--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I…" description: "\"“Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time) that American institutions would be infinitely more successful in facilitating the pursuit o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/marisha-pessl-1802_darkness_dad-once-noted-somewhat-morbidly-i-thoug_422012.jpg" --- # Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time)… ![“Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time) that American institutions would be infinitely more successful in facilitating the pursuit of knowledge if they held classes at night, rather than in the daytime, from 8:00 PM to 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. As I ran through the darkness, I…” quote by Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/marisha-pessl-1802_darkness_dad-once-noted-somewhat-morbidly-i-thoug_422012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/marisha-pessl-1802_darkness_dad-once-noted-somewhat-morbidly-i-thoug_422012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/marisha-pessl-1802_darkness_dad-once-noted-somewhat-morbidly-i-thoug_422012.jpg) > ““Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time) that American institutions would be infinitely more successful in facilitating the pursuit of knowledge if they held classes at night, rather than in the daytime, from 8:00 PM to 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. As I ran through the darkness, I understood what he meant. Frank red brick, sunny classrooms, symmetrical quads and courts--it was a setting that mislead kids to believe that Knowledge, that Life itself, was bright, clear, and freshly mowed. Dad said a student would be infinitely better off going out into the world if he/she studied the periodic table of elements, Madame Bovary (Flaubert, 1857), the sexual reproduction of a sunflower for example, with deformed shadows congregating on the classroom walls, the silhouettes of fingers and pencils leaking onto the floor, gastric howls from unseen radiators, and a teacher's face not flat and faded, not delicately pasteled by a golden late afternoon, but serpentine, gargoyled, Cyclopsed by the inky dark and feeble light from a candle. He/she would understand "everything and nothing," Dad said, if there was nothing discernible in the windows but a lamppost mobbed by blaze-crazy moths and darkness, reticent and nonchalant, as darkness always was.”” [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge thrives when studied under uncertainty, revealing hidden depths beyond bright, orderly settings. **In simple terms:** Learning in darkness uncovers hidden truths. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity to deepen understanding. Themes education perception truth uncertainty Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - night classes - creative research - artistic study - science exploration Key Concepts epistemology phenomenology cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How might darkness change your perception of knowledge? - What benefits arise from studying in unconventional settings? A Different Perspective Bright environments can mask complexity and limit critical thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Madame Bovary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madame-bovary/) [Periodic table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periodic-table/) [Pursuit of knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit-of-knowledge/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“John 1:5 "Light shines into the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/john-1-5-light-shines-into-the-darkness-but-the-darkness-has-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Their words faded into the darkness as if they were spoken and unspoken at the same time; as if they were important and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-callahan-henry/their-words-faded-into-the-darkness-as-if-they-were-spoken-and/) [Patti Callahan Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-callahan-henry/) > [I still have a vivid memory of my excitement when I first saw a chart of the periodic table of elements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-murray/i-still-have-a-vivid-memory-of-my-excitement-when-i-first-saw-a-chart-2/) [Joe Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-murray/) > [“I completely failed to see the value in memorizing the stupid periodic table of elements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inara-scott/i-completely-failed-to-see-the-value-in-memorizing-the-stupid/) [Inara Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inara-scott/) > [“Her muscles clearly were not just for show. She pulled him into an empty chemistry classroom and closed the door. There were workstations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/her-muscles-clearly-were-not-just-for-show-she-pulled-him-into-an/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I still have a vivid memory of my excitement when I first saw a chart of the periodic table of elements. The order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murray/i-still-have-a-vivid-memory-of-my-excitement-when-i-first-saw-a-chart/) [Joseph Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murray/) > [Everything we do understand about the universe - the periodic table of elements, Einstein's laws, Newton's laws, all of chemistry, all of biology -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/everything-we-do-understand-about-the-universe-the-periodic-table-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“The truth is that all humans are always seeing something, paying attention to something, learning something. 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It is nothing of the sort! Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/millions-of-people-who-falsely-believe-that-knowledge-is-power-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Marisha Pessl > [“America's greatest revelation was not the atom bomb, not Fundamentalism, not fat farms, not Elvis, not even the quite astute observation that gentlemen prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/america-s-greatest-revelation-was-not-the-atom-bomb-not/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“I remembered what Dad said once, that some people have all of life's answers worked out the day they're born and there's no use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-remembered-what-dad-said-once-that-some-people-have-all-of-life-s/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“But you go through with it, continue to fight, because you hope one day it won’t be like this. Life can be so cruel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/but-you-go-through-with-it-continue-to-fight-because-you-hope-one-day/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“The dark side of life has a way of finding us all anyway, so stop chasing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/the-dark-side-of-life-has-a-way-of-finding-us-all-anyway-so-stop/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“ Secrets —even in hardened criminals, they were just air pockets lodged under debris at the bottom of an ocean. It might take an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/secrets-even-in-hardened-criminals-they-were-just-air-pockets-lodged/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [It's kind of funny...the moments on which life hinges. I think growing up you always imagine your life--your success--depends on your family and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/it-s-kind-of-funny-the-moments-on-which-life-hinges-i-think-growing/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“It was the cause of many of Dad's outrages too, when people elected themselves his personal oracle of Delphi... They'd made the mistake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/it-was-the-cause-of-many-of-dad-s-outrages-too-when-people-elected/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“Today dies a crooked and gluttonus man' - it was true, at least literally; McCullough allegedly weighed three hundred pounds and suffered from scoliosis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/today-dies-a-crooked-and-gluttonus-man-it-was-true-at-least-literally/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Always live your life with your biography in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/always-live-your-life-with-your-biography-in-mind/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Life was a freight train barreling toward just one stop, our loved ones streaking past our windows in blurs of color and light. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/life-was-a-freight-train-barreling-toward-just-one-stop-our-loved/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“Whilst man is in one location, he thinks of another. Dancing with one woman, he can't help but long to see the quiet curve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/whilst-man-is-in-one-location-he-thinks-of-another-dancing-with-one/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [His characters are ravaged, beaten. They walk through infernos and emerged charred doves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/his-characters-are-ravaged-beaten-they-walk-through-infernos-and/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“A deus ex machina will never appear in real life so you best make other arrangements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/a-deus-ex-machina-will-never-appear-in-real-life-so-you-best-make/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“Well, everyone and their grandmother knows she's still banging Charles after all these years —" "Like a screen in a tornado. Sure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/well-everyone-and-their-grandmother-knows-she-s-still-banging-charles/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [I think every writer has a book that haunts them, and on some level, every book you write is a reaction to it. 'Lolita'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-think-every-writer-has-a-book-that-haunts-them-and-on-some-level/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) [Explore all 205 Marisha Pessl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time) that American institutions would be infinitely more successful in facilitating the pursuit of knowledge if they held classes at night, rather than in the daytime, from 8:00 PM to 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. As I ran through the darkness, I understood what he meant. Frank red brick, sunny classrooms, symmetrical quads and courts--it was a setting that mislead kids to believe that Knowledge, that Life itself, was bright, clear, and freshly mowed. 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