--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a physics to the world, which…" description: "\"There is a physics to the world, which non-fiction has a contract to stand in awe of, otherwise it becomes completely self-centered and ego-driven, whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a2/nick-flynn-8678_awe_there-is-a-physics-to-the-world-which-no_434460.png" --- # There is a physics to the world, which non-fiction has a… ![“There is a physics to the world, which non-fiction has a contract to stand in awe of, otherwise it becomes completely self-centered and ego-driven, which is the death of a memoir.” quote by Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a2/nick-flynn-8678_awe_there-is-a-physics-to-the-world-which-no_434460.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a2/nick-flynn-8678_awe_there-is-a-physics-to-the-world-which-no_434460.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a2/nick-flynn-8678_awe_there-is-a-physics-to-the-world-which-no_434460.png) > “There is a physics to the world, which non-fiction has a contract to stand in awe of, otherwise it becomes completely self-centered and ego-driven, which is the death of a memoir.” [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nonfiction must respect reality, avoiding ego and self‑absorption, lest it become a hollow memoir. **In simple terms:** Nonfiction should stay humble and factual. Key Takeaway Honor truth over ego. Themes humility truth memoir Mood reflective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing a memoir - academic research - personal essay Key Concepts ego self‑centered death of memoir Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal voice with factual integrity? - What practices keep your work grounded? 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Searching for inner strength and coming up empty. My eyes burned and my mouth was dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-daniels/i-lay-on-my-floor-crying-again-shaking-searching-for-inner-strength/) [Nathan Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-daniels/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) ## More by Nick Flynn > [There are many ways to drown, only the most obvious wave their arms as they're going under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/there-are-many-ways-to-drown-only-the-most-obvious-wave-their-arms-as/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [In life you get one take, and it's perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/in-life-you-get-one-take-and-it-s-perfect/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [We got him to talk to a psych doctor once, the doctor asked if he heard things other people don't. 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It's strange, afterwards you might think I shouldn't have reacted that way, but that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/in-life-you-get-one-take-and-it-s-perfect-it-s-strange-afterwards-you/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [For years before I became a father, I would try to spend as much time as I could with my friends who were parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/for-years-before-i-became-a-father-i-would-try-to-spend-as-much-time/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [“The boat has become supreme isolation, chosen isolation, holding myself apart from the world, which I only dimly understand anyway. I can sit on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/the-boat-has-become-supreme-isolation-chosen-isolation-holding-myself/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [Sometimes I'd see my father, walking past my building on his way to another nowhere. I could have given him a key, offered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/sometimes-i-d-see-my-father-walking-past-my-building-on-his-way-to/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [Everything we do, I'd imagine, influences everything we will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/everything-we-do-i-d-imagine-influences-everything-we-will-do/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [“You know the way Jesus rips open his shirt to show us his heart, all flaming and thorny, the way he points to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/you-know-the-way-jesus-rips-open-his-shirt-to-show-us-his-heart-all/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) [Explore all 79 Nick Flynn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) ## More Awe quotes > [Because I've never had any higher education of any sort, I've never held in awe those who have had it or have a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/because-i-ve-never-had-any-higher-education-of-any-sort-i-ve-never/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. 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