--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It could be that these other…" description: "\"It could be that these other civilizations, if they are far more advanced intellectually than we are, would not even measure our existence as a blip on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_civilization_it-could-be-that-these-other-civilizatio_1394670.png" --- # It could be that these other civilizations, if they are… ![“It could be that these other civilizations, if they are far more advanced intellectually than we are, would not even measure our existence as a blip on the intelligence radar. They could be so advanced that we are to them what worms are to us.” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_civilization_it-could-be-that-these-other-civilizatio_1394670.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_civilization_it-could-be-that-these-other-civilizatio_1394670.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_civilization_it-could-be-that-these-other-civilizatio_1394670.png) > “It could be that these other civilizations, if they are far more advanced intellectually than we are, would not even measure our existence as a blip on the intelligence radar. They could be so advanced that we are to them what worms are to us.” [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advanced civilizations may view humanity as insignificant, like tiny organisms, emphasizing humility about our place in the universe. **In simple terms:** We might be insignificant to far more advanced beings. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility about humanity’s cosmic role. Themes humility cosmic perspective civilizations scale Mood wonder humble Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - space exploration - education - philosophical contemplation Key Concepts anthropic principle astrobiology technological disparity Questions to Reflect On - How would you respond to a vastly superior intelligence? - What responsibilities arise from recognizing our smallness? A Different Perspective Assuming insignificance may undervalue human potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advanced Intellectually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advanced-intellectually-4870246/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/) [Civilizations Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations-far-2426605/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Far Advanced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-advanced-935230/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Radar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radar/) [Worms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worms/) ## Related quotes > [In the vastness of the Cosmos there must be other civilizations far older and more advanced than ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-vastness-of-the-cosmos-there-must-be-other-civilizations-far/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [the position of women, that sad and well-nigh universal blot on civilizations, was never far from her mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/the-position-of-women-that-sad-and-well-nigh-universal-blot-on/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/dna-is-like-a-computer-program-but-far-far-more-advanced-than-any/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The U.S. is just in a class by itself in military expenses. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All the civilizations we know have been created and directed by small intellectual aristocracies, never by people in the mass. The power of crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/all-the-civilizations-we-know-have-been-created-and-directed-by-small/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More by Neil deGrasse Tyson > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. 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In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Science surrounds you. 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Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. 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