--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Doc didn’t have a television but he could…" description: "\"“Doc didn’t have a television but he could predict that sort of thing. He just didn’t need one. He could always tell what was on TV when he heard more ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5de/sarah-schulman-15652_television_doc-didn-t-have-a-television-but-he-coul_799903.jpg" --- # Doc didn’t have a television but he could predict that… ![“Doc didn’t have a television but he could predict that sort of thing. He just didn’t need one. He could always tell what was on TV when he heard more than two people in a row say the same strange phrase in the same way. He knew that they had just seen it on television. A few weeks later everyone…” quote by Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5de/sarah-schulman-15652_television_doc-didn-t-have-a-television-but-he-coul_799903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5de/sarah-schulman-15652_television_doc-didn-t-have-a-television-but-he-coul_799903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5de/sarah-schulman-15652_television_doc-didn-t-have-a-television-but-he-coul_799903.jpg) > ““Doc didn’t have a television but he could predict that sort of thing. He just didn’t need one. He could always tell what was on TV when he heard more than two people in a row say the same strange phrase in the same way. He knew that they had just seen it on television. A few weeks later everyone would have those words written on their chests.”” [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can infer popular media trends by noticing repeated, distinctive phrases in conversation, revealing how culture spreads without direct exposure. **In simple terms:** You can guess TV shows from repeated phrases in talk. Key Takeaway Observe language patterns to anticipate cultural fads. Themes media culture communication observation trendspotting Mood curious analytical observational Type insightful practical When to use this quote - marketing analysis - media research - social media monitoring - public relations - trend forecasting Key Concepts memetics social diffusion collective perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine trends from random chatter? - What other signals indicate cultural diffusion? A Different Perspective Relies on obvious, repeated phrases; subtle cues may be missed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Didn Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-television-431246/) [Seen Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen-television-368558/) [Strange Phrase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-phrase-4040217/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Television Predict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-predict-6126794/) [Tv Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tv-heard-6126793/) ## Related quotes > [What a strange phrase — –not seeing other people. As if it’s been constructed to be a lie. We see other people all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/what-a-strange-phrase-not-seeing-other-people-as-if-it-s-been/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [We didn't have television until I was about eight years old, so it was either the movies or radio. A lot of radio drama.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hagedorn/we-didn-t-have-television-until-i-was-about-eight-years-old-so-it-was/) [Jessica Hagedorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hagedorn/) > [Wayne Rooney has always made a great impression on me, even though I have only ever seen him on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabio-quagliarella/wayne-rooney-has-always-made-a-great-impression-on-me-even-though-i/) [Fabio Quagliarella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabio-quagliarella/) > [The only shared reality we have is things we have seen on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armando-iannucci/the-only-shared-reality-we-have-is-things-we-have-seen-on-television/) [Armando Iannucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armando-iannucci/) > [I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young. Every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/i-was-inspired-by-a-lot-of-people-when-i-was-young-every-band-that/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [The other day a woman came up to me and said, Didn't I see you on television? I said, I don't know. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/the-other-day-a-woman-came-up-to-me-and-said-didn-t-i-see-you-on/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [We didn't have television in those days, and many people didn't even have radios. My mother would read aloud to my father and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/we-didn-t-have-television-in-those-days-and-many-people-didn-t-even/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [Do you know what our suicide rate would be if we didn't have television? 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We didn't even have a television in the house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-make-a-choice-whether-or-not-to-turn-that-tv-on-we-didn-t-even/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [The nightmare is you spend the rest of your life being funny at parties and then people say, 'Why didn't you do that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/the-nightmare-is-you-spend-the-rest-of-your-life-being-funny-at/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I was raised on an Indian reservation, and I didn't see a television set till I was 10, so it's not a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/i-was-raised-on-an-indian-reservation-and-i-didn-t-see-a-television/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [I might have had trouble saving France in 1946 - I didn't have television then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/i-might-have-had-trouble-saving-france-in-1946-i-didn-t-have/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [The movie, if I recall, didn't have to do with the television show because there were concerns from everyone that they didn't want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-selby/the-movie-if-i-recall-didn-t-have-to-do-with-the-television-show/) [David Selby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-selby/) > [I had - all my life, everybody who knew me thought that I would probably grow up to be a reporter, a newspaper reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/i-had-all-my-life-everybody-who-knew-me-thought-that-i-would-probably/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [Warner Bros. got into television very early, so I did a lot of television there. In the beginning, it was sort of okay to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/warner-bros-got-into-television-very-early-so-i-did-a-lot-of/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) ## More by Sarah Schulman > [“Nothing disrupts dehumanization more quickly than inviting someone over, looking into their eyes, hearing their voice, and listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/nothing-disrupts-dehumanization-more-quickly-than-inviting-someone/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [“I realized that I’m not a lesbian anymore. I realized that women don’t have fun together. I realized that that’s not love. 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That’s it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/you-re-not-user-friendly-you-re-too-needy-you-have-no-social-currency/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [Probably, the nature of homophobia will never be widely interrogated, while we will continue to be excluded from school curricula, subjected to vicious media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/probably-the-nature-of-homophobia-will-never-be-widely-interrogated/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [Breezy journalistic sentences about wealthy white people unaware that other human beings are real became the rubber stamp product of the elite MFA programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/breezy-journalistic-sentences-about-wealthy-white-people-unaware-that/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [If we love and identity people with HIV and other oppressed people, we can help transform the epidemic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/if-we-love-and-identity-people-with-hiv-and-other-oppressed-people-we/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [“Strangely, the subsequent AIDS works that have become iconic in our culture rarely mention the movement, or the engaged community of lovers, but both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/strangely-the-subsequent-aids-works-that-have-become-iconic-in-our/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [“I dreamt that I took William Burrough’s penis and tied it up with piano wire. 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I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Some television programs are so much chewing gum for the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/some-television-programs-are-so-much-chewing-gum-for-the-eyes/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [Some shows just go away - and that's fine. They serve their purpose and their entertainment value, but there are shows that touch people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/some-shows-just-go-away-and-that-s-fine-they-serve-their-purpose-and/) [Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/) > [I'm very proud of some of the stories I've been given thanks to the team at 'Emmerdale,' they've been great over the years so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-fletcher/i-m-very-proud-of-some-of-the-stories-i-ve-been-given-thanks-to-the/) [Kelvin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-fletcher/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [So many times in television, you get cancelled arbitrarily as a result of your ratings in the off season, and you don't have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/so-many-times-in-television-you-get-cancelled-arbitrarily-as-a-result/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [My first match was on television with no buffer, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel like I've learned faster than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-rhodes/my-first-match-was-on-television-with-no-buffer-but-i-wouldn-t-have/) [Brandi Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-rhodes/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. 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