--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a fish were an anthropologist, the…" description: "\"If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.\" — Margaret Mead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg" --- # If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would… ![“If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg) > “If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a fish would miss its environment if it tried to study it, highlighting blind spots. **In simple terms:** Even experts can miss obvious truths. Key Takeaway Question assumptions. Themes humility awareness knowledge Mood reflective insightful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - science - education - personal growth Key Concepts epistemology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What “water” are you overlooking? - How can you become aware of blind spots? A Different Perspective Self‑deception can persist despite study. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropologist/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [The anthropologist must relinquish his comfortable position in the long chair on the veranda of the missionary compound, Government station, or planter's bungalow, where,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/the-anthropologist-must-relinquish-his-comfortable-position-in-the/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [My father is a cultural anthropologist and my mother ran an outpatient clinic and treated a lot of people who had been institutionalised. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-hittman/my-father-is-a-cultural-anthropologist-and-my-mother-ran-an/) Eliza Hittman > [The anthropologist respects history, but he does not accord it a special value. He conceives it as a study complementary to his own: one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-anthropologist-respects-history-but-he-does-not-accord-it-a/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [I consider myself something of a self-taught anthropologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/i-consider-myself-something-of-a-self-taught-anthropologist/) [Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/) > [The Restless Anthropologist is a rich, powerful, and compulsively readable collection of essays by anthropologists who look back at the multiple relationships between their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-ortner/the-restless-anthropologist-is-a-rich-powerful-and-compulsively/) Sherry Ortner > [I spent nearly two years in a small village - perhaps seventy families. I've never worked harder or learned so much so fast in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-scott/i-spent-nearly-two-years-in-a-small-village-perhaps-seventy-families/) [James C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-scott/) > [As a journalist, or an anthropologist, the convention is that people are there for you to study, and they are your objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/as-a-journalist-or-an-anthropologist-the-convention-is-that-people/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [An anthropologist at Tulane has just come back from a field trip to New Guinea with reports of a tribe so primitive that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/an-anthropologist-at-tulane-has-just-come-back-from-a-field-trip-to/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Fish did not discover water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/fish-did-not-discover-water/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The fish will be the last to discover water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bruner/the-fish-will-be-the-last-to-discover-water/) [Jerome Bruner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bruner/) > [“If fish were scientists, probably the last thing they would discover is water!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-webb/if-fish-were-scientists-probably-the-last-thing-they-would-discover/) William J. Webb > [Anthropology... has always been highly dependent upon photography... As the use of still photography - and moving pictures - has become increasingly essential as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/anthropology-has-always-been-highly-dependent-upon-photography-as-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I think of myself as a writer who happens to be doing his writing as an anthropologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/i-think-of-myself-as-a-writer-who-happens-to-be-doing-his-writing-as/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) > [“And what does an anthropologist do these days?" sad Paul. "Same thing a supernumerary minister does--becomes a public charge, a bore, or possibly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-does-an-anthropologist-do-these-days-sad-paul-same-thing-a/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I'm not a computer guy. I'm like an anthropologist. I'm fascinated with people's obsessions. I've learned to wear them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-m-not-a-computer-guy-i-m-like-an-anthropologist-i-m-fascinated-with/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Anthropologist quotes > [I'm not a computer guy. I'm like an anthropologist. I'm fascinated with people's obsessions. I've learned to wear them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-m-not-a-computer-guy-i-m-like-an-anthropologist-i-m-fascinated-with/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [An anthropologist at Tulane has just come back from a field trip to New Guinea with reports of a tribe so primitive that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/an-anthropologist-at-tulane-has-just-come-back-from-a-field-trip-to/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [As a journalist, or an anthropologist, the convention is that people are there for you to study, and they are your objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/as-a-journalist-or-an-anthropologist-the-convention-is-that-people/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [“And what does an anthropologist do these days?" sad Paul. "Same thing a supernumerary minister does--becomes a public charge, a bore, or possibly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-does-an-anthropologist-do-these-days-sad-paul-same-thing-a/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I think of myself as a writer who happens to be doing his writing as an anthropologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/i-think-of-myself-as-a-writer-who-happens-to-be-doing-his-writing-as/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) > [A dear friend of my early childhood has worked as an anthropologist in Papua New Guinea for much of her life, and from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/a-dear-friend-of-my-early-childhood-has-worked-as-an-anthropologist/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [I wondered why she craved this knowledge and found myself remembering that she was, after all, an anthropologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-wondered-why-she-craved-this-knowledge-and-found-myself-remembering/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [I consider myself something of a self-taught anthropologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/i-consider-myself-something-of-a-self-taught-anthropologist/) [Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/) > [I consider myself something of a self-taught anthropologist. I try not to talk about something unless it's something I love. But if it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/i-consider-myself-something-of-a-self-taught-anthropologist-i-try-not/) [Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/) > [The anthropologist respects history, but he does not accord it a special value. He conceives it as a study complementary to his own: one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-anthropologist-respects-history-but-he-does-not-accord-it-a/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“I am an anthropologist who lost faith in her own method, who stopped believing that observable activity defined anthropos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-am-an-anthropologist-who-lost-faith-in-her-own-method-who-stopped/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By means of the notion of “cultural evolution,” the democratic anthropologist tries to avoid questions of biology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/by-means-of-the-notion-of-cultural-evolution-the-democratic/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [The anthropologist must relinquish his comfortable position in the long chair on the veranda of the missionary compound, Government station, or planter's bungalow, where,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/the-anthropologist-must-relinquish-his-comfortable-position-in-the/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [If somebody had said to me in June or July of 1987, 'We'd like you to become chairman of the Federal Reserve, but you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/if-somebody-had-said-to-me-in-june-or-july-of-1987-we-d-like-you-to/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I'm a complete human being. I'm very emotional and loving. I feel, I hurt, I give, I take, and also I think. I analyze.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erykah-badu/i-m-a-complete-human-being-i-m-very-emotional-and-loving-i-feel-i/) [Erykah Badu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erykah-badu/) [Browse all 33 Anthropologist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropologist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Mead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-last-thing-it-would-discover/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthropologist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-last-thing-it-would-discover/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/margaret-mead-982_anthropologist_if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-las_2618639.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.” — Margaret Mead", "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": "Margaret Mead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a fish were an anthropologist,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-last-thing-it-would-discover/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-a-fish-were-an-anthropologist-the-last-thing-it-would-discover/#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 } } ] } ```