--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And if 'saturation' means that one simply…" description: "\"“And if 'saturation' means that one simply could not absorb or contain one single drop more, why does 'saturation' not bring with it a connotation of s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg" --- # And if 'saturation' means that one simply could not absorb… ![“And if 'saturation' means that one simply could not absorb or contain one single drop more, why does 'saturation' not bring with it a connotation of satisfaction, either in concept, or in experience?” quote by Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg) > ““And if 'saturation' means that one simply could not absorb or contain one single drop more, why does 'saturation' not bring with it a connotation of satisfaction, either in concept, or in experience?”” [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Saturation describes excess capacity, not necessarily satisfaction; the terms differ in meaning and experience. **In simple terms:** Saturation isn’t the same as satisfaction. Key Takeaway Distinguish between capacity and fulfillment. Themes philosophy language psychology Mood analytical thought‑provoking Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative writing - critical analysis - mindfulness practice Key Concepts semantic nuance experience theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate feeling full from feeling satisfied? - When does excess become fulfilling? A Different Perspective Assuming saturation implies satisfaction can mislead expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ## Related quotes > [ I think for a lot of people, it's just where their saturation point was. Once you get into the \[Donald\] Trump stuff and the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/i-think-for-a-lot-of-people-it-s-just-where-their-saturation-point/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [On top of whatever else I'm doing, I'm usually teaching some form of composition. The benefit of this is I get to read across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-pardlo/on-top-of-whatever-else-i-m-doing-i-m-usually-teaching-some-form-of/) [Gregory Pardlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-pardlo/) > [“And, sure enough, saturation begins--the staedy work of seeps and springs. Then, suddenly, cottonwoods and willows spring from the sand, their leaves gyrating into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-irvine/and-sure-enough-saturation-begins-the-staedy-work-of-seeps-and/) [Amy Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-irvine/) > [If you have never tried a plant-based diet, start. If you've never juiced vegetables, start. If you've never taken vitamin C to saturation, start.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-saul/if-you-have-never-tried-a-plant-based-diet-start-if-you-ve-never/) [Andrew Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-saul/) > [I think we have reached such saturation levels, the money at this point doesn't swing election.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-woodruff/i-think-we-have-reached-such-saturation-levels-the-money-at-this/) [Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-woodruff/) > [Tape machines are effects boxes as well because each tape machine has its own sound. 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I think that's the number one thing that allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-carmack/i-think-the-key-to-really-jumping-out-of-that-idea-of-saturation-is/) [Mr. Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-carmack/) > [For the records I've work on over the last 10 years, I get sent the really compressed version and the non-compressed version, and oftentimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/for-the-records-i-ve-work-on-over-the-last-10-years-i-get-sent-the/) [Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/) ## More by Maggie Nelson > [“When I was alive, I aimed to be a student not of longing but of light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/when-i-was-alive-i-aimed-to-be-a-student-not-of-longing-but-of-light/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [I think writing kind of burns out the flaming question. Sometimes it might feel like when you're living with certain paradoxes and they're unarticulated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-think-writing-kind-of-burns-out-the-flaming-question-sometimes-it/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I want you to know, if you ever read this, there was a time when I would rather have had you by my side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-want-you-to-know-if-you-ever-read-this-there-was-a-time-when-i/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“It is absurd, Barthes says, to try to flee from language's assertive nature 'adding to each sentence some little phrase of uncertainty, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/it-is-absurd-barthes-says-to-try-to-flee-from-language-s-assertive/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I can remember a time when I took Henry James's advice--'try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!'--deeply to heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-can-remember-a-time-when-i-took-henry-james-s-advice-try-to-be-one/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [It is easier, of course, to find dignity in one's solitude. 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Can blue solve the problem, or can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/it-is-easier-of-course-to-find-dignity-in-one-s-solitude-loneliness/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“But “knowing the truth” does not come with redemption as a guarantee, nor does a feeling of redemption guarantee an end to a cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/but-knowing-the-truth-does-not-come-with-redemption-as-a-guarantee/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Girls are cruelest to themselves,” observes Anne Carson in “The Glass Essay,” her brilliant long poem about the ravages of female anger, loneliness, grief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/girls-are-cruelest-to-themselves-observes-anne-carson-in-the-glass/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“On one hand, the Aristotelian, perhaps evolutionary need to put everything into categories– predators, twilight, edible – on the other, the need to pay homage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/on-one-hand-the-aristotelian-perhaps-evolutionary-need-to-put/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Do not, however, make the mistake of thinking that all desire is yearning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/do-not-however-make-the-mistake-of-thinking-that-all-desire-is/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Psychology forces everything we call love into the pathological or the delusional or the biologically explicable, that if that I was feeling wasn't love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/psychology-forces-everything-we-call-love-into-the-pathological-or/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I edit myself into a boldness that is neither native or foreign to me. 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But I do feel that its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-do-not-know-the-reason-for-this-blue-pussy-meant-to-convey-both/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) [Explore all 111 Maggie Nelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. 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He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [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/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And if 'saturation' means that one simply could not absorb or contain one single drop more, why does 'saturation' not bring with it a connotation of satisfaction, either in concept, or in experience?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maggie Nelson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply-could-not-absorb-or-contain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply-could-not-absorb-or-contain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/maggie-nelson-4294_happiness_and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply_2529381.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And if 'saturation' means that one simply could not absorb or contain one single drop more, why does…” — Maggie Nelson", "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": "Maggie Nelson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And if 'saturation' means that one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply-could-not-absorb-or-contain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/and-if-saturation-means-that-one-simply-could-not-absorb-or-contain/#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 } } ] } ```