--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if we become glowing clouds of…" description: "\"“Even if we become glowing clouds of ectoplasm, there's going to be something we're competing for - and most of us will feel as though we're getting sc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg" --- # Even if we become glowing clouds of ectoplasm, there's… ![“Even if we become glowing clouds of ectoplasm, there's going to be something we're competing for - and most of us will feel as though we're getting screwed.” quote by Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg) > ““Even if we become glowing clouds of ectoplasm, there's going to be something we're competing for - and most of us will feel as though we're getting screwed.”” [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when we become intangible, we still compete for limited resources, leading to feelings of being shortchanged. **In simple terms:** Even as ghosts we still compete and feel cheated. Key Takeaway Recognize competition and protect your interests. Themes competition resource scarcity existential anxiety Mood anxious reflective Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - career negotiations - resource allocation - team projects - personal boundaries Key Concepts transformation materialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure fairness when resources are scarce? - What strategies protect you from feeling cheated? A Different Perspective Competition may intensify when resources are perceived as limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) ## Related quotes > [“I mean starting to see yourself as a piece of meat, that the only thing you've got is your looks and the way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-mean-starting-to-see-yourself-as-a-piece-of-meat-that-the-only/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There are so many music genres competing against each other, but I feel like country music has always been a unified front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-scott/there-are-so-many-music-genres-competing-against-each-other-but-i/) [Hillary Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-scott/) > [Sometimes you get into fights if a teammate is getting taken advantage of, sometimes just from competing and you feel someone takes a cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarome-iginla/sometimes-you-get-into-fights-if-a-teammate-is-getting-taken/) [Jarome Iginla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarome-iginla/) > [I've kind of lived the same lifestyle I've had since I was a little kid. Basically, working out and hanging out with my friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urijah-faber/i-ve-kind-of-lived-the-same-lifestyle-i-ve-had-since-i-was-a-little/) [Urijah Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urijah-faber/) > [Just once in my life it'd be nice to have things go my way instead of always getting screwed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-once-in-my-life-it-d-be-nice-to-have-things-go-my-way-instead-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The teachers are getting screwed, blued, and tattooed by the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/the-teachers-are-getting-screwed-blued-and-tattooed-by-the-system/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [The ones who have never screwed over anyone, are usually the ones getting screwed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ones-who-have-never-screwed-over-anyone-are-usually-the-ones/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I dont think I'll ever be happy without getting screwed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-think-i-ll-ever-be-happy-without-getting-screwed-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I put too much trust in people and always end up getting screwed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-put-too-much-trust-in-people-and-always-end-up-getting-screwed-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are so many traps, so many ways of getting screwed in this business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-martin/there-are-so-many-traps-so-many-ways-of-getting-screwed-in-this/) [Max Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-martin/) > [The bungle tour is a bit up in the air due to the fact this at we are getting screwed by our overseas label.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-dunn/the-bungle-tour-is-a-bit-up-in-the-air-due-to-the-fact-this-at-we-are/) [Trevor Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-dunn/) > [I'm tired of being nice and getting screwed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-tired-of-being-nice-and-getting-screwed-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All you do is talk about getting screwed over by girls, when you had a perfect chance with a good girl...dont get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-you-do-is-talk-about-getting-screwed-over-by-girls-when-you-had-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm getting so tired of my beautiful, amazing, perfectly quality friends getting screwed over by idiot guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-getting-so-tired-of-my-beautiful-amazing-perfectly-quality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't believe that just because one person is born on one side of some imaginary line and another person is born on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-cohen/i-don-t-believe-that-just-because-one-person-is-born-on-one-side-of/) [Ben Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-cohen/) ## More by Rudy Rucker > [It's soothing to realize that my mind's processes are inherently uncontrollable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/it-s-soothing-to-realize-that-my-mind-s-processes-are-inherently/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [All living things are gnarly, in that they inevitably do things that are much more complex than one might have expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/all-living-things-are-gnarly-in-that-they-inevitably-do-things-that/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [Science fiction writers put characters into a world with arbitrary rules and work out what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/science-fiction-writers-put-characters-into-a-world-with-arbitrary/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [“Everything is cellular. Reality is cellular. I really love that word, cellular. Cellular phone, cellular foam, sleeper cell, cellulite, cellular automata . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/everything-is-cellular-reality-is-cellular-i-really-love-that-word/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [I think dry nanotechnology is probably a dead-end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/i-think-dry-nanotechnology-is-probably-a-dead-end/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [Some ideas you have to chew on, then roll them around a lot, play with them before you can turn them into funky science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/some-ideas-you-have-to-chew-on-then-roll-them-around-a-lot-play-with/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [I am, as it were, an eye that the cosmos uses to look at itself. The Mind is not mine alone; the Mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/i-am-as-it-were-an-eye-that-the-cosmos-uses-to-look-at-itself-the/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [“No one can point to the fourth dimension, yet it is all around us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/no-one-can-point-to-the-fourth-dimension-yet-it-is-all-around-us/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [For me, the best thing about Cyberpunk is that it taught me how to enjoy shopping malls, which used to terrify me. Now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/for-me-the-best-thing-about-cyberpunk-is-that-it-taught-me-how-to/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [Advice to beginning SF writers? Write a lot, finish what you write, and when it's done, keep sending it out for quite awhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/advice-to-beginning-sf-writers-write-a-lot-finish-what-you-write-and/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [If we suppose that many natural phenomena are in effect computations, the study of computer science can tell us about the kinds of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/if-we-suppose-that-many-natural-phenomena-are-in-effect-computations/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [At present, however, I don't think the Net is a very good medium for books, books should really be inexpensive lightweight paperbacks you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/at-present-however-i-don-t-think-the-net-is-a-very-good-medium-for/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [Traditional science is all about finding shortcuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/traditional-science-is-all-about-finding-shortcuts/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [The study of infinity is much more than a dry academic game. The intellectual pursuit of the absolute infinity is, as Georg Cantor realized,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/the-study-of-infinity-is-much-more-than-a-dry-academic-game-the/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [ Intellectually, perspective \[drawing\] is a breakthrough, because here, for the first time, the physical space we live in is being depicted as ifit were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/intellectually-perspective-drawing-is-a-breakthrough-because-here-for/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) [Explore all 55 Rudy Rucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) ## More Competing quotes > [When you reach that competing point, when you reach that time when the gun is about to go off, everyone's level is pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/when-you-reach-that-competing-point-when-you-reach-that-time-when-the/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. Once in a while I may go to dinner with a friend but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/i-have-no-social-life-there-is-no-time-for-one-once-in-a-while-i-may/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [I competed every day as a professional football player... You've got to like competing. That's how your team gets better, when you have competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-competed-every-day-as-a-professional-football-player-you-ve-got-to/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [There are 16 year olds competing at the olympics and i still push on pull doors & struggle getting through the whole day without a nap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-eastwood/there-are-16-year-olds-competing-at-the-olympics-and-i-still-push-on/) [Scott Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-eastwood/) > [I love nothing more than going out there and competing. And baseball's my outlet to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fried/i-love-nothing-more-than-going-out-there-and-competing-and-baseball-s/) [Max Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fried/) > [I've always worked closely with the designers and whoever's making the costumes. Comfort is the last thing you want on your mind when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-yamaguchi/i-ve-always-worked-closely-with-the-designers-and-whoever-s-making/) [Kristi Yamaguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-yamaguchi/) > [I don't think anybody who carries a rifle carries the future. Because I don't believe that you can really change the world by killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/i-don-t-think-anybody-who-carries-a-rifle-carries-the-future-because/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [America breeds ambition and while that can be a good thing, sometimes it's not. Ambition also breeds competition and that can be a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaka-khan/america-breeds-ambition-and-while-that-can-be-a-good-thing-sometimes/) [Chaka Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaka-khan/) > [I'll miss the competitive side and the camaraderie of being around the players and competing each and every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-pippen/i-ll-miss-the-competitive-side-and-the-camaraderie-of-being-around/) [Scottie Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-pippen/) > [Being away from the game and just remembering why I love competing and all of that, I think it helped me tremendously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-keys/being-away-from-the-game-and-just-remembering-why-i-love-competing/) [Madison Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-keys/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We're competing against other great cities: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. That's why it's important that we all join together on the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-daley/we-re-competing-against-other-great-cities-madrid-rio-de-janeiro-and/) [Richard M. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-daley/) > [That this is not a sense of innovation and competition increasing prices because some other company is coming in and competing with Martin Shkreli.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-ann-reid/that-this-is-not-a-sense-of-innovation-and-competition-increasing/) [Joy-Ann Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-ann-reid/) > [Some people steal from others, or defraud them, or enslave them, seizing their product and preventing them from living as they choose, or forcibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/some-people-steal-from-others-or-defraud-them-or-enslave-them-seizing/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) [Browse all 1,003 Competing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even if we become glowing clouds of ectoplasm, there's going to be something we're competing for - and most of us will feel as though we're getting screwed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rudy Rucker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ectoplasm-there-s-going-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Competing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ectoplasm-there-s-going-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/rudy-rucker-12413_competing_even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ecto_2994838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even if we become glowing clouds of ectoplasm, there's going to be something we're competing for - and most…” — Rudy Rucker", "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": "Rudy Rucker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Even if we become glowing clouds...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ectoplasm-there-s-going-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/even-if-we-become-glowing-clouds-of-ectoplasm-there-s-going-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```