--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of collecting so much…" description: "\"“The purpose of collecting so much information can only be power.”\" — Nick Drake" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg" --- # The purpose of collecting so much information can only be… ![“The purpose of collecting so much information can only be power.” quote by Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg) > ““The purpose of collecting so much information can only be power.”” [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collecting data is ultimately a means to gain power. **In simple terms:** Data collection aims at power. Key Takeaway Recognize the power dynamics of information. Themes information power data collection control technology Mood critical reflective cautious Type song lyric philosophical When to use this quote - business intelligence - government policy - personal privacy - academic research Key Concepts surveillance knowledge economics Questions to Reflect On - Who controls the data you produce? - How can we ensure ethical data use? A Different Perspective Power can be abused or misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [The ultimate purpose of collecting the data is to provide a basis for action or a recommendation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/the-ultimate-purpose-of-collecting-the-data-is-to-provide-a-basis-for/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [Math is a language that you use to describe statistics, but really it's about collecting information and putting it in an order that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-stamile/math-is-a-language-that-you-use-to-describe-statistics-but-really-it/) Lauren Stamile > [We have our phones right by our beds, right next to us in our most exposed, vulnerable moments. And yet the government could have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-gyllenhaal/we-have-our-phones-right-by-our-beds-right-next-to-us-in-our-most/) [Maggie Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-gyllenhaal/) > [I'm concerned with our autonomy. I don't like the idea of people collecting information on me in general, but I particularly don't like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/i-m-concerned-with-our-autonomy-i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-people/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [If you have a weakness for furry slippers or something, you might end up with that kind of advertising. It's a very complicated algorithmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/if-you-have-a-weakness-for-furry-slippers-or-something-you-might-end/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [If you have 15 minutes per visit, and you spend the first 9 minutes just collecting information from them, before you do anything else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/if-you-have-15-minutes-per-visit-and-you-spend-the-first-9-minutes/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [There is nobody I know by name who is concerned with collecting information for the Russian authorities. There are people whom I know by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-fuchs/there-is-nobody-i-know-by-name-who-is-concerned-with-collecting/) [Klaus Fuchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-fuchs/) > [Information is not power. Power is power. But what turns information into power is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rinku-sen/information-is-not-power-power-is-power-but-what-turns-information/) [Rinku Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rinku-sen/) > [“When life is this dull, you have to invent purpose. Collecting torn-up newspaper gives you a hobby, provides an anchoring intimacy with your surroundings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-masters/when-life-is-this-dull-you-have-to-invent-purpose-collecting-torn-up/) [Alexander Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-masters/) > [“Am I, then, a beast, that I should risk my life merely for the sake of my body, and for the purpose of collecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/am-i-then-a-beast-that-i-should-risk-my-life-merely-for-the-sake-of/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“Information is power. Information empowers. Information is powerless if not applied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saji-ijiyemi/information-is-power-information-empowers-information-is-powerless-if/) [Saji Ijiyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saji-ijiyemi/) > [art is at least in part a way of collecting information about the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/art-is-at-least-in-part-a-way-of-collecting-information-about-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Information is Power. Think For Yourself. CAUTION: proper use of the brain is not endorsed by federal governments nor huge corporations involved in serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/information-is-power-think-for-yourself-caution-proper-use-of-the/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/knowledge-is-power-information-is-power-the-secreting-or-hoarding-of/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [“Information has always been power, now it is also wealth. Nonmaterial and, with the aid of modern technology, extremely mobile, information can escape government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-b-wriston/information-has-always-been-power-now-it-is-also-wealth-nonmaterial/) [Walter B. Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-b-wriston/) ## More by Nick Drake > [“So forget this cruel world Where I belong I'll just sit and wait And sing my song. And if one day you should see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/so-forget-this-cruel-world-where-i-belong-i-ll-just-sit-and-wait-and/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [“The future says: Dear mortals; I know you are busy with your colourful lives; I have no wish to waste the little time that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/the-future-says-dear-mortals-i-know-you-are-busy-with-your-colourful/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [ I think there's something extraordinarily nice about seeing the dawn up before one goes to bed, \[\] there's something uncanny about it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/i-think-there-s-something-extraordinarily-nice-about-seeing-the-dawn/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [Do you like what you're doing/would you do it some more/or will you stop once and wonder what you're doing it for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/do-you-like-what-you-re-doing-would-you-do-it-some-more-or-will-you/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [Life is but a memory Happened long ago. Theatre full of sadness For a long forgotten show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/life-is-but-a-memory-happened-long-ago-theatre-full-of-sadness-for-a/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [...you're a rare rare find A troubled cure For a troubled mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/you-re-a-rare-rare-find-a-troubled-cure-for-a-troubled-mind/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [“I just need your star for a day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/i-just-need-your-star-for-a-day/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [Fame is but a fruit tree- so very unsound. It can never flourish 'till its stock is in the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/fame-is-but-a-fruit-tree-so-very-unsound-it-can-never-flourish-till/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [I never felt magic crazy as this I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea I never held emotion in the palm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/i-never-felt-magic-crazy-as-this-i-never-saw-moons-knew-the-meaning/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [And see she flies, and she is everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/and-see-she-flies-and-she-is-everywhere/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [If songs were lines in a conversation, the situation would be fine . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/if-songs-were-lines-in-a-conversation-the-situation-would-be-fine/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [Time has told me not to ask for more, someday our ocean will find its shore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/time-has-told-me-not-to-ask-for-more-someday-our-ocean-will-find-its/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [ “It's too cowardly, and besides, I don't have the courage. \[on why he hadn't killed himself yet\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/it-s-too-cowardly-and-besides-i-don-t-have-the-courage-on-why-he-hadn/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [“And I am ashamed to write here that I felt more alive than ever, even though my heart was broken glass in my chest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/and-i-am-ashamed-to-write-here-that-i-felt-more-alive-than-ever-even/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) > [“I was born to sail away, into a land of forever, not to be tied to an old stone grave, in your land of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/i-was-born-to-sail-away-into-a-land-of-forever-not-to-be-tied-to-an/) [Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) [Explore all 21 Nick Drake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/) ## More Collecting quotes > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [Taking photos is a form of collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/taking-photos-is-a-form-of-collecting/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [If you're feeling fancy free, come wander through the world with me, and any place we chance to be, will be a rendezvous. Two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mancini/if-you-re-feeling-fancy-free-come-wander-through-the-world-with-me/) [Henry Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mancini/) > [I found so-called great art too pompous, too stiff. What at this time was called minor art was freer, more imaginative, more open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lipchitz/i-found-so-called-great-art-too-pompous-too-stiff-what-at-this-time/) [Jacques Lipchitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lipchitz/) > [My real first job was delivering newspapers with I was 15. I would ride my bike around and chuck papers at people's houses. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/my-real-first-job-was-delivering-newspapers-with-i-was-15-i-would/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [I didn't really grow up a comic book fanatic. I was a big baseball player, and my passion in life, in third grade, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ritchson/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-a-comic-book-fanatic-i-was-a-big-baseball/) [Alan Ritchson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ritchson/) > [I don't know who had the training of you," he continued doggedly, "but your morals are shocking. You spent a night in my bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/i-don-t-know-who-had-the-training-of-you-he-continued-doggedly-but/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [...You can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-can-go-your-whole-life-collecting-days-and-none-will-outweigh-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Instead of collecting things and staying in one space, I want to collect experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesh/instead-of-collecting-things-and-staying-in-one-space-i-want-to/) [Kesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesh/) > [I started collecting couture when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and the very first piece I bought was a Balenciaga suit from 1962.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/i-started-collecting-couture-when-i-was-about-10-or-11-years-old-and/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [I imagine the wave of water colliding with the rock and spilling over the tile floor, collecting around my shoes. Doing a little at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-imagine-the-wave-of-water-colliding-with-the-rock-and-spilling-over/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That's how it started.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-needed-more-knowledge-in-rigging-and-knotting-i-started-collecting/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [Physics is the only real science. The rest are just stamp collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/physics-is-the-only-real-science-the-rest-are-just-stamp-collecting/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [Some prescient American collectors, including Vicki and Kent Logan and Mera and Donald Rubell, began collecting Chinese art before 2000 with a genuine passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/some-prescient-american-collectors-including-vicki-and-kent-logan-and/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [If I collected all the diamonds in the world, I'd have no 'income' but I'd have a lot of 'assets'. Would my company be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/if-i-collected-all-the-diamonds-in-the-world-i-d-have-no-income-but-i/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) Browse all 493 Collecting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The purpose of collecting so much information can only be power.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Drake" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-information-can-only-be-power/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Collecting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-information-can-only-be-power/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/nick-drake-26894_data_the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-inform_1923765.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of collecting so much information can only be power.” — Nick Drake", "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": "Nick Drake", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-drake/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The purpose of collecting so much...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-information-can-only-be-power/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-drake/the-purpose-of-collecting-so-much-information-can-only-be-power/#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 } } ] } ```