--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before such people can act together, a…" description: "\"“Before such people can act together, a kind of telepathic feeling has to flow through them and ripen to the point when they all know that they are rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/richard-adams-4326_animals_before-such-people-can-act-together-a-ki_1857994.jpg" --- # Before such people can act together, a kind of telepathic… ![“Before such people can act together, a kind of telepathic feeling has to flow through them and ripen to the point when they all know that they are ready to begin. Anyone who has seen the martins and swallows in September, assembling on the telephone wires, twittering, making short flights singly…” quote by Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/richard-adams-4326_animals_before-such-people-can-act-together-a-ki_1857994.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/richard-adams-4326_animals_before-such-people-can-act-together-a-ki_1857994.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/richard-adams-4326_animals_before-such-people-can-act-together-a-ki_1857994.jpg) > ““Before such people can act together, a kind of telepathic feeling has to flow through them and ripen to the point when they all know that they are ready to begin. Anyone who has seen the martins and swallows in September, assembling on the telephone wires, twittering, making short flights singly and in groups over the open, stubbly fields, returning to form longer and even longer lines above the yellowing verges of the lanes-the hundreds of individual birds merging and blending, in a mounting excitement, into swarms, and these swarms coming loosely and untidily together to create a great, unorganized flock, thick at the centre and ragged at the edges, which breaks and re-forms continually like clouds or waves-until that moment when the greater part (but not all) of them know that the time has come: they are off, and have begun once more that great southward flight which many will not survive; anyone seeing this has seen at the work the current that flows (among creatures who think of themselves primarily as part of a group and only secondarily, if at all, as individuals) to fuse them together and impel them into action without conscious thought or will: has seen at work the angel which drove the First Crusade into Antioch and drives the lemmings into the sea.”” [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective momentum builds when individuals sense a shared readiness, leading to coordinated, instinctive action without conscious planning. **In simple terms:** Groups act when they feel together. Key Takeaway Recognize and harness shared readiness. Themes collective action instinct momentum group dynamics Mood inspired reflective cautious Type motivational philosophical observational When to use this quote - team projects - social movements - emergencies - animal migrations - political campaigns Key Concepts social contagion emergent behavior herd mentality Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance group momentum with personal judgment? - When might collective instinct be harmful? 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Hazel... you know me, don't you? Hazel: I don't know. \[the apparition reveals himself to be the Black Rabbit, and Hazel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/black-rabbit-hazel-hazel-you-know-me-don-t-you-hazel-i-don-t-know-the/) [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) [Explore all 109 Richard Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Before such people can act together, a kind of telepathic feeling has to flow through them and ripen to the point when they all know that they are ready to begin. 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