--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We still refer to sunrise, sunset. That…" description: "\"We still refer to sunrise, sunset. That only has meaning if you think that Earth is in the center of things, and everything is moving around us. So eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_earth_we-still-refer-to-sunrise-sunset-that-on_249821.jpg" --- # We still refer to sunrise, sunset. That only has meaning… ![“We still refer to sunrise, sunset. That only has meaning if you think that Earth is in the center of things, and everything is moving around us. So even though we know intellectually Earth goes around the sun, the language is still pre-Copernican, as we would call it.” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_earth_we-still-refer-to-sunrise-sunset-that-on_249821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_earth_we-still-refer-to-sunrise-sunset-that-on_249821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_earth_we-still-refer-to-sunrise-sunset-that-on_249821.jpg) > “We still refer to sunrise, sunset. That only has meaning if you think that Earth is in the center of things, and everything is moving around us. So even though we know intellectually Earth goes around the sun, the language is still pre-Copernican, as we would call it.” [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. Language retains Earth‑centric terms despite scientific knowledge. **In simple terms:** We still use outdated metaphors. Key Takeaway Update language to reflect modern understanding. Themes science communication language cognition Mood curious analytical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - education - writing - public speaking Key Concepts metaphor cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of reality? - What steps can we take to modernize common expressions? A Different Perspective Changing language may be resisted due to tradition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Around The Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-sun/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Sunrise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunrise/) [Sunset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunset/) [Sunsets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunsets/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [She has to lose her pre-Copernican view of a universe revolving around herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/she-has-to-lose-her-pre-copernican-view-of-a-universe-revolving/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“As for astronomy, the Greeks did not accept their own or any of the original mythologies with which they came in contact. The refusal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bailey/as-for-astronomy-the-greeks-did-not-accept-their-own-or-any-of-the/) [George Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bailey/) > [“The one we call Earth formed in a kind of Goldilocks zone around the Sun, where oceans remain largely in liquid form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-one-we-call-earth-formed-in-a-kind-of-goldilocks-zone-around-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [During the 1970s and 1980s, the popular television soap opera As The World Turns portrayed sunrise during the opening credits and sunset during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/during-the-1970s-and-1980s-the-popular-television-soap-opera-as-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“In Anton Chekhov’s play the Three Sisters, sister Masha refuses ‘to live and not know why the cranes fly, why children are born, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-raymo/in-anton-chekhov-s-play-the-three-sisters-sister-masha-refuses-to/) [Chet Raymo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-raymo/) > [“FORBIDDEN TO BE CURIOUS Knowledge is sin. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of that tree and look what happened to them. Some time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/forbidden-to-be-curious-knowledge-is-sin-adam-and-eve-ate-the-fruit/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“It was like looking in a mirror. The same flickering hope in Loo, the same desperate need to be loved, was right here in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-tinti/it-was-like-looking-in-a-mirror-the-same-flickering-hope-in-loo-the/) [Hannah Tinti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-tinti/) > [“Medieval Persia also produced a long and beautiful poem satirizing the claims and practices of religion. 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The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/living-on-earth-is-expensive-but-it-does-include-a-free-trip-around/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## More by Neil deGrasse Tyson > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. 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