--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we…" description: "\"It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.\" — Martha Gellhorn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/martha-gellhorn-8061_atrophy_it-would-be-a-bitter-cosmic-joke-if-we-d_1702632.jpg" --- # It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves… ![“It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.” quote by Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/martha-gellhorn-8061_atrophy_it-would-be-a-bitter-cosmic-joke-if-we-d_1702632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/martha-gellhorn-8061_atrophy_it-would-be-a-bitter-cosmic-joke-if-we-d_1702632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/martha-gellhorn-8061_atrophy_it-would-be-a-bitter-cosmic-joke-if-we-d_1702632.jpg) > “It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.” [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns that losing imagination leads to self‑destruction, urging preservation of creative thought. **In simple terms:** Imagination is essential for survival. Key Takeaway Cultivate and protect creative thinking. Themes creativity future danger imagination Mood thoughtful cautionary inspirational Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - education reform - artistic pursuits - policy making - personal development Key Concepts cultural decay existential risk innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can societies nurture imagination? - What risks arise when imagination wanes? A Different Perspective Imagination alone cannot solve all problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrophy/) [Atrophy Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrophy-imagination-1165607/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bitter Cosmic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-cosmic-1165609/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Cosmic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmic/) [Cosmic Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmic-joke-1017267/) [Destroy Atrophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroy-atrophy-1165608/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Joke Destroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke-destroy-1165610/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [I don't believe anything I write or say. I regard belief as a form of brain damage, the death of intelligence, the fracture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-don-t-believe-anything-i-write-or-say-i-regard-belief-as-a-form-of/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I consider myself a sit-down comedian really, as much as anything else. I love comedy. Life is a cosmic joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/i-consider-myself-a-sit-down-comedian-really-as-much-as-anything-else/) [Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/) > [At bottom, to be colored means that one has been caught in some utterly unbelievable cosmic joke, a joke so hideous and in such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/at-bottom-to-be-colored-means-that-one-has-been-caught-in-some/) [James A. 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Lists are everywhere – the five things you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-cohen/the-modern-world-s-tech-giddy-control-and-facilitation-makes-us/) [Roger Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-cohen/) > [Somewhere between the ages of eleven and fifteen, the average child begins to suffer from an atrophy, the paralysis of curiosity and the suspension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/somewhere-between-the-ages-of-eleven-and-fifteen-the-average-child/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I prefer atrophy over exercise any day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-duffy/i-prefer-atrophy-over-exercise-any-day/) [Karen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-duffy/) ## More by Martha Gellhorn > [Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/nothing-is-better-for-self-esteem-than-survival/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [All politicians are bores and liars and fakes. I talk to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/all-politicians-are-bores-and-liars-and-fakes-i-talk-to-people/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [“This was not the velvet embracing desert sky at El Geneina; this was infinite space. 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Now we are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/from-the-earliest-wars-of-men-to-our-last-heart-breaking-worldwide/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [Why do people talk of the horrors of old age? It's great. 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