--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thinking about time travel may seem like…" description: "\"Thinking about time travel may seem like something humans have been doing since the first caveman dropped the first rock on his foot. But, even to begi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/maria-konnikova-3691_future_thinking-about-time-travel-may-seem-like_1884320.jpg" --- # Thinking about time travel may seem like something humans… ![“Thinking about time travel may seem like something humans have been doing since the first caveman dropped the first rock on his foot. But, even to begin to imagine the possibility of time travel, your mind must be able to wrap itself around the notion of a past and a future.” quote by Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/maria-konnikova-3691_future_thinking-about-time-travel-may-seem-like_1884320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/maria-konnikova-3691_future_thinking-about-time-travel-may-seem-like_1884320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/maria-konnikova-3691_future_thinking-about-time-travel-may-seem-like_1884320.jpg) > “Thinking about time travel may seem like something humans have been doing since the first caveman dropped the first rock on his foot. But, even to begin to imagine the possibility of time travel, your mind must be able to wrap itself around the notion of a past and a future.” [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagining time travel requires grasping past and future concepts, which is a complex mental exercise. **In simple terms:** Time travel thought needs understanding of temporal dimensions. Key Takeaway Develop mental models of time to explore possibilities. Themes science philosophy imagination Mood curious analytical Type exploratory educational When to use this quote - science fiction writing - academic lectures Key Concepts temporal cognition causality thought experiments Questions to Reflect On - How do you visualize past vs. future? - What limits our temporal imagination? A Different Perspective Human brains struggle with non‑linear time perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Notion Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-past-2681879/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-future/) [Thinking Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-travel/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Travel Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel-mind-2681878/) ## Related quotes > [A good traveller is one who knows how to travel with the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-traveller-is-one-who-knows-how-to-travel-with-the-mind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today's banalities apparently gain in profundity if one states that the wisdom of the past, for all its virtues, belongs to the past. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-jacoby/today-s-banalities-apparently-gain-in-profundity-if-one-states-that/) [Russell Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-jacoby/) > [“In reality, time doesn't pass; we pass. Time itself is invariant. It just is. Therefore, past and future aren't separate locations, the way New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/in-reality-time-doesn-t-pass-we-pass-time-itself-is-invariant-it-just/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Once the notion of time travel starts to come naturally to the human mind, it is supremely easy to assimilate it into our mode…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/once-the-notion-of-time-travel-starts-to-come-naturally-to-the-human/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [Our memory is and always will be as good as time travel gets, and in the meantime time will do the travelling for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/our-memory-is-and-always-will-be-as-good-as-time-travel-gets-and-in/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [Thinking of you all the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashish-rawat/thinking-of-you-all-the-time/) [Ashish Rawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashish-rawat/) > [Time really is one big continuous cloth, no? 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The less time you spend doing, the more you watch others do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-mcclearn/the-more-time-you-spend-thinking-the-less-time-you-spend-doing-the/) [Beatrice McClearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-mcclearn/) > [“I was thinking what everyone is thinking all of the time: How can I make this last just a little bit longer?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-was-thinking-what-everyone-is-thinking-all-of-the-time-how-can-i/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [Thinking about time is to acknowledge two contradictory certainties: that our outward lives are governed by the seasons and the clock; that our inward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/thinking-about-time-is-to-acknowledge-two-contradictory-certainties/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [With age, it really becomes thinking about how time has passed - that's sort of the root of age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/with-age-it-really-becomes-thinking-about-how-time-has-passed-that-s/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) ## More by Maria Konnikova > [The cognitive skills that underpin resilience, then, seem like they can indeed be learned over time, creating resilience where there was none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/the-cognitive-skills-that-underpin-resilience-then-seem-like-they-can/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [If you are lucky enough to never experience any sort of adversity, we won't know how resilient you are. It's only when you're faced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/if-you-are-lucky-enough-to-never-experience-any-sort-of-adversity-we/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [We don't appreciate luck in life when things are going well. No matter how smart I am and how I prepare, there are things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/we-don-t-appreciate-luck-in-life-when-things-are-going-well-no-matter/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [I'm capable of just putting my butt in a chair and spending nine hours a day studying poker. I took it as a full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/i-m-capable-of-just-putting-my-butt-in-a-chair-and-spending-nine/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [Creativity requires novelty. 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Why do we do it? While…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/it-s-strange-when-you-think-about-it-that-we-spend-close-to-a-third/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [Fraternities breed leaders. That, at least, is what most any chapter website will tell you, in not so many words - and the message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/fraternities-breed-leaders-that-at-least-is-what-most-any-chapter/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [Las vegas shouldn't exist. The incongruity hits you from the moment you first glimpse it from the airplane. First mountains, then desert, then neat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/las-vegas-shouldn-t-exist-the-incongruity-hits-you-from-the-moment/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [I hate casinos. I have zero interest in gambling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/i-hate-casinos-i-have-zero-interest-in-gambling/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [“a failure to use all senses equals a scene not seen to its full potential, attention that has not been allocated properly, and subconscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/a-failure-to-use-all-senses-equals-a-scene-not-seen-to-its-full/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [It's not at all a far jump to think that overall perceptions of gender - and what is and is not important in gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/it-s-not-at-all-a-far-jump-to-think-that-overall-perceptions-of/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [“We are terrible at seeking evidence that challenges our own beliefs, but other people do us this favor, just as we are good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/we-are-terrible-at-seeking-evidence-that-challenges-our-own-beliefs/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [All too often, when it comes to our own minds, we are surprisingly mindless. We sail on, blithely unaware of how much we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/all-too-often-when-it-comes-to-our-own-minds-we-are-surprisingly/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) [Explore all 124 Maria Konnikova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. 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