--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: no one has ever built them before in…" description: "\"“no one has ever built them before in written history. (But much of history is unwritten. Remember this.)”\" — N.K. Jemisin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/n-k-jemisin-1466_history_no-one-has-ever-built-them-before-in-wri_1746167.png" --- # no one has ever built them before in written history. (But… ![“no one has ever built them before in written history. (But much of history is unwritten. Remember this.)” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/n-k-jemisin-1466_history_no-one-has-ever-built-them-before-in-wri_1746167.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/n-k-jemisin-1466_history_no-one-has-ever-built-them-before-in-wri_1746167.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/n-k-jemisin-1466_history_no-one-has-ever-built-them-before-in-wri_1746167.png) > ““no one has ever built them before in written history. (But much of history is unwritten. Remember this.)”” [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is often unwritten; innovation precedes documentation, urging recognition of unseen precedents. **In simple terms:** Innovation exists before it’s recorded. Key Takeaway Acknowledge unseen influences. Themes innovation history recognition Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - creative projects - academic discourse Key Concepts unwritten narratives precedent creativity Questions to Reflect On - What unwritten histories shape your field? - How do you honor unseen innovators? A Different Perspective May overlook existing hidden knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Written history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-history/) ## Related quotes > [It seems to me, that this, too, is how memory works. 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I mean, I can't even believe my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/my-whole-written-history-is-one-big-lie-i-mean-i-can-t-even-believe/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [Although it is tempting to imagine an ancient era innocent of biochemical weaponry, in fact this Pandora's box of horrors was opened thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-mayor/although-it-is-tempting-to-imagine-an-ancient-era-innocent-of/) Adrienne Mayor > [We did it. Make no mistake: We have written history. Today there's a change of guards in Denmark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helle-thorning-schmidt/we-did-it-make-no-mistake-we-have-written-history-today-there-s-a/) [Helle Thorning-Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helle-thorning-schmidt/) > [“She has to be written out of history and written into myth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/she-has-to-be-written-out-of-history-and-written-into-myth/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) ## More by N.K. Jemisin > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“She feels closer than ever to her father in this moment of utter broken rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-feels-closer-than-ever-to-her-father-in-this-moment-of-utter/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When a comm builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/when-a-comm-builds-atop-a-fault-line-do-you-blame-its-walls-when-they/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/so-here-is-why-i-write-what-i-do-we-all-have-futures-we-all-have/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/) [N.K. 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Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/we-can-never-be-gods-after-all-but-we-can-become-something-less-than/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“(This is not a digression.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/this-is-not-a-digression/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. 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The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“no one has ever built them before in written history. 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