--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What distinguishes a technological world…" description: "\"“What distinguishes a technological world is that the terms of nature are obscured; one need not live quite in the present or the local.”\" — Rebecca So..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/rebecca-solnit-569_nature_what-distinguishes-a-technological-world_1338348.png" --- # What distinguishes a technological world is that the terms… ![“What distinguishes a technological world is that the terms of nature are obscured; one need not live quite in the present or the local.” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/rebecca-solnit-569_nature_what-distinguishes-a-technological-world_1338348.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/rebecca-solnit-569_nature_what-distinguishes-a-technological-world_1338348.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/rebecca-solnit-569_nature_what-distinguishes-a-technological-world_1338348.png) > ““What distinguishes a technological world is that the terms of nature are obscured; one need not live quite in the present or the local.”” [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. Technology obscures natural rhythms, pulling us away from present, local experience. **In simple terms:** Tech makes us lose touch with nature and the present moment. Key Takeaway Cultivate present‑moment awareness despite technological distractions. Themes technology nature presence distraction Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type analytical environmental philosophical When to use this quote - Morning commute - working on a computer - social media scrolling - urban planning - environmental activism Key Concepts digital age environmental awareness mindfulness localism Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of nature do you miss most in daily life? - How can you integrate local experiences into a tech‑driven routine? A Different Perspective Technology also offers tools for reconnection if used mindfully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Unfortunately, opponents of online speech have decided to punish our changing technological world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hastert/unfortunately-opponents-of-online-speech-have-decided-to-punish-our/) [Dennis Hastert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hastert/) > [The modern technological world appears overwhelming to many people. It drives some to pessimism and despair. 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Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [Rational order in the technological world can be as fascinating as the fetishes of a Congo witch-doctor - scientific phenomena become significant images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-paolozzi/rational-order-in-the-technological-world-can-be-as-fascinating-as/) Eduardo Paolozzi > [We've learned that we've allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-ve-learned-that-we-ve-allowed-technological-capabilities-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We are like creatures so dazzled with our own technological prowess that we no longer think it necessary to consider the obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/we-are-like-creatures-so-dazzled-with-our-own-technological-prowess/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Our life is half natural and half technological. Half-and-half is good. You cannot deny that high-tech is progress. We need it for jobs. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-june-paik/our-life-is-half-natural-and-half-technological-half-and-half-is-good/) [Nam June Paik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-june-paik/) ## 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’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 Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... 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