--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After a few years of watching the human…" description: "\"“After a few years of watching the human species make things unnecessarily difficult for itself I have little hope that it will do anything more than s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/octavia-e-butler-2861_difficult_after-a-few-years-of-watching-the-human_360962.jpg" --- # After a few years of watching the human species make… ![“After a few years of watching the human species make things unnecessarily difficult for itself I have little hope that it will do anything more than survive and continue its cycle of errors.” quote by Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/octavia-e-butler-2861_difficult_after-a-few-years-of-watching-the-human_360962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/octavia-e-butler-2861_difficult_after-a-few-years-of-watching-the-human_360962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/octavia-e-butler-2861_difficult_after-a-few-years-of-watching-the-human_360962.jpg) > ““After a few years of watching the human species make things unnecessarily difficult for itself I have little hope that it will do anything more than survive and continue its cycle of errors.”” [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity’s self‑inflicted complexities erode hope, suggesting we may only survive by repeating past errors. **In simple terms:** Human mistakes hinder progress and hope. Key Takeaway Break cycles of self‑destruction. Themes future human nature error Mood cautious somber Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - policy making - education - community building - personal growth Key Concepts systems theory existential risk optimism Questions to Reflect On - What patterns repeat in history? - How can we foster resilient optimism? A Different Perspective Hope may be overly pessimistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Unnecessarily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnecessarily/) ## Related quotes > [I probably complicate things unnecessarily now just to give the illusion of professionalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-thomas/i-probably-complicate-things-unnecessarily-now-just-to-give-the/) [Henry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-thomas/) > [“I tend not to share things unnecessarily with those I despise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esm-raji-codell/i-tend-not-to-share-things-unnecessarily-with-those-i-despise/) [Esme Raji Codell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esm-raji-codell/) > [Architecture is unnecessarily difficult. It's very tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaha-hadid/architecture-is-unnecessarily-difficult-it-s-very-tough/) [Zaha Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaha-hadid/) > [Now the Thanksgiving meal is just so unnecessarily difficult. I mean even mashed potatoes - it's like the most difficult kind of, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/now-the-thanksgiving-meal-is-just-so-unnecessarily-difficult-i-mean/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [Ultimately, I do my best to not subscribe to things that are unnecessarily negative, harmful, or hurtful to somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-martinez/ultimately-i-do-my-best-to-not-subscribe-to-things-that-are/) [Angie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-martinez/) > [We should try to eliminate things that unnecessarily piss people off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-o-leary/we-should-try-to-eliminate-things-that-unnecessarily-piss-people-off/) [Michael O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-o-leary/) > [A million million spermatozoa, All of them alive: Out of their cataclysm but one poor Noah Dare hope to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-million-million-spermatozoa-all-of-them-alive-out-of-their/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Facing future I see hope, hope that we will survive, hope that we will prosper, hope that once again we will reap the blessings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-kamakawiwo-ole/facing-future-i-see-hope-hope-that-we-will-survive-hope-that-we-will/) [Israel Kamakawiwo'ole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-kamakawiwo-ole/) > [“We see the potential for good in others and gain hope that we can survive and rebuild.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/we-see-the-potential-for-good-in-others-and-gain-hope-that-we-can/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Losing the possibility of something is the exact same thing as losing hope and without hope nothing can survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/losing-the-possibility-of-something-is-the-exact-same-thing-as-losing/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“This is the only way that you can hope to survive. Because life... is not a movie. Everyone lies. Good guys lose. And love...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-huang/this-is-the-only-way-that-you-can-hope-to-survive-because-life-is-not/) [George Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-huang/) > [“As long as you have hope, you can survive any harsh condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/as-long-as-you-have-hope-you-can-survive-any-harsh-condition/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [If I hope to survive, I have to acknowledge the natural selection that goes on when film stocks and cameras are eliminated from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-maddin/if-i-hope-to-survive-i-have-to-acknowledge-the-natural-selection-that/) [Guy Maddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-maddin/) > [“We don't get to pick our kin. The best we can hope for is to survive them...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/we-don-t-get-to-pick-our-kin-the-best-we-can-hope-for-is-to-survive/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [“We not-much-of-anything types don't worry about the cost of leaving a light on unnecessarily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/we-not-much-of-anything-types-don-t-worry-about-the-cost-of-leaving-a/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More by Octavia E. Butler > [The lovely thing about writing is, well, two things. One, writing fiction allows us to bring an order to our lives that doesn't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/the-lovely-thing-about-writing-is-well-two-things-one-writing-fiction/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“It’s too easy to follow bad but attractive leaders, embrace pleasurable but destructive habits, ignore looming disaster because maybe it won’t happen after all—or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/it-s-too-easy-to-follow-bad-but-attractive-leaders-embrace/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“He rubbed his head again. 'Five years is longer than it sounds. So much longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/he-rubbed-his-head-again-five-years-is-longer-than-it-sounds-so-much/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“Se sono tuoi, stabilisci tu le regole. A chi importa che cosa ne pensano i giocattoli? Spazza via l'intera famiglia di un giocattolo, poi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/se-sono-tuoi-stabilisci-tu-le-regole-a-chi-importa-che-cosa-ne/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [I don't know how much of a market there is for space opera. Just because it's in the movies doesn't mean magazines are buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/i-don-t-know-how-much-of-a-market-there-is-for-space-opera-just/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“Freedom is dangerous but it's precious, too. You can't just throw it away or let it slip away. You can't sell it for bread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/freedom-is-dangerous-but-it-s-precious-too-you-can-t-just-throw-it/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“Sometimes I wrote things because I couldn't say them, couldn't sort out my feelings about them, couldn't keep them bottled inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/sometimes-i-wrote-things-because-i-couldn-t-say-them-couldn-t-sort/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“In the book of Job, God says he made everything and he knows everything so no one has any right to question what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/in-the-book-of-job-god-says-he-made-everything-and-he-knows/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“But there’s no power in having strength and brains, and yet waiting for God to fix things for you or take revenge for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/but-there-s-no-power-in-having-strength-and-brains-and-yet-waiting/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“Self is. Self is body and bodily perception. Self is thought, memory, belief. Self creates. Self destroys. Self learns, discovers, becomes. Self shapes. Self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/self-is-self-is-body-and-bodily-perception-self-is-thought-memory/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [At school I was always taller than the rest of my class, and because I was an only child, I was comfortable with adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/at-school-i-was-always-taller-than-the-rest-of-my-class-and-because-i/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“It was milk that had sickened her. Animal milk! These people cooked many things with animal milk!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/it-was-milk-that-had-sickened-her-animal-milk-these-people-cooked/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [Religion is everywhere. There are no human societies without it, whether they acknowledge it as a religion or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/religion-is-everywhere-there-are-no-human-societies-without-it/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/there-is-nothing-new-under-the-sun-but-there-are-new-suns/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“We have, it seems, a few people who think Jarret may be just what the country needs—apart from his religious nonsense. The thing is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/we-have-it-seems-a-few-people-who-think-jarret-may-be-just-what-the/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) [Explore all 131 Octavia E. Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. 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