--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea that memory is linear is…" description: "\"The idea that memory is linear is nonsense. What we have in our heads is a collection of frames. As to time itself-can it be linear when all these snat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/penelope-lively-3959_collections_the-idea-that-memory-is-linear-is-nonsen_3029144.jpg" --- # The idea that memory is linear is nonsense. What we have… ![“The idea that memory is linear is nonsense. What we have in our heads is a collection of frames. As to time itself-can it be linear when all these snatches of other presents exist at once in your mind? A very elusive and tricky concept, time.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/penelope-lively-3959_collections_the-idea-that-memory-is-linear-is-nonsen_3029144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/penelope-lively-3959_collections_the-idea-that-memory-is-linear-is-nonsen_3029144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/penelope-lively-3959_collections_the-idea-that-memory-is-linear-is-nonsen_3029144.jpg) > “The idea that memory is linear is nonsense. What we have in our heads is a collection of frames. As to time itself-can it be linear when all these snatches of other presents exist at once in your mind? A very elusive and tricky concept, time.” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory is non‑linear, composed of fragmented moments rather than a straight line. **In simple terms:** Memory is a collage of moments. Key Takeaway Accept the fluidity of recollection. Themes memory time perception Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing memoirs - therapy sessions - historical research Key Concepts non‑linear narrative cognitive psychology subjective experience Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing fragmented memory affect your storytelling? - Can you recall a moment that defies chronological order? A Different Perspective Our brains may still impose linear narratives, oversimplifying reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I'm quite well, thank you. Are you asking because of recent events? Well, I suppose what you're doing is you're making the mistake as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/i-m-quite-well-thank-you-are-you-asking-because-of-recent-events-well/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [Time is only linear for engineers and referees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/time-is-only-linear-for-engineers-and-referees/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [Time is not a linear flow, as we think it is, into past, present, and future. Time is an indivisible whole, a great pool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/time-is-not-a-linear-flow-as-we-think-it-is-into-past-present-and/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) > [The belief that time is a linear, directed sequence running from A to B is a modern illusion. In fact, it can also go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-belief-that-time-is-a-linear-directed-sequence-running-from-a-to/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [How we experience memory sometimes, it's not linear. We're not telling the stories to ourselves. We know the story; we're just seeing it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/how-we-experience-memory-sometimes-it-s-not-linear-we-re-not-telling/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [“Thus, experienced time is linear, it can be measured and it has an arrow. These are not properties of an invisible river: they belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barbour/thus-experienced-time-is-linear-it-can-be-measured-and-it-has-an/) [Julian Barbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barbour/) > [The place didn't look the same but it felt the same; sensations clutched and transformed me. I stood outside some concrete and plate-glass tower-block,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-place-didn-t-look-the-same-but-it-felt-the-same-sensations/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it is not linear but fragmented, and its ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-operation-of-memory-the-way-in/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [The day is refracted, and the next and the one after that, all of them broken up into a hundred juggled segments, each brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-day-is-refracted-and-the-next-and-the-one-after-that-all-of-them/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [One of the capabilities, which seems to be the most difficult for aspiring leaders to maste is realistic optimism. 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The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I still don't feel I know Hitchcock at all. I find that the more one looks, the more elusive he becomes. But my admiration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-jones/i-still-don-t-feel-i-know-hitchcock-at-all-i-find-that-the-more-one/) [Toby Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-jones/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. 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Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Collections quotes > [Life is a collection of moments. 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I have to admit that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/mac-allowed-me-to-have-complete-freedom-on-the-collaborations-from/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-took-a-wrong-turn-on-the-way-to-the-bathroom-and-found-myself-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [This is an extraordinary illustrated collection of Chinese herbsaccompanied by concise and expert comments. Jing-Nuan Wu has succeeded incompiling this most unique and informative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koji-nakanishi/this-is-an-extraordinary-illustrated-collection-of-chinese/) Koji Nakanishi > [I have a large watch collection, and classic watches are especially important to me. I had a silver Rolex, and I actually gave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-have-a-large-watch-collection-and-classic-watches-are-especially/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [Who wrote the Bible? Current scholarship, to my knowledge, assumes that the material that constitutes the Old Testament was put together from various oral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/who-wrote-the-bible-current-scholarship-to-my-knowledge-assumes-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I've had plenty of jo-jobs. Nothing I'd call a career. Let me put it this way. I have an extensive collection of name tags…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-campbell/i-ve-had-plenty-of-jo-jobs-nothing-i-d-call-a-career-let-me-put-it/) [Wayne Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-campbell/) > [The benefit of writing a collection - as opposed to a novel - is that I'm able to have some version of the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-sayrafiezadeh/the-benefit-of-writing-a-collection-as-opposed-to-a-novel-is-that-i-m/) [Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-sayrafiezadeh/) > [Museums do not share their collections with other museums unless they get something in exchange. The Metropolitan will deal with the Louvre, but will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/museums-do-not-share-their-collections-with-other-museums-unless-they/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. 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