--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: an idea hit him, he sat wherever he…" description: "\"“an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk, kitchen table, a bar, or behind the wheel of his car—gnawing on his ever-present cigar and scribb..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png" --- # an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk… ![“an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk, kitchen table, a bar, or behind the wheel of his car—gnawing on his ever-present cigar and scribbling diagrams on napkins or the backs of torn-off bottle labels.” quote by Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png) > ““an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk, kitchen table, a bar, or behind the wheel of his car—gnawing on his ever-present cigar and scribbling diagrams on napkins or the backs of torn-off bottle labels.”” [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An unexpected idea can spark intense focus, leading to spontaneous note‑taking wherever one is. **In simple terms:** Ideas can trigger intense, creative work anywhere. Key Takeaway Capture ideas immediately, no matter the setting. Themes creativity focus spontaneity Mood energetic curious Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - research - writing - problem solving - brainstorming Key Concepts inspiration idea generation note‑taking Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure fleeting ideas are recorded? - What environments boost your creative flow? A Different Perspective Ideas may be fleeting; without a system they can be lost. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gnawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gnawing/) ## Related quotes > [You have to have a strong idea for a hit movie, a strong core idea that resonates emotionally. It also has to technically achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-snider/you-have-to-have-a-strong-idea-for-a-hit-movie-a-strong-core-idea/) [Stacey Snider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-snider/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“Worrying is like a toothless dog gnawing on a bone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-fields/worrying-is-like-a-toothless-dog-gnawing-on-a-bone/) Kathleen Fields > [“I'm scared, but I need to get out of this room. I need to find ways to distract the gnawing pain that feeds off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-farizan/i-m-scared-but-i-need-to-get-out-of-this-room-i-need-to-find-ways-to/) [Sara Farizan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-farizan/) > [“...all winter the acorns and red Maple leaf moldered in silence - in the same way grief is gnawing at me - slowly, imperceptibly...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/all-winter-the-acorns-and-red-maple-leaf-moldered-in-silence-in-the/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [Positive emotion alienated from the exercise of character leads to emptiness, to inauthenticity, to depression, and, as we age, to the gnawing realization that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/positive-emotion-alienated-from-the-exercise-of-character-leads-to/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I do feel a gnawing sorrow sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simi-garewal/i-do-feel-a-gnawing-sorrow-sometimes/) [Simi Garewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simi-garewal/) > [It's been so long since I've let myself feel anger that I don't just feel it. It covers my mouth and I swallow it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/it-s-been-so-long-since-i-ve-let-myself-feel-anger-that-i-don-t-just/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“How does one get a polar bear to stop gnawing on their head?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hetalia/how-does-one-get-a-polar-bear-to-stop-gnawing-on-their-head/) Hetalia > [“Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/because-of-the-gnawing-feeling-that-no-matter-how-hard-they-work/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > ['Borderlands' came out of nowhere to appease the gnawing hunger left behind with the dearth of quality dungeon crawlers on the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/borderlands-came-out-of-nowhere-to-appease-the-gnawing-hunger-left/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“There is this pain of love. You experience it some moments. It starts like a strange gnawing at your heart. It then slowly spreads.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/there-is-this-pain-of-love-you-experience-it-some-moments-it-starts/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [I don't like bad feelings gnawing away at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-don-t-like-bad-feelings-gnawing-away-at-me/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [Inflationism is a dreadful cancer that is gnawing at the backbone of the civilized order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-f-sennholz/inflationism-is-a-dreadful-cancer-that-is-gnawing-at-the-backbone-of/) [Hans F. Sennholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-f-sennholz/) > [“The critic said, but don't you feel awkward about biting the hand that feeds you? I said no, I enjoy just gnawing it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/the-critic-said-but-don-t-you-feel-awkward-about-biting-the-hand-that/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) ## More by Rebecca Skloot > [Only cells that had been transformed by a virus or a genetic mutation had the potential to become immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/only-cells-that-had-been-transformed-by-a-virus-or-a-genetic-mutation/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [Good science is all about following the data as it shows up and letting yourself be proven wrong, and letting everything change while you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/good-science-is-all-about-following-the-data-as-it-shows-up-and/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“The American Type Culture Collection—a nonprofit whose funds go mainly toward maintaining and providing pure cultures for science—has been selling HeLa since the sixties.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/the-american-type-culture-collection-a-nonprofit-whose-funds-go/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Today an estimated 13 percent of birds are threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. So are 25 percent of mammals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/today-an-estimated-13-percent-of-birds-are-threatened-according-to/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“When he asked if she was okay, her eyes welled with tears and she said, “Like I’m always telling my brothers, if you gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/when-he-asked-if-she-was-okay-her-eyes-welled-with-tears-and-she-said/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Some things you got to release. Gary said. The more you hold them in, the worse you get. When you release them, they got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/some-things-you-got-to-release-gary-said-the-more-you-hold-them-in/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [The sort of thinking at the time was, 'Well, we're giving you access to medical care which you wouldn't otherwise be able to get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/the-sort-of-thinking-at-the-time-was-well-we-re-giving-you-access-to/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Nelson-Rees had since been hired by the National Cancer Institute to help stop the contamination problem. He would become known as a vigilante who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/nelson-rees-had-since-been-hired-by-the-national-cancer-institute-to/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“THE SKY ABOVE northeast India looked like mango skin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/the-sky-above-northeast-india-looked-like-mango-skin/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [Often doctors didn't even tell you what was wrong with you. They just treated you, and sent you home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/often-doctors-didn-t-even-tell-you-what-was-wrong-with-you-they-just/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/we-must-not-see-any-person-as-an-abstraction-instead-we-must-see-in/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Ultimately the judge threw Moore’s suit out of court, saying he had no case. Ironically, in his decision, the judge cited the HeLa cell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/ultimately-the-judge-threw-moore-s-suit-out-of-court-saying-he-had-no/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [The laws are still very unclear. Cells are still taken from people without consent - a lot of people don't realize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/the-laws-are-still-very-unclear-cells-are-still-taken-from-people/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [But I tell you one thing, I don't want to be immortal if it mean living forever, cause then everybody else just die and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/but-i-tell-you-one-thing-i-don-t-want-to-be-immortal-if-it-mean/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“HeLa cells were one of the most important things that happened to medicine in the last hundred years,” Defler said. Then, matter-of-factly, almost as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/hela-cells-were-one-of-the-most-important-things-that-happened-to/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) [Explore all 43 Rebecca Skloot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) ## More Gnawing quotes > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Inflationism is a dreadful cancer that is gnawing at the backbone of the civilized order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-f-sennholz/inflationism-is-a-dreadful-cancer-that-is-gnawing-at-the-backbone-of/) [Hans F. Sennholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-f-sennholz/) > [I don't like bad feelings gnawing away at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-don-t-like-bad-feelings-gnawing-away-at-me/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [“There is this pain of love. You experience it some moments. It starts like a strange gnawing at your heart. It then slowly spreads.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/there-is-this-pain-of-love-you-experience-it-some-moments-it-starts/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > ['Borderlands' came out of nowhere to appease the gnawing hunger left behind with the dearth of quality dungeon crawlers on the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/borderlands-came-out-of-nowhere-to-appease-the-gnawing-hunger-left/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/because-of-the-gnawing-feeling-that-no-matter-how-hard-they-work/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“How does one get a polar bear to stop gnawing on their head?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hetalia/how-does-one-get-a-polar-bear-to-stop-gnawing-on-their-head/) Hetalia > [It's been so long since I've let myself feel anger that I don't just feel it. It covers my mouth and I swallow it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/it-s-been-so-long-since-i-ve-let-myself-feel-anger-that-i-don-t-just/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [I do feel a gnawing sorrow sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simi-garewal/i-do-feel-a-gnawing-sorrow-sometimes/) [Simi Garewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simi-garewal/) > [Positive emotion alienated from the exercise of character leads to emptiness, to inauthenticity, to depression, and, as we age, to the gnawing realization that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/positive-emotion-alienated-from-the-exercise-of-character-leads-to/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [“...all winter the acorns and red Maple leaf moldered in silence - in the same way grief is gnawing at me - slowly, imperceptibly...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/all-winter-the-acorns-and-red-maple-leaf-moldered-in-silence-in-the/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“I'm scared, but I need to get out of this room. I need to find ways to distract the gnawing pain that feeds off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-farizan/i-m-scared-but-i-need-to-get-out-of-this-room-i-need-to-find-ways-to/) [Sara Farizan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-farizan/) > [“Worrying is like a toothless dog gnawing on a bone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-fields/worrying-is-like-a-toothless-dog-gnawing-on-a-bone/) Kathleen Fields > [“The critic said, but don't you feel awkward about biting the hand that feeds you? I said no, I enjoy just gnawing it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/the-critic-said-but-don-t-you-feel-awkward-about-biting-the-hand-that/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [What gnashing is not a comfort, what gnawing of the worm is not a tickling, what torment is not a marriage bed to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/what-gnashing-is-not-a-comfort-what-gnawing-of-the-worm-is-not-a/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) [Browse all 24 Gnawing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gnawing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk, kitchen table, a bar, or behind the wheel of his car—gnawing on his ever-present cigar and scribbling diagrams on napkins or the backs of torn-off bottle labels.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Skloot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-at-his-desk-kitchen-table-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gnawing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-at-his-desk-kitchen-table-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/rebecca-skloot-15335_gnawing_an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-a_362967.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk, kitchen table, a bar, or behind the wheel of his…” — Rebecca Skloot", "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": "Rebecca Skloot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“an idea hit him, he sat...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-at-his-desk-kitchen-table-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/an-idea-hit-him-he-sat-wherever-he-was-at-his-desk-kitchen-table-a/#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 } } ] } ```