--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I think with the telephone that…" description: "\"Sometimes I think with the telephone that if I concentrate enough I could pour myself into it and I'd be turned into a mist and I would rematerialize i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b9/nicholson-baker-3405_enough_sometimes-i-think-with-the-telephone-tha_1816834.png" --- # Sometimes I think with the telephone that if I concentrate… ![“Sometimes I think with the telephone that if I concentrate enough I could pour myself into it and I'd be turned into a mist and I would rematerialize in the room of the person I'm talking to. Is that too odd for you?” quote by Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b9/nicholson-baker-3405_enough_sometimes-i-think-with-the-telephone-tha_1816834.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b9/nicholson-baker-3405_enough_sometimes-i-think-with-the-telephone-tha_1816834.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b9/nicholson-baker-3405_enough_sometimes-i-think-with-the-telephone-tha_1816834.png) > “Sometimes I think with the telephone that if I concentrate enough I could pour myself into it and I'd be turned into a mist and I would rematerialize in the room of the person I'm talking to. Is that too odd for you?” [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker imagines a fantastical teleportation via telephone, highlighting yearning for intimate connection beyond physical distance. **In simple terms:** Wishing to be physically present through a phone. Key Takeaway Consider the limits of virtual communication. Themes loneliness technology imagination Mood contemplative wistful Type literary speculative When to use this quote - long-distance relationships - virtual meetings - creative writing - science fiction scenarios Key Concepts teleportation presence desire for connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with distance in relationships? - Can technology ever fully emulate personal presence? A Different Perspective Physical presence cannot be truly replaced by digital means. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Walking and talking - that seemed a very odd way of spending an afternoon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/walking-and-talking-that-seemed-a-very-odd-way-of-spending-an/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Relax and be yourself, as if you'd ever just be standing in front of a camera not talking to anyone! It's very odd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-schwimmer/relax-and-be-yourself-as-if-you-d-ever-just-be-standing-in-front-of-a/) [David Schwimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-schwimmer/) > [What I like best about the telephone is that it keeps you in touch with people, particularly people who want to sell you magazine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/what-i-like-best-about-the-telephone-is-that-it-keeps-you-in-touch/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Similitude of the heart is like that of a telephone operator between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riaz-ahmed-gohar-shahi/similitude-of-the-heart-is-like-that-of-a-telephone-operator-between/) [Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riaz-ahmed-gohar-shahi/) > [You are not ashamed of our luuurve, are you, Jas?' 'Look, shut up, people might hear.' 'What do you mean, the people who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rennison/you-are-not-ashamed-of-our-luuurve-are-you-jas-look-shut-up-people/) [Louise Rennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rennison/) > [Ever hear of a telephone, asshole?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/ever-hear-of-a-telephone-asshole/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [One day every major city in America will have a telephone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/one-day-every-major-city-in-america-will-have-a-telephone/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [Dying's not so bad. At least I won't have to answer the telephone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/dying-s-not-so-bad-at-least-i-won-t-have-to-answer-the-telephone/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [No man who drank or smoked could ever come nearer to me than the telephone. I'd say, I won't let you - you nicotine-soaked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nation/no-man-who-drank-or-smoked-could-ever-come-nearer-to-me-than-the/) [Carrie Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nation/) > [Success is when your name is in everything but the telephone directory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/success-is-when-your-name-is-in-everything-but-the-telephone-directory/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [You can't pick up the telephone and say, 'Connect me with someone else who has a kid with leukemia.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/you-can-t-pick-up-the-telephone-and-say-connect-me-with-someone-else/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [The telephone is the most important single technological resource of later life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-comfort/the-telephone-is-the-most-important-single-technological-resource-of/) [Alex Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-comfort/) > [The telephone is virtual reality in that you can meet with someone as if you are together, at least for the auditory sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-telephone-is-virtual-reality-in-that-you-can-meet-with-someone-as/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I will take questions from the guys, but from the girls I want telephone numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-will-take-questions-from-the-guys-but-from-the-girls-i-want/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Nicholson Baker > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Just as the people who lived through the Second World War thought different things on different days, I think everybody who goes through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/just-as-the-people-who-lived-through-the-second-world-war-thought/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I’ve always thought of myself as shy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-shy/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [There's something paralyzing about being a writer that you have to escape. I don't want to think of myself as a guy who's written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/there-s-something-paralyzing-about-being-a-writer-that-you-have-to/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The great thing about novels is that you can be as unshy as you want to be. I'm very polite in person. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-great-thing-about-novels-is-that-you-can-be-as-unshy-as-you-want/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“Why are things beautiful? I don´t know. That´s a good question. Isn´t it pleasing when you ask a question of a person, a teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/why-are-things-beautiful-i-don-t-know-that-s-a-good-question-isn-t-it/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I'm suspicious of full-replacement programs - that is, pronouncements that one way of doing something will entirely supplant another, and that in fact we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-m-suspicious-of-full-replacement-programs-that-is-pronouncements/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Printed books usually outlive bookstores and the publishers who brought them out. They sit around, demanding nothing, for decades. That's one of their nicest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/printed-books-usually-outlive-bookstores-and-the-publishers-who/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The neurons that do expire are the ones that made imitation possible. When you are capable of skillful imitation, the sweep of choices before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-neurons-that-do-expire-are-the-ones-that-made-imitation-possible/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [What's somewhat puzzling is that Churchill himself knew what the reaction would be to any sort of aerial attack on cities, because in 1938…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/what-s-somewhat-puzzling-is-that-churchill-himself-knew-what-the/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Shoes are the first adult machines we are given to master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/shoes-are-the-first-adult-machines-we-are-given-to-master/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [As soon as you start doing that - changing things - it seems self-evident to me that you've entered the world of make-believe. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/as-soon-as-you-start-doing-that-changing-things-it-seems-self-evident/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I don't do all that well in the writerly world. I'm happier being outside the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-don-t-do-all-that-well-in-the-writerly-world-i-m-happier-being/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [E.B. White's essays are the best things I've read about Maine - especially the one in which he's not sure if he can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/e-b-white-s-essays-are-the-best-things-i-ve-read-about-maine/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The fact that we had independently decided to sweep our apartments on that Sunday afternoon after spending the weekend together, I took as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-fact-that-we-had-independently-decided-to-sweep-our-apartments-on/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Explore all 131 Nicholson Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## More Enough quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-for-the-most-part-surround-myself-with-a/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) Rena Kornreich Gelissen > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. 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