---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...An average of seventy-four species…"
description: "\"...An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only one to hold someone's hand...\" — Nicole Krauss"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png"
---

#  ...An average of seventy-four species become extinct every…

![“...An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only one to hold someone's hand...” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png)

> “...An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only one to hold someone's hand...”

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Daily extinction rates highlight humanity’s fragility, urging us to hold each other’s hands in shared vulnerability.

**In simple terms:** Extinction reminds us of shared fragility.

Key Takeaway

Support one another amid uncertainty.

Themes

mortality interconnectedness compassion

Mood

somber empathetic

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- community building
- environmental awareness
- personal coping

Key Concepts

extinction human vulnerability solidarity

Questions to Reflect On

- How does acknowledging fragility affect behavior?
- What small acts foster solidarity?

A Different Perspective

Numbers can desensitize; action may feel futile.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/)

## Related quotes

> [“An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only one to hold someone’s hand, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/an-average-of-seventy-four-species-become-extinct-every-day-which-was/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“By the time Lyall set foot on the shores of Stephens Island, almost a third of New Zealand’s unique species were already extinct due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-p-marra/by-the-time-lyall-set-foot-on-the-shores-of-stephens-island-almost-a/)

[Peter P. Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-p-marra/)

> [For millions of years, on average, one species became extinct every century… We are now heaving more than a thousand different species of animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/for-millions-of-years-on-average-one-species-became-extinct-every/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [If in your lifetime you watch a species go extinct, or plummet almost to the point of extinction, that is a sign that something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/if-in-your-lifetime-you-watch-a-species-go-extinct-or-plummet-almost/)

[Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/)

> [Species go extinct because there are historical contraints built into a given body or a given design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/species-go-extinct-because-there-are-historical-contraints-built-into/)

[Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/)

> [I think we must ask ourselves if this is really what we want to do to God's creation, to drive it to extinction? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-l-pimm/i-think-we-must-ask-ourselves-if-this-is-really-what-we-want-to-do-to/)

Stuart L. Pimm

> [In our lifetime, we're going to see fifty percent of the world's species go extinct. We're already seeing this radical rise in the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anohni/in-our-lifetime-we-re-going-to-see-fifty-percent-of-the-world-s/)

[Anohni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anohni/)

> [Every species becomes extinct; at some point, we will go extinct. The question is, as Homo sapiens, are we going to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-leakey/every-species-becomes-extinct-at-some-point-we-will-go-extinct-the/)

[Louise Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-leakey/)

> [A language, like a species, when extinct, never... reappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/a-language-like-a-species-when-extinct-never-reappears/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [There's money to be made by driving a species extinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/there-s-money-to-be-made-by-driving-a-species-extinct/)

[Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/)

> [I think when you work on fossils, and you realize that a species is there, and it's abundant for quite a long period of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-leakey/i-think-when-you-work-on-fossils-and-you-realize-that-a-species-is/)

[Louise Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-leakey/)

> [Maybe you are a poet and a dreamer, but don't you realize that those two species are extinct now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maybe-you-are-a-poet-and-a-dreamer-but-don-t-you-realize-that-those/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If you were to condense Earth’s history into a single year, land-dwelling animals come onstage around December 1, and the dinosaurs don’t go extinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joi-ito/if-you-were-to-condense-earth-s-history-into-a-single-year-land/)

[Joi Ito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joi-ito/)

> ['Extinction' issue. Save the species for whom??? Humans' convenience, of course! Individuals of the species are snatched from their homes/family/habitat/held in captivity/forced to mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adela-popescu/extinction-issue-save-the-species-for-whom-humans-convenience-of/)

[Adela Popescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adela-popescu/)

> [“It is possibly true that intelligent life with a sophisticated technology is needed for the eventual survival of life. Dinosaurs and many other species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-nazrul-islam/it-is-possibly-true-that-intelligent-life-with-a-sophisticated/)

[Jamal Nazrul Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-nazrul-islam/)

## More by Nicole Krauss

> [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-was-gone-and-all-that-was-left-was-the-space-where-you-d-grown/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting-to-overly-guide-the-reader/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-s-kept-her-love-for-him-as-alive-as-the-summer-they-first-met-in/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-no-length-of-string-is-long-enough-to-say-the-thing-that/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“I knew how to raise my own child, what did he think it was, a game of Scrabble or Monopoly, there are no rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-knew-how-to-raise-my-own-child-what-did-he-think-it-was-a-game-of/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

[Explore all 323 Nicole Krauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

## More Average quotes

> [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/)

Brian Reade

> [There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-martinez/there-were-times-last-year-when-people-looked-at-the-scoreboard-and/)

Buck Martinez

> [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [The average well-being of our societies is not dependent any longer on national income and economic growth. ... But the differences between us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-wilkinson/the-average-well-being-of-our-societies-is-not-dependent-any-longer/)

[Richard G. Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-wilkinson/)

> [I really focus more to hit for average, just try to put the ball in play as much as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-soto/i-really-focus-more-to-hit-for-average-just-try-to-put-the-ball-in/)

[Juan Soto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-soto/)

> [You give me enough shots, I'll average 20. You give me a particular system where I stick close to the basket, I'll average 10 rebounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bosh/you-give-me-enough-shots-i-ll-average-20-you-give-me-a-particular/)

[Chris Bosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bosh/)

> [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/)

[Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/)

> [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/)

[George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/)

> [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/)

[Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/)

> [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [I feel like what motivates me is what would motivate the regular average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-feel-like-what-motivates-me-is-what-would-motivate-the-regular/)

[Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/)

> [We're trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-silbermann/we-re-trying-to-do-something-so-that-when-the-average-person-uses/)

[Ben Silbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-silbermann/)

> [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

Browse all 2,816 Average quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "...An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only one to hold someone's hand...",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nicole Krauss"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/an-average-of-seventy-four-species-become-extinct-every-day-which-was-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Average"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/an-average-of-seventy-four-species-become-extinct-every-day-which-was-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/nicole-krauss-920_average_an-average-of-seventy-four-species-becom_1687382.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“...An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only…” — Nicole Krauss",
                "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": "Nicole Krauss",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "...An average of seventy-four species become...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/an-average-of-seventy-four-species-become-extinct-every-day-which-was-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/an-average-of-seventy-four-species-become-extinct-every-day-which-was-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
