--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Supposing that originally there was…" description: "\"Supposing that originally there was nothing but one creator, how could ordinary binary sexual relations come into being?\" — Neal Stephenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png" --- # Supposing that originally there was nothing but one… ![“Supposing that originally there was nothing but one creator, how could ordinary binary sexual relations come into being?” quote by Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png) > “Supposing that originally there was nothing but one creator, how could ordinary binary sexual relations come into being?” [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions how a single creator could give rise to complex binary sexual behavior, highlighting a paradox of emergence from simplicity. **In simple terms:** It asks why complex sexual behavior exists if there was only one creator. Key Takeaway Consider the origins of complexity from simple beginnings. Themes origin philosophy sexuality creation paradox Mood curious thoughtful speculative Type question philosophical inquisitive When to use this quote - Theological debate - sexual education - philosophical discussion - creative writing - science fiction worldbuilding Key Concepts Emergence dualism complexity origin myths Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms could explain the emergence of binary relations from a singular source? - How do different cultures address this paradox? A Different Perspective It assumes a single creator model, which may not reflect diverse cosmologies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Binary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) [Binary Sexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary-sexual-3937357/) [Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Creator Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator-ordinary-3937359/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Binary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-binary-3937358/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Sexual Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-relations-508042/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Supposing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposing/) ## Related quotes > [“When a man and woman have sexual relations, who gets the most out of the deal? The man, or the woman? Since we live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-nasheed/when-a-man-and-woman-have-sexual-relations-who-gets-the-most-out-of/) [Tariq Nasheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-nasheed/) > [ Jesus' teaching in general \[implies\] that happy and fulfilling sexual relations in marriage depend on each partner aiming to give satisfaction to the other.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/jesus-teaching-in-general-implies-that-happy-and-fulfilling-sexual/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [There's another piece of legislation in Russia that would make "allowing for nontraditional sexual relations" a cause for removing parental rights, and remove children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-another-piece-of-legislation-in-russia-that-would-make/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Morality in sexual relations, when it is free from superstition, consists essentially in respect for the other person, and unwillingness to use that person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/morality-in-sexual-relations-when-it-is-free-from-superstition/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I think the State shouldn't poke its nose into the sexual relations of consenting adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocco-buttiglione/i-think-the-state-shouldn-t-poke-its-nose-into-the-sexual-relations/) [Rocco Buttiglione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocco-buttiglione/) > [The male's difficulties in his sexual relations after marriage include a lack of facility, of ease, or of suavity in establishing rapport in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/the-male-s-difficulties-in-his-sexual-relations-after-marriage/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [I did not have sexual relations with that woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-did-not-have-sexual-relations-with-that-woman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When someone is HIV-positive and his partner says, I want to have sexual relations with you, he doesn't have to do that. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfried-danneels/when-someone-is-hiv-positive-and-his-partner-says-i-want-to-have/) [Godfried Danneels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfried-danneels/) > [“sexual relations are kept strictly separate from Mosuo family relations. At night, Mosuo men are expected to sleep with their lovers. If not, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/sexual-relations-are-kept-strictly-separate-from-mosuo-family/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [We often hear that having sexual relations before marriage is a way of getting to know each other better. This is a misconception! Very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/we-often-hear-that-having-sexual-relations-before-marriage-is-a-way/) [Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/) > [“Also the natural sexual functions of establishing an intimate human contact frequently assume greater proportions. This is a well known fact about detached people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/also-the-natural-sexual-functions-of-establishing-an-intimate-human/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [Sexual relations, of course, have existed, exist, and will exist. However, this is in no way connected with the indispensability of the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/sexual-relations-of-course-have-existed-exist-and-will-exist-however/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Regarding love what can you say? It's not the quantity of your sexual relations that counts. It's the quality. On the other hand if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/regarding-love-what-can-you-say-it-s-not-the-quantity-of-your-sexual/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The world today trivializes sexual relations as if they were merely a physical act. However, we need to understand that a sexual act involves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/the-world-today-trivializes-sexual-relations-as-if-they-were-merely-a/) [Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/) > [The only type of sexual relations possible are those with someone who is as advanced and capable as oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-type-of-sexual-relations-possible-are-those-with-someone-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Neal Stephenson > [“I study dead languages for a living,” I said. “That’s why you hired me. Why should I be up to speed on your line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/i-study-dead-languages-for-a-living-i-said-that-s-why-you-hired-me/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Other people - store clerks, burger flippers, software engineers, the whole vocabulary of meaningless jobs that make up Life in America - other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/other-people-store-clerks-burger-flippers-software-engineers-the/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“It is what you don’t expect,” he’d said, “that most needs looking for.” “Do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-what-you-don-t-expect-he-d-said-that-most-needs-looking-for-do/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“...the insects here see you as a big slab of animated but not very well defended food. The ability to move, far from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-insects-here-see-you-as-a-big-slab-of-animated-but-not-very-well/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“There was no way that these guys were going to let a bleeding, barefoot woman simply wander off alone into the streets. Two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/there-was-no-way-that-these-guys-were-going-to-let-a-bleeding/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Space and Time! Two minor omissions that no one is likely to notice," grumbled Newton.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/space-and-time-two-minor-omissions-that-no-one-is-likely-to-notice/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [See, the world is full of things more powerful than us. But if you know how to catch a ride, you can go places,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/see-the-world-is-full-of-things-more-powerful-than-us-but-if-you-know/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Hey,” Shaftoe says, “if we surrender to you, you’ll kill us. Right?” “Yes.” “If you guys surrender to us, we won’t kill you. Promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/hey-shaftoe-says-if-we-surrender-to-you-you-ll-kill-us-right-yes-if/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“My men think you are dead now, and won’t waste balls on you,” Jack said. “In fact I have let you live, but for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/my-men-think-you-are-dead-now-and-won-t-waste-balls-on-you-jack-said/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“You’ve probably heard the expression that the Industry feeds off of biomass, like a whale straining krill from the ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/you-ve-probably-heard-the-expression-that-the-industry-feeds-off-of/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Interesting things happen along borders - transitions - not in the middle where everything is the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/interesting-things-happen-along-borders-transitions-not-in-the-middle/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“and people could only make sense of complicated matters through stories. Likewise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/and-people-could-only-make-sense-of-complicated-matters-through/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Van Eck phreaking,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/van-eck-phreaking/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“When the Deliverator puts the hammer down, shit happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/when-the-deliverator-puts-the-hammer-down-shit-happens/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) [Explore all 633 Neal Stephenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## More Binary quotes > [I don't think there's anything unique about human intellience. All the nuerons in the brain that make up perceptions and emotions operate in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-unique-about-human-intellience-all-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I live in a binary star system, my two suns being my two sons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-ghinamo/i-live-in-a-binary-star-system-my-two-suns-being-my-two-sons/) [Corrado Ghinamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrado-ghinamo/) > [The simplest kind of decision is binary: that is, the question can be answered, in principle at least, by either yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-w-barber/the-simplest-kind-of-decision-is-binary-that-is-the-question-can-be/) [E. J. W. Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-w-barber/) > [Today, we've got what seems to me to be binary-choice politics: black and white, ones and zeros, either you are with me or against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-hoffman/today-we-ve-got-what-seems-to-me-to-be-binary-choice-politics-black/) [David E. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-hoffman/) > [ Object-oriented programming aficionados think that everything is an object… this \[isn't\] so. There are things that are objects. Things that have state and change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stepanov/object-oriented-programming-aficionados-think-that-everything-is-an/) [Alexander Stepanov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stepanov/) > [A lot of people still have the idea that drag goes from one end of the gender spectrum to the other end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/a-lot-of-people-still-have-the-idea-that-drag-goes-from-one-end-of/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [When I first started going out to lesbian clubs, I felt a very binary recreation of hetero culture. There are butches and femmes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/when-i-first-started-going-out-to-lesbian-clubs-i-felt-a-very-binary/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I'm someone that likes to not think too binary about human qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-thompson/i-m-someone-that-likes-to-not-think-too-binary-about-human-qualities/) [Tessa Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-thompson/) > [Coming out as non-binary has honestly been the best thing ever for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-flip/coming-out-as-non-binary-has-honestly-been-the-best-thing-ever-for-me/) [G Flip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-flip/) > [For too long, history has imposed a binary condition on its black citizens: either nameless or renowned, menial or exceptional, passive recipients of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/for-too-long-history-has-imposed-a-binary-condition-on-its-black/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) > [I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the pay for use binary shareware programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-ve-never-regretted-not-making-linux-shareware-i-really-don-t-like/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [“Belonging is one of the things that makes life bearable, and it can be tough to look at a binary world and choose against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/belonging-is-one-of-the-things-that-makes-life-bearable-and-it-can-be/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > ['Crazy Rich Asians' has been compared to 'Black Panther,' but I feel like that's a false equivalency. The idea that there's only this film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonoya-mizuno/crazy-rich-asians-has-been-compared-to-black-panther-but-i-feel-like/) [Sonoya Mizuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonoya-mizuno/) > [Not all bodies are born in male or female. There is a continuum of bodies and it seems to me that trying to persuade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/not-all-bodies-are-born-in-male-or-female-there-is-a-continuum-of/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) [Browse all 135 Binary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Supposing that originally there was nothing but one creator, how could ordinary binary sexual relations come into being?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neal Stephenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/supposing-that-originally-there-was-nothing-but-one-creator-how-could/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Binary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/supposing-that-originally-there-was-nothing-but-one-creator-how-could/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/neal-stephenson-362_binary_supposing-that-originally-there-was-noth_2061889.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Supposing that originally there was nothing but one creator, how could ordinary binary sexual relations come…” — Neal Stephenson", "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": "Neal Stephenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Supposing that originally there was nothing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/supposing-that-originally-there-was-nothing-but-one-creator-how-could/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/supposing-that-originally-there-was-nothing-but-one-creator-how-could/#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 } } ] } ```