--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wondered whether mad people would be…" description: "\"“I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their memories could be neatened up, or taken off the shelves on which they were stored and repla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg" --- # I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their… ![“I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their memories could be neatened up, or taken off the shelves on which they were stored and replaced with nicer ones, and if they'd be the same person then, or completely different ones, and whether dreams were like a vandal rampaging through a…” quote by Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg) > ““I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their memories could be neatened up, or taken off the shelves on which they were stored and replaced with nicer ones, and if they'd be the same person then, or completely different ones, and whether dreams were like a vandal rampaging through a library of memories, tearing out random pages and turning them into paper boats...”” [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores altering memories and its impact on identity and dreams. **In simple terms:** Changing memories could change who we are. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of memory editing. Themes identity memory dreams ethics Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary speculative When to use this quote - therapy - AI memory editing - creative writing Key Concepts personal identity neuroscience psychology Questions to Reflect On - Would you erase painful memories? - How do dreams reflect our subconscious? A Different Perspective Memory alteration may cause loss of authentic self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [The Olympics: not one of my better memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debi-thomas/the-olympics-not-one-of-my-better-memories/) [Debi Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debi-thomas/) > [You can't bring back the past. It's gone. All you can do is let go, move on, and make better memories for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-bring-back-the-past-it-s-gone-all-you-can-do-is-let-go-move/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't bring back the past, it's gone. Keep moving forward and make better memories for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/you-can-t-bring-back-the-past-it-s-gone-keep-moving-forward-and-make/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I move forward and try hold on to the better memories, its the narrow road but chances are, bumping into new people will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-fouche/i-move-forward-and-try-hold-on-to-the-better-memories-its-the-narrow/) [Desmond Fouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-fouche/) > [“What best remind us of a person is precisely what we had forgotten (because it was of no importance, and we therefore left it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/what-best-remind-us-of-a-person-is-precisely-what-we-had-forgotten/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Creditors have better memories than debtors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/creditors-have-better-memories-than-debtors/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Michelle Cooper > [“When I was little, I longed and longed to be older, except now I can't recall what exactly it was that I most keenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/when-i-was-little-i-longed-and-longed-to-be-older-except-now-i-can-t/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“There’s a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/there-s-a-fine-line-between-gossip-and-history-when-one-is-talking/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/it-is-a-truth-universally-acknowledged-that-a-single-man-in-2/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“When I asked her what she'd thought of Pride and Prejudice, she only wondered aloud how anyone could have written a novel set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/when-i-asked-her-what-she-d-thought-of-pride-and-prejudice-she-only/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [ “Do you know what it is?' \[Toby\] said thoughtfully. 'It's that they haven't had anything really awful happen to them. No wonder they seem… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/do-you-know-what-it-is-toby-said-thoughtfully-it-s-that-they-haven-t/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“The way she told it, the English counties are littered with aging spinsters who accidentally displayed a spark of intelligence at a debutante dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/the-way-she-told-it-the-english-counties-are-littered-with-aging/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“Simon called you 'Machiavelli disguised as a debutante.'" "Gosh," I said, not sure whether to feel flattered or insulted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/simon-called-you-machiavelli-disguised-as-a-debutante-gosh-i-said-not/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“She seemed to think reading was some sort of hobby, as opposed to being as necessary as breathing, sleeping, and eating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/she-seemed-to-think-reading-was-some-sort-of-hobby-as-opposed-to/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) > [“And I’ll gaze across the chasm to the other side of the island, where I can still sometimes catch sight of a curly-haired urchin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/and-i-ll-gaze-across-the-chasm-to-the-other-side-of-the-island-where/) [Michelle Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) [Explore all 10 Michelle Cooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their memories could be neatened up, or taken off the shelves on which they were stored and replaced with nicer ones, and if they'd be the same person then, or completely different ones, and whether dreams were like a vandal rampaging through a library of memories, tearing out random pages and turning them into paper boats...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Cooper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-better-off-if-their-memories/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-better-off-if-their-memories/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/michelle-cooper-40904_dreams_i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-b_1440829.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their memories could be neatened up, or taken off the…” — Michelle Cooper", "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": "Michelle Cooper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cooper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I wondered whether mad people would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-better-off-if-their-memories/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cooper/i-wondered-whether-mad-people-would-be-better-off-if-their-memories/#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 } } ] } ```