--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What was it Like?\" \"What was what like?\"…" description: "\"“What was it Like?\" \"What was what like?\" he said, although he knew. \"Quick, I imagine. But you must have perceived something. A split second of vanish..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg" --- # What was it Like?" "What was what like?" he said, although… ![“What was it Like?" "What was what like?" he said, although he knew. "Quick, I imagine. But you must have perceived something. A split second of vanishing awareness. A grasping at a shrinking light." "It was like being fucked in the brain.” quote by Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg) > ““What was it Like?" "What was what like?" he said, although he knew. "Quick, I imagine. But you must have perceived something. A split second of vanishing awareness. A grasping at a shrinking light." "It was like being fucked in the brain.”” [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fleeting, chaotic perception can feel disorienting, like a mental overload. **In simple terms:** Brief moments can feel overwhelming. Key Takeaway Recognize and ground yourself during mental spikes. Themes perception confusion mental overload Mood anxious curious Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - high stress work - creative brainstorming - rapid decision making Key Concepts psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your mind to feel scattered? - How do you regain clarity? A Different Perspective Such moments may be misinterpreted as pathology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dry-humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry-humor/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) ## Related quotes > [Of course he did, he raped your wife, he fucked up your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/memento/of-course-he-did-he-raped-your-wife-he-fucked-up-your-brain/) Memento > [“She didn't really enjoy reading but she liked how the books were clues. Each one a piece in a puzzle. Even when they didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/she-didn-t-really-enjoy-reading-but-she-liked-how-the-books-were/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Over time, there would be less and less of him and more of the tumor. His brain was being eaten by God. He left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/over-time-there-would-be-less-and-less-of-him-and-more-of-the-tumor/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“He shook his head to clear it, but the world grew dark and angry and would not stay upright. The world did not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/he-shook-his-head-to-clear-it-but-the-world-grew-dark-and-angry-and/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“What we're doing, or, I should say, what you're doing, since no one has taught me any good words, is dropping recipes into people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-we-re-doing-or-i-should-say-what-you-re-doing-since-no-one-has/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'You can't stop me. Your word voodoo, it doesn't work on me. Right? So how do you think you're going to-' Eliot produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/you-can-t-stop-me-your-word-voodoo-it-doesn-t-work-on-me-right-so-how/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“You went to school," Lee said. "I mean, at some point. And it didn't suit you very well. They wanted to teach you things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/you-went-to-school-lee-said-i-mean-at-some-point-and-it-didn-t-suit/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'Two things.' 'Name them. I am instructing you to name them.' 'I don't think you've been in love. Not recently, anyway. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/two-things-name-them-i-am-instructing-you-to-name-them-i-don-t-think/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“He'd basically fallen in love with her on the spot. Well, no, that wasn't accurate; that implied a binary state, a shifting from not-love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/he-d-basically-fallen-in-love-with-her-on-the-spot-well-no-that-wasn/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'Your brain doesn't process language quite like other people. Why that is, I have no idea.' 'I have a superior brain?' 'Uh,' Eliot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/your-brain-doesn-t-process-language-quite-like-other-people-why-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Wil ate without enthusiasm. His bacon tasted like nothing. Like a dead animal, fried. His eggs, aborted chickens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/wil-ate-without-enthusiasm-his-bacon-tasted-like-nothing-like-a-dead/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“ 'And so we exchange privacy for intimacy. We gamble with it, hoping that by exposing ourselves, someone will find a way in. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/and-so-we-exchange-privacy-for-intimacy-we-gamble-with-it-hoping-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Australians were very practical, Emily had found. They did things quickly and purposefully and to the absolute minimum standard required. It was refreshing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/australians-were-very-practical-emily-had-found-they-did-things/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“One marker, which I would read a bit later on, tells the familiar story of Narcissa Whitman, "trail-blazer and martyred missionary," who followed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/one-marker-which-i-would-read-a-bit-later-on-tells-the-familiar-story/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“His father was an ass and he is an ass. I imagine sooner than I should like I shall be playing uncle to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-miles/his-father-was-an-ass-and-he-is-an-ass-i-imagine-sooner-than-i-should/) [T. A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-miles/) ## More by Max Barry > [“Well, I like to know where I'm going before I try to get there. It's a mistake to try to execute a plan before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/well-i-like-to-know-where-i-m-going-before-i-try-to-get-there-it-s-a/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [Hey, I saw this old British movie, all the people spoke so different, you could hardly understand them. But everyone here speaks American as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/hey-i-saw-this-old-british-movie-all-the-people-spoke-so-different/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [By this action, the Government has proved that so long as it exists, none of us are truly free. Government and freedom are mutually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/by-this-action-the-government-has-proved-that-so-long-as-it-exists/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Thanks for being the kind of person who likes to pick up a book. That's a genuinely great thing. I met a librarian recently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/thanks-for-being-the-kind-of-person-who-likes-to-pick-up-a-book-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“I met a librian recently who said she doesn't read because books are her job and when she goes home, she wanats to switch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/i-met-a-librian-recently-who-said-she-doesn-t-read-because-books-are/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [I read once that you need two things to be happy: any two of health, money, and love. You can cover the absense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/i-read-once-that-you-need-two-things-to-be-happy-any-two-of-health/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [People resist a census, but give them a profile page and they'll spend all day telling you who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/people-resist-a-census-but-give-them-a-profile-page-and-they-ll-spend/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [every story written is marks upon a page The same marks, repeated, only differently arranged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/every-story-written-is-marks-upon-a-page-the-same-marks-repeated-only/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Fifteen years ago, this would have been insider trading, but that quaint concept had disappeared a decade or two ago when so many brokers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/fifteen-years-ago-this-would-have-been-insider-trading-but-that/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“With Lola, everything was solvable. She was my independent variable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/with-lola-everything-was-solvable-she-was-my-independent-variable/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“The newspapers said nobody made it out alive." "Surely you didn't trust them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/the-newspapers-said-nobody-made-it-out-alive-surely-you-didn-t-trust/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Attention words. A single word wasn't enough. Not even for a particular segment. The brain had defenses, filters evolved over millions of years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/attention-words-a-single-word-wasn-t-enough-not-even-for-a-particular/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [That's the thing you learn about values: they're what people make up to justify what they did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/that-s-the-thing-you-learn-about-values-they-re-what-people-make-up/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [When it's done with being graceful and poetic, language is meant to communicate, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/when-it-s-done-with-being-graceful-and-poetic-language-is-meant-to/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“Good words were the difference between Emily eating well and not. And what she had found worked best were not facts or arguments but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/good-words-were-the-difference-between-emily-eating-well-and-not-and/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) [Explore all 90 Max Barry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) ## More Dry-humor quotes > [“His father was an ass and he is an ass. I imagine sooner than I should like I shall be playing uncle to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-miles/his-father-was-an-ass-and-he-is-an-ass-i-imagine-sooner-than-i-should/) [T. A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-miles/) > [“One marker, which I would read a bit later on, tells the familiar story of Narcissa Whitman, "trail-blazer and martyred missionary," who followed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/one-marker-which-i-would-read-a-bit-later-on-tells-the-familiar-story/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Think of mental energy as broadcasting on a certain wavelength,” he tried to explain. “People with powers of the mind can tap into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-a-george/think-of-mental-energy-as-broadcasting-on-a-certain-wavelength-he/) [M.A. George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-a-george/) > [“The sun was about to set," he told us in a gravelly voice. He swept his hands in a downward motion, apparently to demonstrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/the-sun-was-about-to-set-he-told-us-in-a-gravelly-voice-he-swept-his/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“She ought to go down to the beach. It was Thursday, early closing, and it seemed ungrateful to live so close to the sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-fitzgerald/she-ought-to-go-down-to-the-beach-it-was-thursday-early-closing-and/) [Penelope Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-fitzgerald/) > [“The devolution of American culture takes another great step forward”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/the-devolution-of-american-culture-takes-another-great-step-forward/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“By now, I should have learned that luck, if she was a lady, was a mean-spirited bitch with a grudge against me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaye-wells/by-now-i-should-have-learned-that-luck-if-she-was-a-lady-was-a-mean/) [Jaye Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaye-wells/) > [“I'm prone to paper cuts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/i-m-prone-to-paper-cuts/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [“What New England is, is a state of mind, a place where dry humor and perpetual disappointment blend to produce an ironic pessimism that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-lange/what-new-england-is-is-a-state-of-mind-a-place-where-dry-humor-and/) Willem Lange > [“They(women) go shopping as bees go flower visiting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-women-go-shopping-as-bees-go-flower-visiting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You got me a birthday cake. It was pink. I smashed it into the ceiling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/you-got-me-a-birthday-cake-it-was-pink-i-smashed-it-into-the-ceiling/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Begone from this body!' bellowed Scharley. 'You catamite fucked in the arse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-sapkowski/begone-from-this-body-bellowed-scharley-you-catamite-fucked-in-the/) [Andrzej Sapkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-sapkowski/) > [“Wonderful. I'm stranded with the least creative Ramblers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-legette/wonderful-i-m-stranded-with-the-least-creative-ramblers/) [M.L. LeGette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-legette/) > [“I really don’t know what to think, Mr Holmes,’ Lestrade muttered. ‘Well, that’s nothing new.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-really-don-t-know-what-to-think-mr-holmes-lestrade-muttered-well/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“Dad lost his job. Then he got a new job. Then he got his old job back and went back to it. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/dad-lost-his-job-then-he-got-a-new-job-then-he-got-his-old-job-back/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) [Browse all 22 Dry-humor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry-humor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What was it Like?\" \"What was what like?\" he said, although he knew. \"Quick, I imagine. But you must have perceived something. A split second of vanishing awareness. A grasping at a shrinking light.\" \"It was like being fucked in the brain.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Barry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-said-although-he-knew-quick-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dry-humor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-said-although-he-knew-quick-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/max-barry-7380_dry-humor_what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-s_363124.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What was it Like?\" \"What was what like?\" he said, although he knew. \"Quick, I imagine. But you must have…” — Max Barry", "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": "Max Barry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What was it Like?\" \"What was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-said-although-he-knew-quick-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/what-was-it-like-what-was-what-like-he-said-although-he-knew-quick-i/#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 } } ] } ```