--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like being able to just turn the…" description: "\"I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small number of people, get to know them, drop into their lives for a period of time.\" — Lynn Shelton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg" --- # I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small… ![“I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small number of people, get to know them, drop into their lives for a period of time.” quote by Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg) > “I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small number of people, get to know them, drop into their lives for a period of time.” [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on a few individuals allows deep insight into their lives, enriching understanding. **In simple terms:** Studying a few people yields deep knowledge. Key Takeaway Use small‑scale observation for richer narratives. Themes observation intimacy storytelling Mood curious analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - documentary work - ethnographic research - character studies Key Concepts anthropology film psychology Questions to Reflect On - When is deep focus preferable to broad surveys? - How can you balance depth and breadth? A Different Perspective Limited sample may not represent broader trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Microscope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microscope/) [Microscope Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microscope-small-1221310/) [Microscopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microscopes/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-know/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Small Number](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-number-309863/) [Small numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-numbers/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Turn Microscope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-microscope-2070502/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) ## Related quotes > [The human mind prefers something which it can recognize to something for which it has no name, and, whereas thousands of persons carry field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fairchild/the-human-mind-prefers-something-which-it-can-recognize-to-something/) [David Fairchild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fairchild/) > [A small number of choice books are sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-small-number-of-choice-books-are-sufficient/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It seems to me that the soul, when alone with itself and speaking to itself, uses only a small number of words, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/it-seems-to-me-that-the-soul-when-alone-with-itself-and-speaking-to/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [A dream is a microscope through which we look at the hidden occurrences in our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/a-dream-is-a-microscope-through-which-we-look-at-the-hidden/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [No matter what I do, I can't help but feel that I'm under a microscope. Some of it is completely silly, and some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aoki/no-matter-what-i-do-i-can-t-help-but-feel-that-i-m-under-a-microscope/) [Steve Aoki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aoki/) > [Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul, and shows to people these secrets which are common to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/art-is-a-microscope-which-the-artist-fixes-on-the-secrets-of-his-soul/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The Panama Canal was dug with a microscope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-ross/the-panama-canal-was-dug-with-a-microscope/) [Ronald Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-ross/) > [It is only in the microscope that our life looks so big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-only-in-the-microscope-that-our-life-looks-so-big/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [LSD is simply an exploratory instrument like a microscope or telescope, except this one is inside of you instead of outside of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/lsd-is-simply-an-exploratory-instrument-like-a-microscope-or/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [You're always under the microscope, you don't know which mission you're going to get. It's a surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-payette/you-re-always-under-the-microscope-you-don-t-know-which-mission-you/) [Julie Payette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-payette/) > [If the Bible and the microscope do not agee, the microscope is wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/if-the-bible-and-the-microscope-do-not-agee-the-microscope-is-wrong/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [First Ladies have always been held like specimens under a media microscope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-leon-talley/first-ladies-have-always-been-held-like-specimens-under-a-media/) [Andre Leon Talley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-leon-talley/) > [In order to understand the movement of prices, you need not an oscilloscope to measure the entire market and reduce it to noise, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gilder/in-order-to-understand-the-movement-of-prices-you-need-not-an/) [George Gilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gilder/) > [Our eyes see very little and very badly – so people dreamed up the microscope to let them see invisible phenomena; they invented the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dziga-vertov/our-eyes-see-very-little-and-very-badly-so-people-dreamed-up-the/) [Dziga Vertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dziga-vertov/) > [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## More by Lynn Shelton > [For me, I want to see diversity in storytelling sources because we live in a very diverse society, and the stories are for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/for-me-i-want-to-see-diversity-in-storytelling-sources-because-we/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I hope to keep working with television. I wouldn't mind doing more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-hope-to-keep-working-with-television-i-wouldn-t-mind-doing-more/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [The first time I ever intersected with the quote unquote industry or Hollywood or being given a paid job as a director all came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/the-first-time-i-ever-intersected-with-the-quote-unquote-industry-or/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [So many people have said this, but it's true: 95 percent of what I do as a director is casting and getting people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/so-many-people-have-said-this-but-it-s-true-95-percent-of-what-i-do/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [You wake up one day and you realize that all these years have gone by and I have this mortgage and I have this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/you-wake-up-one-day-and-you-realize-that-all-these-years-have-gone-by/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [It's just not enough time on set. That's my favorite time. I live for that time on set. I feel like that's when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/it-s-just-not-enough-time-on-set-that-s-my-favorite-time-i-live-for/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [If I don't have to think about the commercial aspect of it, then I feel like I'm going to make better films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/if-i-don-t-have-to-think-about-the-commercial-aspect-of-it-then-i/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I always wanted the actors to feel really free to leave the words behind if they weren't working, reword lines, if they felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-always-wanted-the-actors-to-feel-really-free-to-leave-the-words/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I try to build relationships with the actors, at least to some degree beforehand, whether it's phone calls because I'm from Seattle or all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-try-to-build-relationships-with-the-actors-at-least-to-some-degree/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I feel like this is the way I was meant to interact with acting. Which is as a director, and helping, working with actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-feel-like-this-is-the-way-i-was-meant-to-interact-with-acting-which/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [My mom was in education, and I remember reading in one of her books about multiple intelligences - this whole theory about how there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/my-mom-was-in-education-and-i-remember-reading-in-one-of-her-books/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I just really feel so grateful to Sundance because I've always been an artist and I've never been able to make a living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-just-really-feel-so-grateful-to-sundance-because-i-ve-always-been/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I like to put people into situations that are out of their comfort zone and see what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-like-to-put-people-into-situations-that-are-out-of-their-comfort/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [When I started working in film, I loved photography, I loved the image, I loved telling the story within a frame, but as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/when-i-started-working-in-film-i-loved-photography-i-loved-the-image/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I'd love for there to be a situation - a world in which that's just not even a question anymore. We are all filmmakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-d-love-for-there-to-be-a-situation-a-world-in-which-that-s-just-not/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) [Explore all 39 Lynn Shelton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. 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This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small number of people, get to know them, drop into their lives for a period of time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lynn Shelton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-microscope-on-a-small-number-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-microscope-on-a-small-number-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/lynn-shelton-16741_able_i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-micro_2616183.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small number of people, get to know them, drop into their…” — Lynn Shelton", "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": "Lynn Shelton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I like being able to just...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-microscope-on-a-small-number-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-microscope-on-a-small-number-of/#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 } } ] } ```