--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I walk alone in the darkness and wonder…" description: "\"I walk alone in the darkness and wonder how a person would begin to determine the circumference of the earth. I have no idea. I’d probably just google ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/robin-sloan-1513_circumference_i-walk-alone-in-the-darkness-and-wonder_968447.png" --- # I walk alone in the darkness and wonder how a person would… ![“I walk alone in the darkness and wonder how a person would begin to determine the circumference of the earth. I have no idea. I’d probably just google it.” quote by Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/robin-sloan-1513_circumference_i-walk-alone-in-the-darkness-and-wonder_968447.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/robin-sloan-1513_circumference_i-walk-alone-in-the-darkness-and-wonder_968447.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17d/robin-sloan-1513_circumference_i-walk-alone-in-the-darkness-and-wonder_968447.png) > “I walk alone in the darkness and wonder how a person would begin to determine the circumference of the earth. I have no idea. I’d probably just google it.” [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on the daunting task of measuring Earth’s size, acknowledging personal uncertainty and reliance on modern tools. **In simple terms:** Unsure how to measure Earth, would just google it. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and use available resources. Themes curiosity uncertainty technology Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - personal curiosity - online searching Key Concepts measurement earth science problem solving Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle tasks you feel unqualified for? - What tools can you develop yourself? A Different Perspective Relies on external help, may overlook deeper learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circumference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumference/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Walk Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walk-alone/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“Columbus therefore cheated on his calculations, as the examining faculty of the University of Salamanca quite correctly pointed out. He used the smallest possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/columbus-therefore-cheated-on-his-calculations-as-the-examining/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Remembering that Eratosthenes of Cyrene, employing mathematical theories and geometrical methods, discovered from the course of the sun, the shadows cast by an equinoctial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/remembering-that-eratosthenes-of-cyrene-employing-mathematical/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Ten decimal places of π are sufficient to give the circumference of the earth to a fraction of an inch, and thirty decimal places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-newcomb/ten-decimal-places-of-are-sufficient-to-give-the-circumference-of-the/) [Simon Newcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-newcomb/) > [Eratosthenes's only tools were sticks, eyes, feet, and brains; plus a zest for experiment. With those tools he correctly deduced the circumference of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/eratosthenes-s-only-tools-were-sticks-eyes-feet-and-brains-plus-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“For the observed difference in the shadow lengths, the distance between Alexandria and Syene had to be about seven degrees along the surface of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-the-observed-difference-in-the-shadow-lengths-the-distance/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [He who gives you the diameter of your knowledge,presc ribes the circumference of your activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/he-who-gives-you-the-diameter-of-your-knowledge-presc-ribes-the/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [“The circumference of your breast may change; the shape of your hips may change; the size of your pants may also change. But your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-circumference-of-your-breast-may-change-the-shape-of-your-hips/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“God is he whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/god-is-he-whose-center-is-everywhere-and-circumference-is-nowhere-2/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“the circumference must be about 794 km × 360°/7.2° ≈ 39,700 km,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/the-circumference-must-be-about-794-km-360-7-2-39-700-km/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [His mind of man, a secret makes I meet him with a start he carries a circumference in which I have no part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-mind-of-man-a-secret-makes-i-meet-him-with-a-start-he-carries-a/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The world has no circumference. It would certainly have a circumference if it had a centre, in which case it would contain within itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/the-world-has-no-circumference-it-would-certainly-have-a/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [Man's cleverness is almost indefinite, and stretches like an elastic band, but human nature is like an iron ring. You can go round and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/man-s-cleverness-is-almost-indefinite-and-stretches-like-an-elastic/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [Beginning and ending are common in the circumference of the circle and the radius doesn't mind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/beginning-and-ending-are-common-in-the-circumference-of-the-circle/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [. . . the circumference of life cannot be rightly drawn until the center is set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-mays/the-circumference-of-life-cannot-be-rightly-drawn-until-the-center-is/) [Benjamin E. Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-mays/) > [“God is he whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere. (Nicolas of Cusa)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/god-is-he-whose-center-is-everywhere-and-circumference-is-nowhere/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More by Robin Sloan > [“But it will make mistakes," she says. "Hadoop will probably get us from a hundred thousand buildings down to, like, five thousand." "So we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/but-it-will-make-mistakes-she-says-hadoop-will-probably-get-us-from-a/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [You can go as far back as fifth grade, and you will find me tinkering with media and computers, making things that are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/you-can-go-as-far-back-as-fifth-grade-and-you-will-find-me-tinkering/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [He has the strangest expression on his face- the emotional equivalent of 404 PAGE NOT FOUND.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/he-has-the-strangest-expression-on-his-face-the-emotional-equivalent/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“Baking, by contrast, was solving the same problem over and over again, because every time, the solution was consumed. I mean, really: chewed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/baking-by-contrast-was-solving-the-same-problem-over-and-over-again/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“I tell him, and I write it down as I go. It makes me feel better, as if the weirdness is flowing out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/i-tell-him-and-i-write-it-down-as-i-go-it-makes-me-feel-better-as-if/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [There's just no escaping it: The half-life of media on the Internet is super short. Tweets flow and fade; pages that look great today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/there-s-just-no-escaping-it-the-half-life-of-media-on-the-internet-is/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [Imagination runs out. But it makes sense, right? We probably just imagine things based on what we already know, and we run out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/imagination-runs-out-but-it-makes-sense-right-we-probably-just/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“My limbic system has grown accustomed to a certain (very low) level of human (female) contact. With her standing right next to me, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/my-limbic-system-has-grown-accustomed-to-a-certain-very-low-level-of/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“The shelves were packed close together, and it felt like I was standing at the border of a forest--not a friendly Californian forest, either,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/the-shelves-were-packed-close-together-and-it-felt-like-i-was/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“How was New York?' Ashley asks politely. I'm not sure how to respond. Something like: Well, the mustachioed master of the secret library is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/how-was-new-york-ashley-asks-politely-i-m-not-sure-how-to-respond/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [We range widely, we readers of fiction, but I think we all need a home. Mine is science fiction. It's my home shelf, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/we-range-widely-we-readers-of-fiction-but-i-think-we-all-need-a-home/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“Neel cuts in: "Where'd you grow up?" "Palo Alto," she says. From there to Stanford to Google: for a girl obsessed with the outer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/neel-cuts-in-where-d-you-grow-up-palo-alto-she-says-from-there-to/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [Doing research for 'Penumbra,' I read quite a bit about the early history of printing, and the more I did, the more it sounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/doing-research-for-penumbra-i-read-quite-a-bit-about-the-early/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“History hinges on such small things. A difference of thirty degrees, and this story would end here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/history-hinges-on-such-small-things-a-difference-of-thirty-degrees/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“It is very quiet. I set my chin into my palm and count my friends and wonder what else is hiding in plain sight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/it-is-very-quiet-i-set-my-chin-into-my-palm-and-count-my-friends-and/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) [Explore all 227 Robin Sloan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) ## More Circumference quotes > [“God is he whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere. (Nicolas of Cusa)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/god-is-he-whose-center-is-everywhere-and-circumference-is-nowhere/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“God is he whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/god-is-he-whose-center-is-everywhere-and-circumference-is-nowhere-2/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Man's cleverness is almost indefinite, and stretches like an elastic band, but human nature is like an iron ring. You can go round and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/man-s-cleverness-is-almost-indefinite-and-stretches-like-an-elastic/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [He who gives you the diameter of your knowledge,presc ribes the circumference of your activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/he-who-gives-you-the-diameter-of-your-knowledge-presc-ribes-the/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [. . . the circumference of life cannot be rightly drawn until the center is set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-mays/the-circumference-of-life-cannot-be-rightly-drawn-until-the-center-is/) [Benjamin E. Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-mays/) > [Beginning and ending are common in the circumference of the circle and the radius doesn't mind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/beginning-and-ending-are-common-in-the-circumference-of-the-circle/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [The world has no circumference. It would certainly have a circumference if it had a centre, in which case it would contain within itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/the-world-has-no-circumference-it-would-certainly-have-a/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [His mind of man, a secret makes I meet him with a start he carries a circumference in which I have no part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-mind-of-man-a-secret-makes-i-meet-him-with-a-start-he-carries-a/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“the circumference must be about 794 km × 360°/7.2° ≈ 39,700 km,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/the-circumference-must-be-about-794-km-360-7-2-39-700-km/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [“The circumference of your breast may change; the shape of your hips may change; the size of your pants may also change. But your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-circumference-of-your-breast-may-change-the-shape-of-your-hips/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Each dot: the center of a circle without circumference...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/each-dot-the-center-of-a-circle-without-circumference/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [My business is circumference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-business-is-circumference/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [God lives in the centre of a circle and circumference is the only way we have to cover to find him and it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/god-lives-in-the-centre-of-a-circle-and-circumference-is-the-only-way/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [There is in the universe neither center nor circumference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/there-is-in-the-universe-neither-center-nor-circumference/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) [Browse all 15 Circumference quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumference/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I walk alone in the darkness and wonder how a person would begin to determine the circumference of the earth. 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