accomplishments measure up to the gifted person sitting next to us. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-larson/spiritually-speaking-here-s-an-important-analogy-we-re-not/) [Susie Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-larson/) ## 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 Printing press quotes > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [TV is bigger than any story it reports. It's the greatest teaching tool since the printing press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-w-friendly/tv-is-bigger-than-any-story-it-reports-it-s-the-greatest-teaching/) [Fred W. Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-w-friendly/) > [The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-u-s-government-has-a-technology-called-a-printing-press-or-today/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [“I’d like to see a lot of this stuff in print before I die—but not the bulk of it, oh no! I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-like-to-see-a-lot-of-this-stuff-in-print-before-i-die-but-not-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At Facebook, we’re inspired by technologies that have revolutionized how people spread and consume information. We often talk about inventions like the printing press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/at-facebook-we-re-inspired-by-technologies-that-have-revolutionized/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [I am not offering this is a critique of the internet, its just that there are a lot of factors involved. It does offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-am-not-offering-this-is-a-critique-of-the-internet-its-just-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Ink is the blood of the printing-press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/ink-is-the-blood-of-the-printing-press/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [We become, after the arrival of the printing press in general, more attentive more attuned to contemplative ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/we-become-after-the-arrival-of-the-printing-press-in-general-more/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [“The Chinese people had invented the compass, paper, the printing press, gunpowder, the seismograph, the crossbow, and the umbrella; they had sailed to Africa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hessler/the-chinese-people-had-invented-the-compass-paper-the-printing-press/) [Peter Hessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hessler/) > [The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-u-s-government-has-a-technology-called-a-printing-press-or-today-2/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/even-with-the-sacred-printing-press-we-got-erotic-novels-150-years/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Think for a moment of the great agents and engines of our civilization, and then think what shadowy ideas they all once were. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/think-for-a-moment-of-the-great-agents-and-engines-of-our/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Things like social media and the Internet, of course, it's not going away. There is no cure for it. And this shouldn't be just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/things-like-social-media-and-the-internet-of-course-it-s-not-going/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [Break up the printing presses and you break up rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dudley-nichols/break-up-the-printing-presses-and-you-break-up-rebellion/) [Dudley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dudley-nichols/) > [“What these critics forget is that printing presses in themselves provide no guarantee of an enlightened outcome. People, not machines, made the Renaissance. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/what-these-critics-forget-is-that-printing-presses-in-themselves/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) [Browse all 153 Printing press quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printing-press/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think that could go back to the time when people had to live in small groups of relatives—maybe fifty or a hundred people at the most. And evolution or God or whatever arranged things genetically, to keep the little families going, to cheer them up, so that they could all have somebody to tell stories around the campfire at night, and somebody else to paint pictures on the walls of the caves, and somebody else who wasn’t afraid of anything and so on. That’s what I think. And of course a scheme like that doesn’t make sense anymore, because simply moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person who would have been a community treasure a thousand years ago has to give up, has to go into some other line of work, since modern communications put him or her into daily competition with nothing but world’s champions.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-people-had-to-live-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Printing press" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-people-had-to-live-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_printing-press_i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-w_2767380.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that could go back to the time when people had to live in small groups of relatives—maybe fifty or a…” — 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 think that could go back...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-people-had-to-live-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-that-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-people-had-to-live-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 } } ] } ```