--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Explorers, the historian Aaron Sachs…" description: "\"“Explorers, the historian Aaron Sachs wrote me in answer to a question, “were always lost, because they’d never been to these places before. They never..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rebecca-solnit-569_explorers_explorers-the-historian-aaron-sachs-wrot_1166509.png" --- # Explorers, the historian Aaron Sachs wrote me in answer to… ![“Explorers, the historian Aaron Sachs wrote me in answer to a question, “were always lost, because they’d never been to these places before. They never expected to know exactly where they were. Yet, at the same time, many of them knew their instruments pretty well and understood their trajectories…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rebecca-solnit-569_explorers_explorers-the-historian-aaron-sachs-wrot_1166509.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rebecca-solnit-569_explorers_explorers-the-historian-aaron-sachs-wrot_1166509.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rebecca-solnit-569_explorers_explorers-the-historian-aaron-sachs-wrot_1166509.png) > ““Explorers, the historian Aaron Sachs wrote me in answer to a question, “were always lost, because they’d never been to these places before. They never expected to know exactly where they were. Yet, at the same time, many of them knew their instruments pretty well and understood their trajectories within a reasonable degree of accuracy. In my opinion, their most important skill was simply a sense of optimism about surviving and finding their way.”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Optimism and skill together guide explorers through unknown terrain, balancing uncertainty with confidence in tools and direction. **In simple terms:** Optimism and skill help navigate the unknown. Key Takeaway Cultivate optimism while mastering tools. Themes exploration optimism skill uncertainty navigation Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - research expeditions - space missions - entrepreneurial ventures - personal growth journeys Key Concepts self-efficacy resilience adaptive learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance optimism with realistic assessment? - What tools do you rely on when venturing into new fields? A Different Perspective Optimism alone cannot compensate for lack of preparation or critical analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [Venice was and is full of lost places where people put up for sale the last worn bits of their souls, hoping no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/venice-was-and-is-full-of-lost-places-where-people-put-up-for-sale/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“...It's just that sometimes I get so lost in the places the words take me to I forget where I am and—”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-bertagna/it-s-just-that-sometimes-i-get-so-lost-in-the-places-the-words-take/) [Julie Bertagna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-bertagna/) > [Britain has bred many great explorers, but they seem to get so little coverage compared to soccer and rugby players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/britain-has-bred-many-great-explorers-but-they-seem-to-get-so-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Commercialism is the blemish on the fair face of American life. Fighting against the terrible conditions of the explorer and pioneer, our forefathers had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-foote-macdougall/commercialism-is-the-blemish-on-the-fair-face-of-american-life/) [Alice Foote MacDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-foote-macdougall/) > [Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a traveler and explorer. Science-fiction allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/growing-up-i-never-gave-a-thought-to-being-a-writer-all-i-ever-wanted/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [There's nothing in the world like buried treasure-and people hungry and obsessed enough to risk their lives for it. Pirate Hunters isn't just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-meltzer/there-s-nothing-in-the-world-like-buried-treasure-and-people-hungry/) [Brad Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-meltzer/) > [The first men who set out for Mars had better make sure they leave everything at home in apple-pie order. They won't get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/the-first-men-who-set-out-for-mars-had-better-make-sure-they-leave/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [He (the Shaman) is a self-reliant explorer of the endless mansions of a magnificent hidden universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/he-the-shaman-is-a-self-reliant-explorer-of-the-endless-mansions-of-a/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) > [The effort of the economist is to "see," to picture the interplay of economic elements. The more clearly cut these elements appear in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-fisher/the-effort-of-the-economist-is-to-see-to-picture-the-interplay-of/) [Irving Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-fisher/) > [From early childhood I had always dreamed of becoming an explorer. Somehow I had acquired the impression that an explorer was someone who lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goddard/from-early-childhood-i-had-always-dreamed-of-becoming-an-explorer/) [John Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goddard/) > [A man's interest in the world is only the overflow from his interest in himself. When you are a child your vessel is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-s-interest-in-the-world-is-only-the-overflow-from-his-interest/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“no one can absolutely control the direction of his life; but each person can certainly influence it. The armchair explorers who complain that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau-2/no-one-can-absolutely-control-the-direction-of-his-life-but-each/) [Jacques-Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau-2/) > [He is a great enough magician to tap our most common nightmares, daydreams and twilight fancies, but he never invented them either: he found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/he-is-a-great-enough-magician-to-tap-our-most-common-nightmares/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [Every flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer; in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-batten/every-flyer-who-ventures-across-oceans-to-distant-lands-is-a/) Jean Batten > [I want MIT to be the dream of every child who wants to grow up to make the world a better place. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hockfield/i-want-mit-to-be-the-dream-of-every-child-who-wants-to-grow-up-to/) [Susan Hockfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hockfield/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. 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It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More Explorers quotes > [I want MIT to be the dream of every child who wants to grow up to make the world a better place. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hockfield/i-want-mit-to-be-the-dream-of-every-child-who-wants-to-grow-up-to/) [Susan Hockfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hockfield/) > [Every flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer; in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-batten/every-flyer-who-ventures-across-oceans-to-distant-lands-is-a/) Jean Batten > [He is a great enough magician to tap our most common nightmares, daydreams and twilight fancies, but he never invented them either: he found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/he-is-a-great-enough-magician-to-tap-our-most-common-nightmares/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [“no one can absolutely control the direction of his life; but each person can certainly influence it. The armchair explorers who complain that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau-2/no-one-can-absolutely-control-the-direction-of-his-life-but-each/) [Jacques-Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau-2/) > [A man's interest in the world is only the overflow from his interest in himself. When you are a child your vessel is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-s-interest-in-the-world-is-only-the-overflow-from-his-interest/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [From early childhood I had always dreamed of becoming an explorer. Somehow I had acquired the impression that an explorer was someone who lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goddard/from-early-childhood-i-had-always-dreamed-of-becoming-an-explorer/) [John Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goddard/) > [The effort of the economist is to "see," to picture the interplay of economic elements. The more clearly cut these elements appear in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-fisher/the-effort-of-the-economist-is-to-see-to-picture-the-interplay-of/) [Irving Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-fisher/) > [He (the Shaman) is a self-reliant explorer of the endless mansions of a magnificent hidden universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/he-the-shaman-is-a-self-reliant-explorer-of-the-endless-mansions-of-a/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) > [The first men who set out for Mars had better make sure they leave everything at home in apple-pie order. They won't get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/the-first-men-who-set-out-for-mars-had-better-make-sure-they-leave/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [There's nothing in the world like buried treasure-and people hungry and obsessed enough to risk their lives for it. Pirate Hunters isn't just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-meltzer/there-s-nothing-in-the-world-like-buried-treasure-and-people-hungry/) [Brad Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-meltzer/) > [Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a traveler and explorer. Science-fiction allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/growing-up-i-never-gave-a-thought-to-being-a-writer-all-i-ever-wanted/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [Commercialism is the blemish on the fair face of American life. 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