--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp…" description: "\"“Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp edges off our feelings for other people. You'll see.”\" — Scott Lynch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/scott-lynch-1437_familiarity_familiarity-has-a-way-of-filing-the-shar_403380.png" --- # Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp edges off our… ![“Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp edges off our feelings for other people. You'll see.” quote by Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/scott-lynch-1437_familiarity_familiarity-has-a-way-of-filing-the-shar_403380.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/scott-lynch-1437_familiarity_familiarity-has-a-way-of-filing-the-shar_403380.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/scott-lynch-1437_familiarity_familiarity-has-a-way-of-filing-the-shar_403380.png) > ““Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp edges off our feelings for other people. You'll see.”” [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Familiarity tends to soften emotional intensity toward others, making us less sensitive to their flaws or nuances. **In simple terms:** Knowing someone well dulls strong feelings. Key Takeaway Stay aware of changing perceptions. Themes psychology relationships emotion Mood thoughtful reflective Type interpersonal emotional When to use this quote - long‑term friendships - romantic partnerships - work colleagues Key Concepts habituation emotional desensitization interpersonal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does familiarity affect your empathy? - What can you do to keep relationships fresh? A Different Perspective Familiarity can also breed complacency or neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I see the joy in life and I see the joy in simple things. I over-compliment. I over-praise. 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Even in the blow-up the celebrity appeared stunted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-joseph/on-the-pavement-by-the-side-of-the-road-was-planted-a-banner-two/) [Manu Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-joseph/) > [Economic problems have no sharp edges. They shade off imperceptibly into politics, sociology, and ethics. Indeed, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/economic-problems-have-no-sharp-edges-they-shade-off-imperceptibly/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Who wants a bag of bones?” he said, with absolute sincerity. “I don’t want to hurt myself on the sharp edges of the woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/who-wants-a-bag-of-bones-he-said-with-absolute-sincerity-i-don-t-want/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-necessarily-avoid-sharp-edges-occasionally-they-are-necessary/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [“During those times, they'd stand there watching me watching them. I'd pray, please. Put a pillow to my face. Clench a hand around my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/during-those-times-they-d-stand-there-watching-me-watching-them-i-d/) [Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/) > [“That's right." He threaded both hands through her hair to hold her in place. "You like it like this. Dirty and rough, getting fucked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/that-s-right-he-threaded-both-hands-through-her-hair-to-hold-her-in/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [“Write down everything you remember. 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Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“But she was wrong; it was what gave her away; she had not taken into account that this fragmentary detail of the truth had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-she-was-wrong-it-was-what-gave-her-away-she-had-not-taken-into/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“I'm going to write to you about the emptiness that was left when you took my boy away. I'm going to write so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/i-m-going-to-write-to-you-about-the-emptiness-that-was-left-when-you/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) ## More by Scott Lynch > [“Please, boy. Let’s not start out with either of us insulting the other’s intelligence. There are only three people in life you can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/please-boy-let-s-not-start-out-with-either-of-us-insulting-the-other/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Gentlemen Bastards." hissed Locke, "do not abandon one another, and we do not run when we owe vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/gentlemen-bastards-hissed-locke-do-not-abandon-one-another-and-we-do/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Ha! Yes. When anyone tells you habits die hard, Locke, they’re lying—it seems they never die at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/ha-yes-when-anyone-tells-you-habits-die-hard-locke-they-re-lying-it/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below Therim Pel itself, had descended from its imperial years the way some men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only-one-step-below-therim-pel/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Advice,' Doña Vorchenza chuckled. 'Advice. The years play a sort of alchemical trick, transmuting one's mutterings to a state of respectability. Give advice at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/advice-do-a-vorchenza-chuckled-advice-the-years-play-a-sort-of/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Ibelius," said Jean. "If what Locke is doing were lurking about, corpses could be acrobats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/ibelius-said-jean-if-what-locke-is-doing-were-lurking-about-corpses/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Any man can fart in a closed room and say that he commands the wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/any-man-can-fart-in-a-closed-room-and-say-that-he-commands-the-wind/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“What an interesting choice of words. “Not real, and never were.” Could there be any more appropriate literature for men of our profession? Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/what-an-interesting-choice-of-words-not-real-and-never-were-could/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Why were all his fantasies so calamitous for that table, which had done him no injury?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/why-were-all-his-fantasies-so-calamitous-for-that-table-which-had/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“I more proudly take a speck from a man with empty pockets,” said Sabetha, “than riches from a man whose purse stays heavy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-more-proudly-take-a-speck-from-a-man-with-empty-pockets-said/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“He was bewildered at how quickly he had escaped his old life and fallen into this new one with strangely pleasant crazy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/he-was-bewildered-at-how-quickly-he-had-escaped-his-old-life-and/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [I think piracy is a bit like drinking. You want to stay out all night doing it, you pay the price the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-think-piracy-is-a-bit-like-drinking-you-want-to-stay-out-all-night/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“That's a sweet piece," said Jean, briefly forgetting to be aggravated. "You didn't snatch that off a street." "No," said Locke, before taking another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/that-s-a-sweet-piece-said-jean-briefly-forgetting-to-be-aggravated/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“But time’s a river, Locke, and we’ve always drifted farther down it than we think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/but-time-s-a-river-locke-and-we-ve-always-drifted-farther-down-it/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“I understand, my lord. I…don’t wish to embarrass you again.” “Embarrass me? Jean, you misunderstand.” Maranzalla kicked idly at the toy rapier, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-understand-my-lord-i-don-t-wish-to-embarrass-you-again-embarrass-me/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) [Explore all 241 Scott Lynch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) ## More Familiarity quotes > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [You have to know that you have to have familiarity with the artist that you want to be, but there's so much about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-barbaro/you-have-to-know-that-you-have-to-have-familiarity-with-the-artist/) [Monica Barbaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-barbaro/) > [I'm sure there are a lot of Italians who refer to themselves as goombahs and greaseballs and whatever. That's what people do. It gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-l-jackson/i-m-sure-there-are-a-lot-of-italians-who-refer-to-themselves-as/) [Samuel L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-l-jackson/) > [“And when I look into his eyes there’s a feeling of something I can only describe as familiarity, a sense of safety. Like coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-james/and-when-i-look-into-his-eyes-there-s-a-feeling-of-something-i-can/) [Rebecca James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-james/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) Alexander Agassiz > [Vulgar and inactive minds confound familiarity with knowledge, and conceive themselves informed of the whole nature of things, when they are shown their form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/vulgar-and-inactive-minds-confound-familiarity-with-knowledge-and/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is familiarity with life that makes time speed quickly. When every day is a step in the unknown, as for children, the days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/it-is-familiarity-with-life-that-makes-time-speed-quickly-when-every/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [When the writing is good, a book becomes a mirror. The reader will see an uncanny familiarity and respond accordingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-knox/when-the-writing-is-good-a-book-becomes-a-mirror-the-reader-will-see/) Jen Knox > [Today the greatest single deterrent to knowledge of Jesus is His familiarity. Because we think we know Him, we pass Him by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-kirkland/today-the-greatest-single-deterrent-to-knowledge-of-jesus-is-his/) Winifred Kirkland > [When you've worked in the same place for 13 years, when things go well, you know how to keep it going well. When things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stevens/when-you-ve-worked-in-the-same-place-for-13-years-when-things-go-well/) [Brad Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stevens/) > [The hues of the opal, the light of the diamond, are not to be seen if the eye is too near.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-hues-of-the-opal-the-light-of-the-diamond-are-not-to-be-seen-if/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/all-all-are-gone-the-old-familiar-faces/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [But while ignorance can make you insensitive, familiarity can also numb. Entering the second half-century of an information age, our cumulative knowledge has changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/but-while-ignorance-can-make-you-insensitive-familiarity-can-also/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) Browse all 454 Familiarity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp edges off our feelings for other people. 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