--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a small world. You do not have to…" description: "\"“It is a small world. You do not have to live in it particularly long to learn that for yourself. There is a theory that, in the whole world, there are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/neil-gaiman-29_life_it-is-a-small-world-you-do-not-have-to-l_2440303.jpg" --- # It is a small world. You do not have to live in it… ![“It is a small world. You do not have to live in it particularly long to learn that for yourself. There is a theory that, in the whole world, there are only five hundred real people (the cast, as it were; all the rest of the people in the world, the theory suggests, are extras) and what is more…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/neil-gaiman-29_life_it-is-a-small-world-you-do-not-have-to-l_2440303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/neil-gaiman-29_life_it-is-a-small-world-you-do-not-have-to-l_2440303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/neil-gaiman-29_life_it-is-a-small-world-you-do-not-have-to-l_2440303.jpg) > ““It is a small world. You do not have to live in it particularly long to learn that for yourself. There is a theory that, in the whole world, there are only five hundred real people (the cast, as it were; all the rest of the people in the world, the theory suggests, are extras) and what is more, they all know each other. And it's true, or true as far as it goes. In reality the world is made of thousands upon thousands of groups of about five hundred people, all of whom will spend their lives bumping into each other, trying to avoid each other, and discovering each other in the same unlikely teashop in Vancouver. There is an unavoidability to this process. It's not even coincidence. It's just the way the world works, with no regard for individuals or for propriety.”” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human connections are inevitable; despite vast populations, small groups repeatedly intersect, shaping our lives. **In simple terms:** People constantly cross paths, forming unexpected bonds. Key Takeaway Embrace chance encounters. Themes relationships serendipity social networks Mood reflective curious Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - travel - urban life - social events - career networking Key Concepts small world theory network effects Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize meaningful connections? - What patterns emerge in your social circles? A Different Perspective Not everyone will meet; many interactions remain superficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) [Reality World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-world-349879/) [Small world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-world/) [Theory World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-world-482879/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-real/) ## Related quotes > [“The theory of metamorphosis goes beyond theory of world risk society: it is not about the negative side effects of goods but about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-beck/the-theory-of-metamorphosis-goes-beyond-theory-of-world-risk-society/) [Ulrich Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-beck/) > [Here is the world, sound as a nut, perfect, not the smallest piece of chaos left, never a stitch nor an end, not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/here-is-the-world-sound-as-a-nut-perfect-not-the-smallest-piece-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [But how can you walk away from something and still come back to it?" 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On the other side of physical reality, there is another world, and in that world, everything is something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everything-has-a-nothingness-on-the-other-side-of-physical-reality/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Anything can happen, and you have to be able to understand the reality of the world that we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-spoelstra/anything-can-happen-and-you-have-to-be-able-to-understand-the-reality/) [Erik Spoelstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-spoelstra/) > [We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-accept-the-reality-of-the-world-with-which-we-are-presented/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we face the fact, for it is a fact, that there is no arm to cling to, but that we go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-face-the-fact-for-it-is-a-fact-that-there-is-no-arm-to-cling-to/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The reality of our world today is not every species can be left in the wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-goode/the-reality-of-our-world-today-is-not-every-species-can-be-left-in/) [Eric Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-goode/) > [The only reality in this world is that despite all the people around us, we are truly all alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash/the-only-reality-in-this-world-is-that-despite-all-the-people-around/) [Anurag Prakash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash/) > [Interfere with the reality of my world, and you therefore take the very life and heart out of my will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-royce/interfere-with-the-reality-of-my-world-and-you-therefore-take-the/) [Josiah Royce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-royce/) > [For a sorcerer, reality, or the world as we all know it, is only a description.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/for-a-sorcerer-reality-or-the-world-as-we-all-know-it-is-only-a/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. 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Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is a small world. 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