--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And this means that time is a mystery…" description: "\"“And this means that time is a mystery, and not even a thing, and no one has ever solved the puzzle of what time is, exactly. and so, if you get lost i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/mark-haddon-1056_lost-time_and-this-means-that-time-is-a-mystery-an_3172931.jpg" --- # And this means that time is a mystery, and not even a… ![“And this means that time is a mystery, and not even a thing, and no one has ever solved the puzzle of what time is, exactly. and so, if you get lost in time it is like being lost in a desert, except that you can't see the desert because it is not a thing. And this is why I like timetables, because…” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/mark-haddon-1056_lost-time_and-this-means-that-time-is-a-mystery-an_3172931.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/mark-haddon-1056_lost-time_and-this-means-that-time-is-a-mystery-an_3172931.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/mark-haddon-1056_lost-time_and-this-means-that-time-is-a-mystery-an_3172931.jpg) > ““And this means that time is a mystery, and not even a thing, and no one has ever solved the puzzle of what time is, exactly. and so, if you get lost in time it is like being lost in a desert, except that you can't see the desert because it is not a thing. And this is why I like timetables, because they make sure you don't get lost in time”” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time is abstract and confusing; structured schedules help navigate its uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Time feels like a desert; timetables give direction. Key Takeaway Use schedules to manage uncertainty. Themes time perception structure orientation mental models Mood thoughtful practical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - daily planning - academic deadlines - travel itineraries Key Concepts philosophy of time cognitive coping routine Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance structure with freedom? - Can timetables become a source of anxiety? A Different Perspective Rigid schedules can limit flexibility and spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Like Timetables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-timetables-5114288/) [Lost time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-time/) [Mark-haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark-haddon-117923/) [Means Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-time-353123/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-mystery-623572/) [Timetables Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timetables-make-5114289/) ## Related quotes > [... why I like timetables, because they make sure I don't get lost in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/why-i-like-timetables-because-they-make-sure-i-don-t-get-lost-in-time/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Also people think they're not computers because they have feelings and computers don't have feelings. But feeling are just having a picture on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/also-people-think-they-re-not-computers-because-they-have-feelings/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [It's the centuries, Scarlett darling. All the life lived there, all the joy and all the sorrow, all the feasts and battles, they're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-ripley/it-s-the-centuries-scarlett-darling-all-the-life-lived-there-all-the/) [Alexandra Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-ripley/) > [The mystery lies in the here and now. The mystery is: What is one to do with oneself? As you get older you begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/the-mystery-lies-in-the-here-and-now-the-mystery-is-what-is-one-to-do/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“Time is a mystery that is experienced through the inevitability of change and not a mystery to be solved>”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-harper/time-is-a-mystery-that-is-experienced-through-the-inevitability-of/) [oliver harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-harper/) > [Cyberattacks have long been hard to stop because determining where they come from takes time - and sometimes the mystery is never solved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/cyberattacks-have-long-been-hard-to-stop-because-determining-where/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [We shall never meet, but there is something I want you to know. My time is not the same as your time. Our times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erlend-loe/we-shall-never-meet-but-there-is-something-i-want-you-to-know-my-time/) [Erlend Loe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erlend-loe/) > [What it means to be human is to bring up your children in safety, educate them, keep them healthy, teach them how to care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-it-means-to-be-human-is-to-bring-up-your-children-in-safety/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [When I was young I had no means or time, and now I have the means and time, I have no youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-streeter-aldrich/when-i-was-young-i-had-no-means-or-time-and-now-i-have-the-means-and/) [Bess Streeter Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-streeter-aldrich/) > [Success means that you get up one more time than you fall down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-means-that-you-get-up-one-more-time-than-you-fall-down/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The importance of time is not just about time itself, but rather about what it means to us. Time is essential for what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalpesh-radadiya/the-importance-of-time-is-not-just-about-time-itself-but-rather-about/) [Kalpesh Radadiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalpesh-radadiya/) > [The fact is that we like each other very much, and we of course see each other on stage all the time, but this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-irwin/the-fact-is-that-we-like-each-other-very-much-and-we-of-course-see/) [Bill Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-irwin/) > [“Time means nothing." ~The Time Traveller's Wife”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/time-means-nothing-the-time-traveller-s-wife/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Now these days relationshps means time pass starts with a kiss n ends with sorrows…true love are finished from teens…thats y peaples are single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mine/now-these-days-relationshps-means-time-pass-starts-with-a-kiss-n-ends/) [Mine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mine/) > [Being single doesn't mean your open to any dumb ass that comes your way. It means TIME TO PUT YOUR LIFE TOGETHER AND TRIUMPH…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osvaldo-m/being-single-doesn-t-mean-your-open-to-any-dumb-ass-that-comes-your/) [Osvaldo M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osvaldo-m/) ## More by Mark Haddon > [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Lost time quotes > [Lost is the time that you don't spend for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/lost-is-the-time-that-you-don-t-spend-for-love/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [You are such a cutie, I want to press your cheeks and hold you chin. I want to hold you tight and cuddle up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/you-are-such-a-cutie-i-want-to-press-your-cheeks-and-hold-you-chin-i/) [Superman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/superman/) > [For me, the present is a golden era. That's the greatest golden era. Right now. I just like pining for lost times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/for-me-the-present-is-a-golden-era-that-s-the-greatest-golden-era/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [When you play well, and you don't win, in the end, you get tired. You've lost something. You've lost time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miralem-pjanic/when-you-play-well-and-you-don-t-win-in-the-end-you-get-tired-you-ve/) [Miralem Pjanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miralem-pjanic/) > [“By some tear in the wish fabric, or the casting of a prayer, or the falling of some lonely star, the enchanted garden was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansul-noor/by-some-tear-in-the-wish-fabric-or-the-casting-of-a-prayer-or-the/) [Ansul Noor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansul-noor/) > [“In the critical arenas of life, you cannot make up for lost time. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/in-the-critical-arenas-of-life-you-cannot-make-up-for-lost-time-as/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [Time lost is time not filled, time left empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/time-lost-is-time-not-filled-time-left-empty/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“in the hospital, Jenny Fields felt she was making up for lost time; she was discovering that people weren't much more mysterious, or much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/in-the-hospital-jenny-fields-felt-she-was-making-up-for-lost-time-she/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“ Not a day has gone by , he said. Poor Jos. Days had gone by for me. It wasn't that I had forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-newell/not-a-day-has-gone-by-he-said-poor-jos-days-had-gone-by-for-me-it/) [Ashley Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-newell/) > [“Every night from six until twelve the street cars and buses of Magnitogorsk were crowded with adult students hurrying to and from schools with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-night-from-six-until-twelve-the-street-cars-and-buses-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I am abroad, I always make it a rule to never criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-i-am-abroad-i-always-make-it-a-rule-to-never-criticize-or-attack/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Where’s the bride-to-be?” Beckett held his arms open for Kyle and gave her a gentle hug. “Good on you, Fairy Princess, making an honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/where-s-the-bride-to-be-beckett-held-his-arms-open-for-kyle-and-gave/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [Let's leave all this and get away, get lost in time,where there's no reason left to hide, let's leave all this and get away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wright/let-s-leave-all-this-and-get-away-get-lost-in-time-where-there-s-no/) [Brian Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wright/) > [Let us make up for lost time. Let us give to God the time that remains to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/let-us-make-up-for-lost-time-let-us-give-to-god-the-time-that-remains/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [“When order is lost, time spits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-p-orridge/when-order-is-lost-time-spits/) [Genesis P-Orridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-p-orridge/) [Browse all 173 Lost time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And this means that time is a mystery, and not even a thing, and no one has ever solved the puzzle of what time is, exactly. and so, if you get lost in time it is like being lost in a desert, except that you can't see the desert because it is not a thing. 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