--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we already know frames what we see…" description: "\"What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.\" — Paul Hawken" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png" --- # What we already know frames what we see, and what we see… ![“What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.” quote by Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png) > “What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.” [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our perceptions are shaped by prior knowledge, and those perceptions then shape new understanding. **In simple terms:** Knowledge frames perception, which in turn shapes understanding. Key Takeaway Recognize biases to broaden insight. Themes perception knowledge understanding Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - learning - decision making - creative work Key Concepts cognitive bias feedback loop Questions to Reflect On - How do your assumptions limit what you notice? - What can you unlearn to see differently? A Different Perspective Assumes static knowledge; may overlook new data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Frames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frames/) [Frames Frames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frames-frames-4120458/) [Frames Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frames-understand-4120456/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know Frames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-frames-4120457/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ## Related quotes > [It's the frames which make some things important and some things forgotten. It's all only frames from which the content rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-s-the-frames-which-make-some-things-important-and-some-things/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [I always have two pairs of glasses: geeky black Warby Parker frames and Wayfarer Ray Bans. Those are key!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-miller/i-always-have-two-pairs-of-glasses-geeky-black-warby-parker-frames/) [Christa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-miller/) > [“That's the difference between life and art, of course. Life has no frames, no curtains, no beginnings and no endings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/that-s-the-difference-between-life-and-art-of-course-life-has-no/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [A person with 'oppositional conversational style' is a person who, in conversation, disagrees with and corrects whatever you say. He or she may do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/a-person-with-oppositional-conversational-style-is-a-person-who-in/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [Can't even see without my vintage Versace frames. I don't go nowhere without them on. I can't even live without them. Every time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quavo/can-t-even-see-without-my-vintage-versace-frames-i-don-t-go-nowhere/) [Quavo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quavo/) > [“Photos never tell the whole story. They are singular moments captured to encompass the illusion of happiness. It’s to remind ourselves of the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allih/photos-never-tell-the-whole-story-they-are-singular-moments-captured/) [Paul Allih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allih/) > [Get into the habit of imagining an alternate scenario. By posing such 'imagine if' questions... we can distance ourselves from the frames, cues, anchors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/get-into-the-habit-of-imagining-an-alternate-scenario-by-posing-such/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [You know, people always think if you start out as a film editor, you shoot less footage. Actually, just the opposite is true. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wise/you-know-people-always-think-if-you-start-out-as-a-film-editor-you/) [Robert Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wise/) > [“Great words won’t cover ugly actions and good frames won’t save bad paitings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/new-noise-by-refused/great-words-won-t-cover-ugly-actions-and-good-frames-won-t-save-bad/) [New Noise by Refused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/new-noise-by-refused/) > [“The beautiful is powerless but always exceeds what frames it, and what always frames it is discourse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-gilbert-rolfe/the-beautiful-is-powerless-but-always-exceeds-what-frames-it-and-what/) [Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-gilbert-rolfe/) > [I enjoy setting the scene and coming up with interesting frames. 'True Detective' was a very hands-on set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/i-enjoy-setting-the-scene-and-coming-up-with-interesting-frames-true/) [Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/) > [In film, you have the luxury of accomplishing what you need in 24 frames every second. Comics, you only have five or six panels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/in-film-you-have-the-luxury-of-accomplishing-what-you-need-in-24/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [We've already seen digital picture frames pre-loaded with viruses; I'm not eager to have my refrigerator hacked or my alarm clock turned against me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/we-ve-already-seen-digital-picture-frames-pre-loaded-with-viruses-i-m/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [I don't think you make fans happy by just replicating frames. What they want to see is that you stayed true to the story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-white/i-don-t-think-you-make-fans-happy-by-just-replicating-frames-what/) [Sylvain White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-white/) > [I can’t stand these damn shows on museum walls with neat little frames, where you look at the images as if they were pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-eugene-smith/i-can-t-stand-these-damn-shows-on-museum-walls-with-neat-little/) [W. Eugene Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-eugene-smith/) ## More by Paul Hawken > [Information from destructive activities going back a hundred years right up until today is being incorporated into the system. And as that happens the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/information-from-destructive-activities-going-back-a-hundred-years/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [When the planes still swoop down and aerial spray a field in order to kill a predator insect with pesticides, we are in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/when-the-planes-still-swoop-down-and-aerial-spray-a-field-in-order-to/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [The great thing about the dilemma we're in is that we get to re-imagine every single thing we do...There isn't a single thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/the-great-thing-about-the-dilemma-we-re-in-is-that-we-get-to-re/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Luck is earned. Luck is working so hard at your craft, service or enterprise that sooner or later you get a break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/luck-is-earned-luck-is-working-so-hard-at-your-craft-service-or/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and persistence. 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/if-you-look-at-the-science-that-describes-what-is-happening-on-earth/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [All is connected ... no one thing can change by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/all-is-connected-no-one-thing-can-change-by-itself/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [We can no longer prosper by increasing human productivity. The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/we-can-no-longer-prosper-by-increasing-human-productivity-the-more-we/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Throughout the industrial era, economists considered manufactured capital - money, factories, etc. - the principal factor in industrial production, and perceived natural capital as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/throughout-the-industrial-era-economists-considered-manufactured/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [his planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/his-planet-came-with-a-set-of-instructions-but-we-seem-to-have/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Sustainability, ensuring the future of life on Earth, is an infinite game, the endless expression of generosity on behalf of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/sustainability-ensuring-the-future-of-life-on-earth-is-an-infinite/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) [Explore all 121 Paul Hawken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) ## More Frames quotes > [It's the frames which make some things important and some things forgotten. It's all only frames from which the content rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-s-the-frames-which-make-some-things-important-and-some-things/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [I don't think you make fans happy by just replicating frames. What they want to see is that you stayed true to the story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-white/i-don-t-think-you-make-fans-happy-by-just-replicating-frames-what/) [Sylvain White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-white/) > [We've already seen digital picture frames pre-loaded with viruses; I'm not eager to have my refrigerator hacked or my alarm clock turned against me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/we-ve-already-seen-digital-picture-frames-pre-loaded-with-viruses-i-m/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [In film, you have the luxury of accomplishing what you need in 24 frames every second. Comics, you only have five or six panels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/in-film-you-have-the-luxury-of-accomplishing-what-you-need-in-24/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [I enjoy setting the scene and coming up with interesting frames. 'True Detective' was a very hands-on set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/i-enjoy-setting-the-scene-and-coming-up-with-interesting-frames-true/) [Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/) > [“The beautiful is powerless but always exceeds what frames it, and what always frames it is discourse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-gilbert-rolfe/the-beautiful-is-powerless-but-always-exceeds-what-frames-it-and-what/) [Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-gilbert-rolfe/) > [“Great words won’t cover ugly actions and good frames won’t save bad paitings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/new-noise-by-refused/great-words-won-t-cover-ugly-actions-and-good-frames-won-t-save-bad/) [New Noise by Refused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/new-noise-by-refused/) > [You know, people always think if you start out as a film editor, you shoot less footage. Actually, just the opposite is true. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wise/you-know-people-always-think-if-you-start-out-as-a-film-editor-you/) [Robert Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wise/) > [Get into the habit of imagining an alternate scenario. By posing such 'imagine if' questions... we can distance ourselves from the frames, cues, anchors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/get-into-the-habit-of-imagining-an-alternate-scenario-by-posing-such/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [“Photos never tell the whole story. They are singular moments captured to encompass the illusion of happiness. It’s to remind ourselves of the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allih/photos-never-tell-the-whole-story-they-are-singular-moments-captured/) [Paul Allih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allih/) > [Can't even see without my vintage Versace frames. I don't go nowhere without them on. I can't even live without them. Every time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quavo/can-t-even-see-without-my-vintage-versace-frames-i-don-t-go-nowhere/) [Quavo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quavo/) > [A person with 'oppositional conversational style' is a person who, in conversation, disagrees with and corrects whatever you say. He or she may do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/a-person-with-oppositional-conversational-style-is-a-person-who-in/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [“That's the difference between life and art, of course. Life has no frames, no curtains, no beginnings and no endings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/that-s-the-difference-between-life-and-art-of-course-life-has-no/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I always have two pairs of glasses: geeky black Warby Parker frames and Wayfarer Ray Bans. Those are key!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-miller/i-always-have-two-pairs-of-glasses-geeky-black-warby-parker-frames/) [Christa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-miller/) > [I can’t stand these damn shows on museum walls with neat little frames, where you look at the images as if they were pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-eugene-smith/i-can-t-stand-these-damn-shows-on-museum-walls-with-neat-little/) [W. Eugene Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-eugene-smith/) [Browse all 50 Frames quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frames/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Hawken" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see-and-what-we-see-frames-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Frames" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see-and-what-we-see-frames-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/paul-hawken-3831_frames_what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see_1278134.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.” — Paul Hawken", "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": "Paul Hawken", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What we already know frames what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see-and-what-we-see-frames-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/what-we-already-know-frames-what-we-see-and-what-we-see-frames-what/#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 } } ] } ```