--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I've learnt that there is no…" description: "\"I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange that you haven't shared their experience in some small way.\" — Mark Haddon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png" --- # I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange… ![“I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange that you haven't shared their experience in some small way.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png) > “I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange that you haven't shared their experience in some small way.” [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. People from diverse backgrounds share common human experiences, making even the most unusual individuals relatable. **In simple terms:** Unusual people share familiar experiences. Key Takeaway Seek common ground with those who seem different. Themes empathy diversity humanity Mood reflective compassionate Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading literature - traveling - community building - cross‑cultural work Key Concepts psychology social connection Questions to Reflect On - How can you recognize shared experiences with someone different? - What barriers prevent you from seeing commonality? A Different Perspective Assuming similarity can overlook unique challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-strange-1544244/) [Experience Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-small-3018437/) [Learnt Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learnt-character-5388926/) [Shared Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shared-experience-247013/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want a perfect character, I want a character who has, as strange as it sounds, some humanity, some flaws, some needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/i-don-t-want-a-perfect-character-i-want-a-character-who-has-as/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Character is a strange blending of flinty strength and pliable warmth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-shaffer/character-is-a-strange-blending-of-flinty-strength-and-pliable-warmth/) [Robert H. Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-shaffer/) > [“..and you will have many opportunities to take in human civilization at its highest levels of achievement. ..approach this experience as a small child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/and-you-will-have-many-opportunities-to-take-in-human-civilization-at/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > ['GLOW' is the first time I feel like I've been able to have a theatrical experience on the small screen: to really be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/glow-is-the-first-time-i-feel-like-i-ve-been-able-to-have-a/) [Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/) > [To help people believe they can achieve victory, put them in a position to experience small successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/to-help-people-believe-they-can-achieve-victory-put-them-in-a/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“Without shared experiences, a heterogeneous society will have a much more difficult time addressing social problems. People may even find it hard to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-r-sunstein/without-shared-experiences-a-heterogeneous-society-will-have-a-much/) [Cass R. Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-r-sunstein/) > [There is a difference, of course, between real sentiment and the trash of shared experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/there-is-a-difference-of-course-between-real-sentiment-and-the-trash/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [A shared experience can energize a team toward its common goal more quickly than a direct order ever will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-yaeger/a-shared-experience-can-energize-a-team-toward-its-common-goal-more/) [Don Yaeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-yaeger/) > [“was a shared experience—a singular thing that had unfolded in a golden sliver of time long gone, when nine good-hearted young men strove together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-james-brown/was-a-shared-experience-a-singular-thing-that-had-unfolded-in-a/) [Daniel James Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-james-brown/) > [Though 'Fire and Rain' is very personal, for other people it resonates as a sort of commonly held experience... And that's what happens with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/though-fire-and-rain-is-very-personal-for-other-people-it-resonates/) [James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/) > [“This notion of shared experience is important. A hiker, for example, has much more in common with other hikers who have walked paths foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gudjon-bergmann/this-notion-of-shared-experience-is-important-a-hiker-for-example-has/) [Gudjon Bergmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gudjon-bergmann/) > [The magic of film isn't just because of the big screen, or the acoustics, but the ineffable shared experience of going to the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-perez/the-magic-of-film-isn-t-just-because-of-the-big-screen-or-the/) [Fernando Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-perez/) > [Comedy is a shared experience, and I think it's great to open that to a wide demographic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-coulier/comedy-is-a-shared-experience-and-i-think-it-s-great-to-open-that-to/) [Dave Coulier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-coulier/) > [To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/to-read-is-to-fly-it-is-to-soar-to-a-point-of-vantage-which-gives-a/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [You will see a 3-D movie in a movie theater for the shared experience of it - or for a date, and so on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-stringer/you-will-see-a-3-d-movie-in-a-movie-theater-for-the-shared-experience/) [Howard Stringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-stringer/) ## 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 Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange that you haven't shared their experience in some small way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Haddon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-character-so-strange-that-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-character-so-strange-that-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/mark-haddon-1056_character_i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-cha_2291917.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange that you haven't shared their experience in some…” — Mark Haddon", "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": "Mark Haddon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think I've learnt that there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-character-so-strange-that-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-think-i-ve-learnt-that-there-is-no-character-so-strange-that-you/#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 } } ] } ```