--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was in that familiar state - not that…" description: "\"“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a center, so chara..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg" --- # He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion… ![“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a center, so characteristic of the present, and whose strange arithmetic adds up to a random proliferation of numbers without forming a unit.” quote by Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg) > ““He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a center, so characteristic of the present, and whose strange arithmetic adds up to a random proliferation of numbers without forming a unit.”” [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a mind drifting into disjointed, aimless thoughts, reflecting a loss of coherence and purpose in contemporary life. **In simple terms:** Fragmented modern consciousness Key Takeaway Modernity fragments thought Themes fragmentation modernity meaninglessness cognitive chaos subjectivity Mood melancholy reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - narrating a character's inner monologue - analyzing contemporary literature - discussing postmodern identity Key Concepts subjective experience cognitive dissonance social alienation Practical Applications - literary criticism - philosophical essay Questions to Reflect On - How does fragmentation affect personal meaning? - What restores coherence in a chaotic mind? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Incoherent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incoherent/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) ## Related quotes > [Dreams are nothing but incoherent ideas, occasioned by partial or imperfect sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/dreams-are-nothing-but-incoherent-ideas-occasioned-by-partial-or/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [“singular, familiar state of cognizance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-riha/singular-familiar-state-of-cognizance/) John Riha > [“To the mind (Geist), good and evil, above and below, are not skeptical, relative concepts, but terms of a function, values that depend on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/to-the-mind-geist-good-and-evil-above-and-below-are-not-skeptical/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“Could you possibly be a little more incoherent?" asked Olivenko. "There are bits of this I'm almost understanding, and I'm sure that's not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/could-you-possibly-be-a-little-more-incoherent-asked-olivenko-there/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [You're a genius! And the proof is that both common people and intellectuals find your work completely incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-re-a-genius-and-the-proof-is-that-both-common-people-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Economic policies command bipartisan support only when they're incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-landsburg/economic-policies-command-bipartisan-support-only-when-they-re/) [Steven Landsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-landsburg/) > [“Through living in a space that we do not understand, everything may become meaningless, incoherent, and forcefully scary. If fear rules our lives, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/through-living-in-a-space-that-we-do-not-understand-everything-may/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Whoever will take the trouble of reading the book ascribed to Isaiah, will find it one of the most wild and disorderly compositions ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/whoever-will-take-the-trouble-of-reading-the-book-ascribed-to-isaiah/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [An artist's job is to articulate what might otherwise be incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/an-artist-s-job-is-to-articulate-what-might-otherwise-be-incoherent/) [Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/) > [We are, all of us, incoherent text, and just knowing that - knowing that no matter how much you say, 'I am this' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/we-are-all-of-us-incoherent-text-and-just-knowing-that-knowing-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [Theism is so confused and the sentences in which "God" appears so incoherent and so incapable of verifiability or falsifiability that to speak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-ayer/theism-is-so-confused-and-the-sentences-in-which-god-appears-so/) [A.J. Ayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-ayer/) > [“This is incoherent drivel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-incoherent-drivel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The very idea of supernatural magic - including miracles - is incoherent, devoid of sensible meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-very-idea-of-supernatural-magic-including-miracles-is-incoherent/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“You can improve an incoherent mess, but you can't improve nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/you-can-improve-an-incoherent-mess-but-you-can-t-improve-nothing/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More by Robert Musil > [“Everything we feel and do is somehow oriented "lifeward," and the least deviation away from this direction toward something beyond is difficult or alarming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/everything-we-feel-and-do-is-somehow-oriented-lifeward-and-the-least/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [It is life that does the thinking all around us, forming with playful ease the connections our reason can only laboriously patch together piecemeal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/it-is-life-that-does-the-thinking-all-around-us-forming-with-playful/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“What is it you do, then? I'll tell you: You leave out whatever doesn't suit you. As the author himself has done before you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-it-you-do-then-i-ll-tell-you-you-leave-out-whatever-doesn-t/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-while-faith-based-on-theological-reasoning-is-today-universally/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! We seldom really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-the-use-of-good-painting-we-want-a-spell-cast-upon-the/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [That the will of the people can be established by voting for democrats is, of course, a delusion. Yet when considering a non-threatening system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/that-the-will-of-the-people-can-be-established-by-voting-for/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“Ein Mann, der die Wahrheit will, wird Gelehrter; ein Mann, der seine Subjektivität spielen lassen will, wird vielleicht Schriftsteller; was aber soll ein Mann…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/ein-mann-der-die-wahrheit-will-wird-gelehrter-ein-mann-der-seine/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-species-from-wearing-animal-skins/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [I also believe that few people remain completely untouched by the thought that instead of the life they lead there might also be another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/i-also-believe-that-few-people-remain-completely-untouched-by-the/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“His appearance gives no clue to what his profession might be, and yet he doesn't look like a man without a profession either. Consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/his-appearance-gives-no-clue-to-what-his-profession-might-be-and-yet/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [Philosophers are people who do violence, but have no army at their disposal, and so subjugate the world by locking it into a system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/philosophers-are-people-who-do-violence-but-have-no-army-at-their/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“The drive of his own nature to keep developing prevents him from believing that anything is final and complete, yet everything he encounters behaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/the-drive-of-his-own-nature-to-keep-developing-prevents-him-from/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“And so the mind or spirit is the great opportunist, itself impossible to pin down, take hold of, anywhere; one is tempted to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-so-the-mind-or-spirit-is-the-great-opportunist-itself-impossible/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“For if one is partly insane, one is also, juridically, partly sane, and if one is partly sane one is at least partly responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-if-one-is-partly-insane-one-is-also-juridically-partly-sane-and/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) [Explore all 139 Robert Musil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## More Incoherent quotes > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [The very idea of supernatural magic - including miracles - is incoherent, devoid of sensible meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-very-idea-of-supernatural-magic-including-miracles-is-incoherent/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“This is incoherent drivel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-incoherent-drivel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Theism is so confused and the sentences in which "God" appears so incoherent and so incapable of verifiability or falsifiability that to speak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-ayer/theism-is-so-confused-and-the-sentences-in-which-god-appears-so/) [A.J. Ayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-ayer/) > [We are, all of us, incoherent text, and just knowing that - knowing that no matter how much you say, 'I am this' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/we-are-all-of-us-incoherent-text-and-just-knowing-that-knowing-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [An artist's job is to articulate what might otherwise be incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/an-artist-s-job-is-to-articulate-what-might-otherwise-be-incoherent/) [Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/) > [“Whoever will take the trouble of reading the book ascribed to Isaiah, will find it one of the most wild and disorderly compositions ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/whoever-will-take-the-trouble-of-reading-the-book-ascribed-to-isaiah/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Dreams are nothing but incoherent ideas, occasioned by partial or imperfect sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/dreams-are-nothing-but-incoherent-ideas-occasioned-by-partial-or/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [“Through living in a space that we do not understand, everything may become meaningless, incoherent, and forcefully scary. If fear rules our lives, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/through-living-in-a-space-that-we-do-not-understand-everything-may/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Economic policies command bipartisan support only when they're incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-landsburg/economic-policies-command-bipartisan-support-only-when-they-re/) [Steven Landsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-landsburg/) > [You're a genius! And the proof is that both common people and intellectuals find your work completely incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-re-a-genius-and-the-proof-is-that-both-common-people-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Could you possibly be a little more incoherent?" asked Olivenko. "There are bits of this I'm almost understanding, and I'm sure that's not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/could-you-possibly-be-a-little-more-incoherent-asked-olivenko-there/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“You can improve an incoherent mess, but you can't improve nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/you-can-improve-an-incoherent-mess-but-you-can-t-improve-nothing/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“With television, we vault ourselves into a continuous, incoherent present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/with-television-we-vault-ourselves-into-a-continuous-incoherent/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Between incomprehensible and incoherent sits the madhouse. I am not in the madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/between-incomprehensible-and-incoherent-sits-the-madhouse-i-am-not-in/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) [Browse all 18 Incoherent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incoherent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a center, so characteristic of the present, and whose strange arithmetic adds up to a random proliferation of numbers without forming a unit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Musil" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Incoherent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/robert-musil-2009_incoherent_he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-t_48546.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas…” — Robert Musil", "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": "Robert Musil", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was in that familiar state...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/#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 } } ] } ```