--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So I couldn’t talk about the color of…" description: "\"“So I couldn’t talk about the color of three, or whether triangles tasted better than circles, or how playing Bach on my keyboard made fireworks go off..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png" --- # So I couldn’t talk about the color of three, or whether… ![“So I couldn’t talk about the color of three, or whether triangles tasted better than circles, or how playing Bach on my keyboard made fireworks go off in my head, because people would think I was crazy.” quote by R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png) > ““So I couldn’t talk about the color of three, or whether triangles tasted better than circles, or how playing Bach on my keyboard made fireworks go off in my head, because people would think I was crazy.”” [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels constrained from sharing unconventional thoughts about colors, shapes, and music, fearing judgment for appearing crazy. **In simple terms:** Fear of being labeled crazy stops sharing odd ideas. Key Takeaway Accept and share unconventional perspectives. Themes creativity social conformity self‑expression Mood defiant thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - artistic collaborations - open‑mic events Key Concepts psychology artistic freedom perception Questions to Reflect On - What would you say if you weren’t afraid? - How can you find safe spaces for odd ideas? A Different Perspective Society often discourages eccentricity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Talking. According to Marc, I could talk the color off a crayon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/talking-according-to-marc-i-could-talk-the-color-off-a-crayon/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [In Hollywood if you don't have a shrink, people think you're crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/in-hollywood-if-you-don-t-have-a-shrink-people-think-you-re-crazy/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [The stigma that's around mental health, people think you're crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/the-stigma-that-s-around-mental-health-people-think-you-re-crazy/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [My boyfriend asked me to tell a story without my hands, and I couldn't talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-spiridakos/my-boyfriend-asked-me-to-tell-a-story-without-my-hands-and-i-couldn-t/) [Tracy Spiridakos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-spiridakos/) > [“But there were always things swimming around in me that I could neither hold on to long enough to comprehend or learn to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagamese/but-there-were-always-things-swimming-around-in-me-that-i-could/) [Richard Wagamese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagamese/) > [I grew up in a dictatorship, where you couldn't talk about difficult situations - there was this culture of silence. We would run into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-alvarez/i-grew-up-in-a-dictatorship-where-you-couldn-t-talk-about-difficult/) [Julia Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-alvarez/) > [“evening: a spotless record, knowledge, stimulating conversation—but he had no love. She had nothing to offer Christ that evening but a terrible record. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/evening-a-spotless-record-knowledge-stimulating-conversation-but-he/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [And then, when I started to school, I found out I couldn't talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-tillis/and-then-when-i-started-to-school-i-found-out-i-couldn-t-talk/) [Mel Tillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-tillis/) > [“I couldn’t talk. Why couldn’t I… The room was tipping over now. I heard muffled voices. Then it was all black again. I fainted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tijan/i-couldn-t-talk-why-couldn-t-i-the-room-was-tipping-over-now-i-heard/) [Tijan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tijan/) > [I started doing radio commercials for Kmart when I was 4. They had to splice all my consonants together because I couldn't talk very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/i-started-doing-radio-commercials-for-kmart-when-i-was-4-they-had-to/) [Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/) > [I was just painfully shy. I couldn't talk to anyone. Going up in front of class, I would have to mentally prepare myself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-madison/i-was-just-painfully-shy-i-couldn-t-talk-to-anyone-going-up-in-front/) [Mikey Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-madison/) > [There is a lot of parenting that's completely out of your control, but I think we live in an era right now where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemarie-dewitt/there-is-a-lot-of-parenting-that-s-completely-out-of-your-control-but/) [Rosemarie DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemarie-dewitt/) > [I could never, ever talk to my father. I really loved him, but we couldn't talk about anything together. There was this really British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-could-never-ever-talk-to-my-father-i-really-loved-him-but-we-couldn/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I just became a vegetable for three months. I couldn't talk to people. I was very ill and that was part of the reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-just-became-a-vegetable-for-three-months-i-couldn-t-talk-to-people/) Adam Ant > [Language just gradually came in, one or two stressed words a time. Before then, I would just scream. I couldn't talk. I couldn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/language-just-gradually-came-in-one-or-two-stressed-words-a-time/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) ## More by R.J. Anderson > [“I was six years old, watching my pregnant mother wash the dishes. Cutlery clinked, filling the air with sparkling bursts of colour. 'Do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-was-six-years-old-watching-my-pregnant-mother-wash-the-dishes/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I'm just a little cold," said Knife, pulling the blanket closer about her shoulders. Paul wrapped his free arm around her. "It's all right,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-m-just-a-little-cold-said-knife-pulling-the-blanket-closer-about/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I'd hoped at least one of my parents had seen Milo and me standing close together on the sidewalk, still holding hands, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-d-hoped-at-least-one-of-my-parents-had-seen-milo-and-me-standing/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I hate it when people talk like friendship is less than other kinds of-as though it's some sort of runner-up prize for people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-hate-it-when-people-talk-like-friendship-is-less-than-other-kinds/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“This is fantastically squalid," said Milo. "We may never get out of here alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/this-is-fantastically-squalid-said-milo-we-may-never-get-out-of-here/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I found her lying naked on the lawn at midnight, can I keep her?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-found-her-lying-naked-on-the-lawn-at-midnight-can-i-keep-her/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I hate it when people talk like friendship is less than other kinds of - as though it's some kind of runner-up prize for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-hate-it-when-people-talk-like-friendship-is-less-than-other-kinds-2/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I don't know how to be anything but pretend," I replied, and it ached in me how true that really was. "But if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-don-t-know-how-to-be-anything-but-pretend-i-replied-and-it-ached-in/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-girl-who-was-special-this-is-not-her/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“Everybody has a story, Alison," he said. "Everybody has things they need to hide--sometimes even from themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/everybody-has-a-story-alison-he-said-everybody-has-things-they-need/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I caught Faraday's face between my hands and broke off the kiss, breathless. "I've just thought of something," I said. "Something we haven't tried."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-caught-faraday-s-face-between-my-hands-and-broke-off-the-kiss/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“Reluctantly she lifted her eyes to his, and he went on: "I want you to understand this as though I were one of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/reluctantly-she-lifted-her-eyes-to-his-and-he-went-on-i-want-you-to/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“So I pushed the bitterness down, into the black pit of my stomach along with my regret and my grief and my fear, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/so-i-pushed-the-bitterness-down-into-the-black-pit-of-my-stomach/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“I sensed that not only the grand movements of the cosmos, but everything that had happened in my life, was a part of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-sensed-that-not-only-the-grand-movements-of-the-cosmos-but/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) > [“Dark chocolate, poured over velvet: that was how his voice tasted. I wanted him to follow me around and narrate the rest of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/dark-chocolate-poured-over-velvet-that-was-how-his-voice-tasted-i/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) [Explore all 21 R.J. Anderson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) ## More People Think quotes > [People think that the Club World Cup is an easy competition, but it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/people-think-that-the-club-world-cup-is-an-easy-competition-but-it-s/) [Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [Care less about what other people think because at the end of the day, everyone is so worried about themselves & how they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-oakley/care-less-about-what-other-people-think-because-at-the-end-of-the-day/) [Tyler Oakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-oakley/) > [I'm just going to express my opinion and try to change the way people think with the stuff I write or try to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-m-just-going-to-express-my-opinion-and-try-to-change-the-way-people/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [I like surrounding myself with people who think in sort of the timeframes I do, which is often longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinkie/i-like-surrounding-myself-with-people-who-think-in-sort-of-the/) [Sam Hinkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hinkie/) > [Sometimes people think you’re smart if you question the status quo, if nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/sometimes-people-think-you-re-smart-if-you-question-the-status-quo-if/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I want people to think they can't die until they see me play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-want-people-to-think-they-can-t-die-until-they-see-me-play/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [A lot of people think that punk rock musicians don't know what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-barker/a-lot-of-people-think-that-punk-rock-musicians-don-t-know-what-they/) [Travis Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-barker/) > [People think they're getting objective information, but they're not. They're getting news wrapped up in opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/people-think-they-re-getting-objective-information-but-they-re-not/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) > [I've learned a lot, through being in the UFC since I was 22, mostly to not care what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-malley/i-ve-learned-a-lot-through-being-in-the-ufc-since-i-was-22-mostly-to/) [Sean O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-malley/) > [The election of Trump threw the chess board up. The pieces are all over the place. That's upsetting to a lot of people, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/the-election-of-trump-threw-the-chess-board-up-the-pieces-are-all/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [You want to make the first move but you can't because people will think that "OH YOURE A GIRL, WHY WILL YOU DO THAT?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-want-to-make-the-first-move-but-you-can-t-because-people-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) Andre Siegfried > [You know how some people seem to think that their love for classical music makes them spiritual or at least something quite special? And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/you-know-how-some-people-seem-to-think-that-their-love-for-classical/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-unfortunate-that-a-lot-of-people-think-african-american-female/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) Browse all 2,811 People Think quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So I couldn’t talk about the color of three, or whether triangles tasted better than circles, or how playing Bach on my keyboard made fireworks go off in my head, because people would think I was crazy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "R.J. Anderson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-three-or-whether-triangles/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People Think" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-three-or-whether-triangles/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/r-j-anderson-26970_people-think_so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-th_2089936.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So I couldn’t talk about the color of three, or whether triangles tasted better than circles, or how playing…” — R.J. Anderson", "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": "R.J. Anderson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So I couldn’t talk about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-three-or-whether-triangles/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/so-i-couldn-t-talk-about-the-color-of-three-or-whether-triangles/#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 } } ] } ```