--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always been careful never to predict…" description: "\"I've always been careful never to predict anything that had not already happened.\" — Marshall McLuhan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png" --- # I've always been careful never to predict anything that… ![“I've always been careful never to predict anything that had not already happened.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png) > “I've always been careful never to predict anything that had not already happened.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Predicting future events is futile; only what has already occurred can be accurately foreseen. **In simple terms:** Future predictions are unreliable; only past events are certain. Key Takeaway Focus on learning from history. Themes prediction uncertainty history media theory Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - business planning - technology forecasting - personal goal setting Key Concepts determinism information flow Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance caution with innovation? - What past patterns inform your future decisions? A Different Perspective Overlooks the value of informed speculation and scenario planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I've been very careful. I've gone through pretty much everything. I'm very careful not to let go of the prized possessions, or too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-anderson/i-ve-been-very-careful-i-ve-gone-through-pretty-much-everything-i-m/) [Gillian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-anderson/) > [I don't seem to have any real strategy or pattern when it comes to love... At times I've been really guarded and careful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-don-t-seem-to-have-any-real-strategy-or-pattern-when-it-comes-to/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I've been very, very careful to tell people what I am qualified to talk about and what I'm not qualified to talk about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-ve-been-very-very-careful-to-tell-people-what-i-am-qualified-to/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Ever since my husband expired, I've been even more careful in bringing up my kids, and stayed away from work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/ever-since-my-husband-expired-i-ve-been-even-more-careful-in-bringing/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [I've been careful what I've put my name to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/i-ve-been-careful-what-i-ve-put-my-name-to/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [I've always been very careful to talk about communists and this sort of thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-woolery/i-ve-always-been-very-careful-to-talk-about-communists-and-this-sort/) [Chuck Woolery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-woolery/) > [After the cheating u've done..Be careful on what you choose to be with because you don't know you're now the ones been cheating on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah/after-the-cheating-u-ve-done-be-careful-on-what-you-choose-to-be-with/) [Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah/) > [I've always been careful to make it clear that my endorsement of Trump is mine only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/i-ve-always-been-careful-to-make-it-clear-that-my-endorsement-of/) [Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/) > [I've been careful, too careful maybe, about trying to not keep the spotlight on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinkie/i-ve-been-careful-too-careful-maybe-about-trying-to-not-keep-the/) [Sam Hinkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hinkie/) > [For dramas, I've become more careful because now there are specific works that you think of when you hear the name Song Hye-kyo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/song-hye-kyo/for-dramas-i-ve-become-more-careful-because-now-there-are-specific/) [Song Hye-kyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/song-hye-kyo/) > [I've been careful in love. I've been careless in love. And I've had adventures I wouldn't trade for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-ve-been-careful-in-love-i-ve-been-careless-in-love-and-i-ve-had/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [“If you want to predict how a politician will act after winning an election, look at how he currently lives and how he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haemin-sunim/if-you-want-to-predict-how-a-politician-will-act-after-winning-an/) [Haemin Sunim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haemin-sunim/) > [The key for scouting is trying to predict when the player is peaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-rodgers/the-key-for-scouting-is-trying-to-predict-when-the-player-is-peaking/) [Brendan Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-rodgers/) > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [People who try to predict the future by extrapolating in a line of more of what exists - they are always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-who-try-to-predict-the-future-by-extrapolating-in-a-line-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Careful quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) Davan Yahya Khalil > [Be careful. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the worst Spanish student in the history of the language.” I laughed. “No problemo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/be-careful-i-wouldn-t-want-anything-to-happen-to-the-worst-spanish/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [If I held all the thoughts of the world in my hand, I would be careful not to open it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/if-i-held-all-the-thoughts-of-the-world-in-my-hand-i-would-be-careful/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [Physical beauty is not everything, but the beauty is more careful than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/physical-beauty-is-not-everything-but-the-beauty-is-more-careful-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think about what you do, if you become self-conscious about it, you've got to be very careful. Because I really like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/if-you-think-about-what-you-do-if-you-become-self-conscious-about-it/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [You've got to be careful against classy fighters, especially counter-punchers because if you go for the finish too early, you can end up getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/you-ve-got-to-be-careful-against-classy-fighters-especially-counter/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-clement-stone-2/be-careful-the-friends-you-choose-for-you-will-become-like-them/) W Clement Stone > [A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-is-careful-with-her-words-is-a-gift-to-all-who-know-her/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have to be careful to get out before I become the grotesque caricature of a hatchet-faced woman with big knockers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-have-to-be-careful-to-get-out-before-i-become-the-grotesque/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. It's obviously a concern and I've been very careful with my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-james/i-just-have-to-deal-with-it-injuries-if-and-when-problems-happen-it-s/) [Greg James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-james/) > [Our communications reflect in our countenance. Therefore, we must be careful not only what we communicate, but also how we do so. Souls can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-lionel-kendrick/our-communications-reflect-in-our-countenance-therefore-we-must-be/) [L. Lionel Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-lionel-kendrick/) Browse all 2,861 Careful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've always been careful never to predict anything that had not already happened.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predict-anything-that-had-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Careful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predict-anything-that-had-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/marshall-mcluhan-641_careful_i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predic_1681169.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've always been careful never to predict anything that had not already happened.” — Marshall McLuhan", "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": "Marshall McLuhan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've always been careful never to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predict-anything-that-had-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-ve-always-been-careful-never-to-predict-anything-that-had-not/#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 } } ] } ```