--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But then I remembered: the universe was…" description: "\"“But then I remembered: the universe was closed, and so very small. There was really nowhere else to go.”\" — Peter Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/peter-watts-4020_claustrophobia_but-then-i-remembered-the-universe-was-c_1969081.png" --- # But then I remembered: the universe was closed, and so… ![“But then I remembered: the universe was closed, and so very small. There was really nowhere else to go.” quote by Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/peter-watts-4020_claustrophobia_but-then-i-remembered-the-universe-was-c_1969081.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/peter-watts-4020_claustrophobia_but-then-i-remembered-the-universe-was-c_1969081.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/236/peter-watts-4020_claustrophobia_but-then-i-remembered-the-universe-was-c_1969081.png) > ““But then I remembered: the universe was closed, and so very small. There was really nowhere else to go.”” [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects existential confinement, suggesting that when the universe feels limited, options seem nonexistent, prompting introspection about perceived boundaries. **In simple terms:** Feeling trapped by limited possibilities. Key Takeaway Recognize that perceived limits may be mental. Themes existentialism perception limits Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative block - decision making - career stagnation Key Concepts cosmology psychology subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries are you imposing on yourself? - How can you expand your perspective? A Different Perspective It may overlook external opportunities beyond immediate perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Claustrophobia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claustrophobia/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [Astronomers still can't decide what the shape of our universe is. 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Suddenly my perspective whooshed and I was far out in space, watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-couldn-t-be-with-people-and-i-didn-t-want-to-be-alone-suddenly-my/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“It was more like a form of claustrophobia -- a dread of exchanging the freedom of her own self-imposed routine for the inescapable burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-was-more-like-a-form-of-claustrophobia-a-dread-of-exchanging-the/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [From the time I was a little kid, I was always shy. Performing was when I was outgoing. So I guess I am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/from-the-time-i-was-a-little-kid-i-was-always-shy-performing-was-when/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Empty?! You took all the cookies!" "They were crying to get out of the jar... Cookies get claustrophobia too, you know!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/empty-you-took-all-the-cookies-they-were-crying-to-get-out-of-the-jar/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [I was tortured fifteen times, that's total submission. They did that with shutting off your blood circulation with ropes, giving you claustrophobia and pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stockdale/i-was-tortured-fifteen-times-that-s-total-submission-they-did-that/) [James Stockdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stockdale/) > [I guess my claustrophobia is incurable - feeling, as I tend to, ill at ease in any closed room, and always tempted to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-guess-my-claustrophobia-is-incurable-feeling-as-i-tend-to-ill-at/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > ['Game of Thrones' fans are the nicest people ever, but a thousand nice people coming at me gives me claustrophobia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/game-of-thrones-fans-are-the-nicest-people-ever-but-a-thousand-nice/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [“With every movement the claustrophobia threatened to consume me, and several times I had to stop as the fear rang bells in my brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/with-every-movement-the-claustrophobia-threatened-to-consume-me-and/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“She had never before suffered from claustrophobia, but the room seemed too small to contain Luke's elation, and she felt that she could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-spurrill-jones/she-had-never-before-suffered-from-claustrophobia-but-the-room-seemed/) Esther Spurrill Jones > [I developed claustrophobia when I was about seven. And I am no stranger to panic attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/i-developed-claustrophobia-when-i-was-about-seven-and-i-am-no/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [“I dropped into a space narrower than a preacher’s mind. Claustrophobia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aquilone/i-dropped-into-a-space-narrower-than-a-preacher-s-mind-claustrophobia/) [James Aquilone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aquilone/) ## More by Peter Watts > [People aren't rational. We're not thinking machines, we're - we're feeling machines that happen to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/people-aren-t-rational-we-re-not-thinking-machines-we-re-we-re/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“You are all sleepwalkers, whether climbing creative peaks or slogging through some mundane routine for the thousandth time. You are all sleepwalkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/you-are-all-sleepwalkers-whether-climbing-creative-peaks-or-slogging/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Evolution has no foresight. Complex machinery develops its own agendas. Brains — cheat. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/evolution-has-no-foresight-complex-machinery-develops-its-own-agendas/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“The Zodiac had rearranged itself into a precise grid of bright points with luminous tails. It was as though the whole planet had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-zodiac-had-rearranged-itself-into-a-precise-grid-of-bright-points/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [There's no such things as survival of the fittest. Survival of the most adequate, maybe. 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I pointed out the irony of that romantic old tradition— the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-brought-her-flowers-one-dusky-tuesday-evening-when-the-light-was/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Ludzie naprawdę nie walczą o odcień skóry czy ideologię – to tylko wygodne wskazówki do identyfikacji „swoich”. Wyszystko zawsze sprowadza się do więzów krwi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/ludzie-naprawd-nie-walcz-o-odcie-sk-ry-czy-ideologi-to-tylko-wygodne/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [I really wanted to talk to her. I just couldn't find an algorithm that fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-really-wanted-to-talk-to-her-i-just-couldn-t-find-an-algorithm-that/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“I know your race and mine are never on the best of terms." There was a cold smile in his voice if not on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-know-your-race-and-mine-are-never-on-the-best-of-terms-there-was-a/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [If believing absurd falsehoods increase the odds of getting laid or avoiding predators, your brain will believe those falsehoods with all its metaphorical little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/if-believing-absurd-falsehoods-increase-the-odds-of-getting-laid-or/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [We are not thinking machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/we-are-not-thinking-machines/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“The math was irrefutable: The one winning strategy was concealment. Only fools revealed their birthdays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-math-was-irrefutable-the-one-winning-strategy-was-concealment/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Hey, chaotic trajectories are just as deterministic as any other kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/hey-chaotic-trajectories-are-just-as-deterministic-as-any-other-kind/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) [Explore all 112 Peter Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) ## More Claustrophobia quotes > [“I dropped into a space narrower than a preacher’s mind. Claustrophobia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aquilone/i-dropped-into-a-space-narrower-than-a-preacher-s-mind-claustrophobia/) [James Aquilone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aquilone/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [From the time I was a little kid, I was always shy. Performing was when I was outgoing. So I guess I am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/from-the-time-i-was-a-little-kid-i-was-always-shy-performing-was-when/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [“With every movement the claustrophobia threatened to consume me, and several times I had to stop as the fear rang bells in my brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/with-every-movement-the-claustrophobia-threatened-to-consume-me-and/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“It was more like a form of claustrophobia -- a dread of exchanging the freedom of her own self-imposed routine for the inescapable burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-was-more-like-a-form-of-claustrophobia-a-dread-of-exchanging-the/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [I developed claustrophobia when I was about seven. And I am no stranger to panic attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/i-developed-claustrophobia-when-i-was-about-seven-and-i-am-no/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [“She had never before suffered from claustrophobia, but the room seemed too small to contain Luke's elation, and she felt that she could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-spurrill-jones/she-had-never-before-suffered-from-claustrophobia-but-the-room-seemed/) Esther Spurrill Jones > ['Game of Thrones' fans are the nicest people ever, but a thousand nice people coming at me gives me claustrophobia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/game-of-thrones-fans-are-the-nicest-people-ever-but-a-thousand-nice/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [I guess my claustrophobia is incurable - feeling, as I tend to, ill at ease in any closed room, and always tempted to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-guess-my-claustrophobia-is-incurable-feeling-as-i-tend-to-ill-at/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [I was tortured fifteen times, that's total submission. They did that with shutting off your blood circulation with ropes, giving you claustrophobia and pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stockdale/i-was-tortured-fifteen-times-that-s-total-submission-they-did-that/) [James Stockdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stockdale/) > [Empty?! You took all the cookies!" "They were crying to get out of the jar... Cookies get claustrophobia too, you know!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/empty-you-took-all-the-cookies-they-were-crying-to-get-out-of-the-jar/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [I think that 'Sound of My Voice' is about the claustrophobia of living today, and how do you crawl out of the claustrophobia towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-think-that-sound-of-my-voice-is-about-the-claustrophobia-of-living/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [I recommend people develop a fear of elevators, like I have. 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Hidden in the back seat of a sedan, I quickly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-labute/sitting-in-an-automobile-was-where-i-first-remember-understanding-how/) [Neil LaBute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-labute/) [Browse all 47 Claustrophobia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claustrophobia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But then I remembered: the universe was closed, and so very small. 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