--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can no better imagine what will be…" description: "\"We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan. Except to say that i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/seth-shostak-2047_better_we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-ha_531170.jpg" --- # We can no better imagine what will be happening on the… ![“We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan. Except to say that it will be a place familiar to billions of people.” quote by Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/seth-shostak-2047_better_we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-ha_531170.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/seth-shostak-2047_better_we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-ha_531170.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/seth-shostak-2047_better_we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-ha_531170.jpg) > “We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan. Except to say that it will be a place familiar to billions of people.” [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future lunar colonies will become as familiar as modern cities, just as Columbus could not have imagined Manhattan. **In simple terms:** The moon will be a bustling place for billions. Key Takeaway Prepare for lunar settlement opportunities. Themes exploration future technology Mood optimistic visionary Type speculative inspirational When to use this quote - space tourism - resource extraction - scientific research - international cooperation Key Concepts space colonization urbanization human destiny Questions to Reflect On - What infrastructure is needed first? - How will lunar life affect Earth society? A Different Perspective Technological and political challenges may delay habitation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) [Columbus Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus-imagine-4461864/) [Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Except](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/except/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Familiar Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar-billions-4461867/) [Happening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happening/) [Happening Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happening-moon-4461865/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Happening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-happening-286221/) [Manhattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhattan/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Moon 500](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon-500-4461866/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“But you don't prove anything at all when you say it's something you just can't imagine happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lipman/but-you-don-t-prove-anything-at-all-when-you-say-it-s-something-you/) [Matthew Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lipman/) > [I'm always careful about the thing I'm writing to make sure a viewer can imagine it happening to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-farhadi/i-m-always-careful-about-the-thing-i-m-writing-to-make-sure-a-viewer/) [Asghar Farhadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-farhadi/) > [But believe me, just because the human mind can't imagine something happening...doesn't mean it won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/but-believe-me-just-because-the-human-mind-can-t-imagine-something/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Things you let yourself imagine happening, never do happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/things-you-let-yourself-imagine-happening-never-do-happen/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [There's stuff going on in the world right now, which you can't imagine why is this happening; it's crazy. 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That's how I conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-bell/i-don-t-like-something-so-fantasy-filled-that-i-couldn-t-imagine-it/) [Art Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-bell/) > [The thing to keep in mind is that we're still in the very early days when it comes to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-thing-to-keep-in-mind-is-that-we-re-still-in-the-very-early-days/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I've often fantasized about visiting the Bahamian beach where Columbus first stumbled ashore in 1492. Sadly, no one knows where that beach is. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-ve-often-fantasized-about-visiting-the-bahamian-beach-where/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Neil Armstrong was no Christopher Columbus. In most respects, he was better. Unlike the famous fifteenth century seafarer, Armstrong knew where he landed. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/neil-armstrong-was-no-christopher-columbus-in-most-respects-he-was/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Columbus was not the first person to discover America, but the last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-domingos/columbus-was-not-the-first-person-to-discover-america-but-the-last/) [Pedro Domingos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-domingos/) > [I think at Ohio State, we're professional athletes in Columbus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-elliott/i-think-at-ohio-state-we-re-professional-athletes-in-columbus/) [Ezekiel Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-elliott/) ## More by Seth Shostak > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. 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And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. But just about everyone would like to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/sure-nobody-will-make-a-fortune-if-we-figure-out-why-the-big-bang/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If you could drive straight down, into a tunnel bored through the crust of the planet, you'd hit this molten mess in about an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/if-you-could-drive-straight-down-into-a-tunnel-bored-through-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [While I have always thought that the motivation for looking for E.T. was both self-evident and patently worthy, it's possible that I'm a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/while-i-have-always-thought-that-the-motivation-for-looking-for-e-t/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was-reading-stuff-from-cicero/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [This plucky NASA telescope is able to find planets en masse. If you compare planet hunting to prospecting for gold, then Kepler is equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/this-plucky-nasa-telescope-is-able-to-find-planets-en-masse-if-you/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of energy - for example black holes, or even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthetic-sentience-might-be-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Buying insurance is no one's idea of fun. And it's especially easy to berate something as funky-sounding as writing checks to defend our neighborhoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/buying-insurance-is-no-one-s-idea-of-fun-and-it-s-especially-easy-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Explore all 189 Seth Shostak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## More Better quotes > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [Everybody has their cliques, and I was very shy. I'm still very shy. Music opened up doors. 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I look at last year and my whole goal is to be a better player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/i-never-really-look-at-it-past-one-year-i-look-at-last-year-and-my/) [Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/) [Browse all 17,085 Better quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan. 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