--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What had made me move through so many…" description: "\"What had made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg" --- # What had made me move through so many dead and pointless… ![“What had made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg) > “What had made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.” [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. Curiosity drove movement through meaningless years, giving purpose to otherwise dead time. **In simple terms:** Curiosity gives purpose. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity. Themes purpose curiosity meaning Mood inquisitive hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career - learning - creative projects - exploration Key Concepts existentialism motivation Questions to Reflect On - What sparks your curiosity? - How does curiosity change perception? A Different Perspective Not all curiosity leads to fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Dead Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-pointless-2280596/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mother night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-night/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) [Pointless Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless-years-2280595/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-curiosity-2280594/) ## Related quotes > [“It was not the thought that I was so unloved that froze me. I had taught myself to do without love. It was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-was-not-the-thought-that-i-was-so-unloved-that-froze-me-i-had-2/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I have graded my separate works from A to D. The grades I hand out to myself do not place me in literary history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-have-graded-my-separate-works-from-a-to-d-the-grades-i-hand-out-to/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Society is more concerned with material possessions than it is with the true love and compassion of another human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/society-is-more-concerned-with-material-possessions-than-it-is-with/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [...this is a hard world to be ludicrous in, with so many human beings so reluctant to laugh, so incapable of thought, so eager…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/this-is-a-hard-world-to-be-ludicrous-in-with-so-many-human-beings-so/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [We'd been apart so long--I'd been dead so long," she said in English. "I thought surely you'd built a new life, with no room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/we-d-been-apart-so-long-i-d-been-dead-so-long-she-said-in-english-i/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [There are plenty of good reasons for fighting,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“When you're dead you're dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/when-you-re-dead-you-re-dead/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Generally speaking, espionage offers each spy an opportunity to go crazy in a way he finds irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/generally-speaking-espionage-offers-each-spy-an-opportunity-to-go/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The bounties of space, of infinite outwardness, were three: empty heroics, low comedy, and pointless death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-bounties-of-space-of-infinite-outwardness-were-three-empty/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [It was not the thought that I was so unloved that froze me. I had taught myself to do without love. It was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-was-not-the-thought-that-i-was-so-unloved-that-froze-me-i-had/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Low comedy, empty heroics and pointless death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/low-comedy-empty-heroics-and-pointless-death/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When I moved to New York out of college, that was my goal. To be a stage actress. And to do dramatic works. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-harris/when-i-moved-to-new-york-out-of-college-that-was-my-goal-to-be-a/) [Rachael Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-harris/) > [Can anything harm us, mother, after the night-lights are lit?" Nothing, precious," she said; "they are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-anything-harm-us-mother-after-the-night-lights-are-lit-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [May dawn, as the proverb goes, bring happy tidings coming from her mother night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/may-dawn-as-the-proverb-goes-bring-happy-tidings-coming-from-her/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## 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 Curiosity quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [ “\[T\]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. \[...\] The point is, perhaps, that I am not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no-meaning-even-though-it-seems/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [There is nothing so carking as the pangs of unsatisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/there-is-nothing-so-carking-as-the-pangs-of-unsatisfied-curiosity/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [As long as your curiosity is greater than your fear, you will move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-long-as-your-curiosity-is-greater-than-your-fear-you-will-move/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) [Robyn Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-irving/) [Browse all 2,721 Curiosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What had made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-dead-and-pointless-years-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Curiosity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-dead-and-pointless-years-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_curiosity_what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-de_2642485.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What had made me move through so many dead and pointless years was curiosity.” — 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": "What had made me move through...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-dead-and-pointless-years-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-had-made-me-move-through-so-many-dead-and-pointless-years-was/#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 } } ] } ```