--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yes, we know more than ever before, and…" description: "\"Yes, we know more than ever before, and it's a wonder that we get to inhabit a world full of driverless cars and 3D printers. But that doesn't mean tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/pico-iyer-1252_assuming_yes-we-know-more-than-ever-before-and-it_272945.jpg" --- # Yes, we know more than ever before, and it's a wonder that… ![“Yes, we know more than ever before, and it's a wonder that we get to inhabit a world full of driverless cars and 3D printers. But that doesn't mean that we know any more about the essential things in life - love, faith, death - and it would be dangerous to assume we did. The only thing that gets…” quote by Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/pico-iyer-1252_assuming_yes-we-know-more-than-ever-before-and-it_272945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/pico-iyer-1252_assuming_yes-we-know-more-than-ever-before-and-it_272945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/pico-iyer-1252_assuming_yes-we-know-more-than-ever-before-and-it_272945.jpg) > “Yes, we know more than ever before, and it's a wonder that we get to inhabit a world full of driverless cars and 3D printers. But that doesn't mean that we know any more about the essential things in life - love, faith, death - and it would be dangerous to assume we did. The only thing that gets us through sometimes is a proper, humbled sense that we don't have a clue, we can't be sure what's going to happen next and life will always be much larger than our ideas of it.” [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We are technologically advanced but remain uncertain about life's fundamental mysteries; humility acknowledges our limited understanding. **In simple terms:** Tech progress doesn’t guarantee wisdom about love, faith, or death. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and curiosity. Themes humility uncertainty technology existential humanity Mood contemplative thoughtful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual reflection - ethical decision making - relationship building Key Concepts philosophy existentialism modernity knowledge limits Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance technological confidence with existential humility? - What practices keep us grounded amid rapid change? A Different Perspective Assuming knowledge can lead to arrogance and poor choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Driverless Cars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driverless-cars/) [Faith in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-in-love/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love & life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-life-2/) [Things in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-in-life/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [And once you're unafraid with death, I think your capacity for violence is immediately increased. Once you're unafraid of death, you are a very,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/and-once-you-re-unafraid-with-death-i-think-your-capacity-for/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [It's better to know and be disappointed than to never know and always wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-better-to-know-and-be-disappointed-than-to-never-know-and-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To know how to wonder and question is the first step of the mind toward discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/to-know-how-to-wonder-and-question-is-the-first-step-of-the-mind/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [It's Better To Try And Fail Than To Never Know And Always Wonder...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/it-s-better-to-try-and-fail-than-to-never-know-and-always-wonder/) Pacifiersucker > [I know you don't doubt that I love you, but I know you wonder sometimes, you wonder if I notice your smile, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/i-know-you-don-t-doubt-that-i-love-you-but-i-know-you-wonder/) [Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/) > [In love, it is better to know and be disappointed, than to not know and always wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-love-it-is-better-to-know-and-be-disappointed-than-to-not-know-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's better to know and be disappointed than to never know and wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-better-to-know-and-be-disappointed-than-to-never-know-and-wonder/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So that where I once did not know who or what you were, now I wonder who I or we are, or what. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crawford/so-that-where-i-once-did-not-know-who-or-what-you-were-now-i-wonder/) [Stanley Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crawford/) > [I think my fans know everything about me. What they don't know they can wonder about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-sanchez/i-think-my-fans-know-everything-about-me-what-they-don-t-know-they/) [Diego Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-sanchez/) > [Its better to know and be disappointed, than to never know and always wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-better-to-know-and-be-disappointed-than-to-never-know-and-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes its better to know and be disappointed than to never know and always wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/sometimes-its-better-to-know-and-be-disappointed-than-to-never-know/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“…We are not so much who we are by what we know, but by what we wonder. So go and seek and you shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-boyle/we-are-not-so-much-who-we-are-by-what-we-know-but-by-what-we-wonder/) Dan Boyle > [The pursuit of purity is not about the suppression of lust, but about the reorientation of one's life to a larger goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-pursuit-of-purity-is-not-about-the-suppression-of-lust-but-about/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [One of my goals in making music is to make the world seem bigger, and life seem larger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/one-of-my-goals-in-making-music-is-to-make-the-world-seem-bigger-and/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [“When you take the small roads you see the life that goes on there, and this makes your own life larger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/when-you-take-the-small-roads-you-see-the-life-that-goes-on-there-and/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) ## More by Pico Iyer > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [For citizens who think themselves puppets in the hands of their rulers, nothing is more satisfying than having rulers as puppets in their hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/for-citizens-who-think-themselves-puppets-in-the-hands-of-their/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [The Dalai Lama would say that meditation is something that can help everyone. But he's aware that it can be misused or things can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-would-say-that-meditation-is-something-that-can-help/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Like any traveler, I'm always looking for those experiences that are almost unique to any place, and watching films around Alaska of the skies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/like-any-traveler-i-m-always-looking-for-those-experiences-that-are/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [“When you're hurrying around too quickly," he had said, "there's a part of the world you can't see. If, for example, you're taking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/when-you-re-hurrying-around-too-quickly-he-had-said-there-s-a-part-of/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/we-travel-to-open-our-hearts-and-eyes-and-learn-more-about-the-world/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [The Dalai Lama, these days, encourages Westerners not to take up Buddhism, partly because he feels that our roots are deep in other traditions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-these-days-encourages-westerners-not-to-take-up/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it's a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/and-if-travel-is-like-love-it-is-in-the-end-mostly-because-it-s-a/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [As soon as I began to talk to Dalai Lama, I realized that Chinese and Tibetans from his point of view are mostly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/as-soon-as-i-began-to-talk-to-dalai-lama-i-realized-that-chinese-and/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [When we are kids, we imagine that to define ourselves or to find ourselves means charting your own individuality, making your own destiny, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/when-we-are-kids-we-imagine-that-to-define-ourselves-or-to-find/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [A writer is a palmist, reading the lines of the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/a-writer-is-a-palmist-reading-the-lines-of-the-planet/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [In barely one generation, we've moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/in-barely-one-generation-we-ve-moved-from-exulting-in-the-time-saving/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [For centuries, Cubas greatest resource has been its people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/for-centuries-cubas-greatest-resource-has-been-its-people/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/writing-is-in-the-end-that-oddest-of-anomalies-an-intimate-letter-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [“Was it only through another that I could begin to get at myself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/was-it-only-through-another-that-i-could-begin-to-get-at-myself/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) [Explore all 266 Pico Iyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) ## More Assuming quotes > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing-whatsoever-must-change/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) Browse all 2,452 Assuming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yes, we know more than ever before, and it's a wonder that we get to inhabit a world full of driverless cars and 3D printers. But that doesn't mean that we know any more about the essential things in life - love, faith, death - and it would be dangerous to assume we did. 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