--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wondered if that was how the world went…" description: "\"“I wondered if that was how the world went round - nothing more than eight billion strangers sitting together and telling each other stories and lies w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg" --- # I wondered if that was how the world went round - nothing… ![“I wondered if that was how the world went round - nothing more than eight billion strangers sitting together and telling each other stories and lies while trying to figure out just who the hell each other really was.” quote by Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg) > ““I wondered if that was how the world went round - nothing more than eight billion strangers sitting together and telling each other stories and lies while trying to figure out just who the hell each other really was.”” [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The world is a collection of strangers sharing stories and lies, each trying to discover true identity amidst uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Strangers share stories while seeking identity. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity about others. Themes humanity storytelling identity Mood contemplative philosophical Type literary social When to use this quote - communication - philosophical Key Concepts social interaction self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do we discern truth? - What role do stories play? A Different Perspective Truth can be elusive in narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sitting together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-together/) [Strangers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers/) ## Related quotes > [“Who among us has not wondered if all the world is no more than a personal dream?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-salvatore/who-among-us-has-not-wondered-if-all-the-world-is-no-more-than-a/) [R.A. Salvatore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-salvatore/) > [“wondered, too, if I’d done enough for the world I loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/wondered-too-if-i-d-done-enough-for-the-world-i-loved/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [“She wondered whether the world's problems might be solved by access to the stars. Or simply exported.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/she-wondered-whether-the-world-s-problems-might-be-solved-by-access/) [jack mcdevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [“Growing up I often wondered how the world would be today if, since the beginning of human life, every person acted as I did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/growing-up-i-often-wondered-how-the-world-would-be-today-if-since-the/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Perhaps I should call the Guinness Book people. I wondered what the world record was for not being sure whether you committed a string…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/perhaps-i-should-call-the-guinness-book-people-i-wondered-what-the/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [“Death makes the whole world kin. Rowan wondered if a world without death would then make everyone stranger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/death-makes-the-whole-world-kin-rowan-wondered-if-a-world-without/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [I've often wondered, what if all of us in the world discovered that we were threatened by an outer -- a power from outer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-often-wondered-what-if-all-of-us-in-the-world-discovered-that-we/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [There are two sides to every story. And in the middle of those two stories lies the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/there-are-two-sides-to-every-story-and-in-the-middle-of-those-two/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“I'm never really upset when a person lies because I don't place much value in truths. When you look at the grand design, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-suggs/i-m-never-really-upset-when-a-person-lies-because-i-don-t-place-much/) [Lionel Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-suggs/) > [All stories are lies, but good stories are lies made of light and fire. They lift our hearts out of the dust and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/all-stories-are-lies-but-good-stories-are-lies-made-of-light-and-fire/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [A lotta stuff has been written about me that I never said. Stories that were lies. One guy wrote that young as I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-sammartino/a-lotta-stuff-has-been-written-about-me-that-i-never-said-stories/) [Bruno Sammartino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-sammartino/) > [“A man is the stories he tells about himself, and most of those stories are lies. Never look too closely. If you uncover his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/a-man-is-the-stories-he-tells-about-himself-and-most-of-those-stories/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“All stories are lies until someone believes in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-barnhill/all-stories-are-lies-until-someone-believes-in-them/) [Kelly Barnhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-barnhill/) > [No, Paul, I couldn't care less if you tell me made-up stories. Our lies reveal as much about us as our truths.' (Said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-paul-i-couldn-t-care-less-if-you-tell-me-made-up-stories-our-lies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I could anticipate some of the stories and lies that will be told. It's going to be great to get everyone together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-conley/i-wish-i-could-anticipate-some-of-the-stories-and-lies-that-will-be/) Larry Conley ## More by Steve Vernon > [“My first jailbreak began when a coarse-toothed mechanic’s file crashed through the window of the Deeper Harbour Police Station at two in the morning.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/my-first-jailbreak-began-when-a-coarse-toothed-mechanic-s-file/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“So as near as I could tell the end of the world began roughly about the time that Billy Carver’s butt rang about halfway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/so-as-near-as-i-could-tell-the-end-of-the-world-began-roughly-about/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“It is midnight in the hard part of town. The mask is itching like it always does. The ragged end of my cape is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/it-is-midnight-in-the-hard-part-of-town-the-mask-is-itching-like-it/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“At the end of the day this is nothing more than a blog. It's nice to hit them high notes - but REALLY -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/at-the-end-of-the-day-this-is-nothing-more-than-a-blog-it-s-nice-to/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“We all learn to carry so much unnecessary regret. We drag it around behind ourselves and wear it sewn into the inner lining of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/we-all-learn-to-carry-so-much-unnecessary-regret-we-drag-it-around/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“There were a lot of them - so many promises washed up like waves on the rocky beach, only to be pulled away just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/there-were-a-lot-of-them-so-many-promises-washed-up-like-waves-on-the/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“I've been hearing about how good and kind and merciful that old boy is upstairs, but I've read the Old Testament. You just take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/i-ve-been-hearing-about-how-good-and-kind-and-merciful-that-old-boy/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) > [“What did grown men see in the rattle of sticks, the slashing of steel over ice and hockey sweaters worn way beyond funk?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/what-did-grown-men-see-in-the-rattle-of-sticks-the-slashing-of-steel/) [Steve Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) [Explore all 9 Steve Vernon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/) ## More Sitting together quotes > [True friendship is sitting together in silence and feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-friendship-is-sitting-together-in-silence-and-feeling-like-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“People were sitting together, talking and telling stories face-to-face again, instead of staring at a cell phone screens while texting or chatting with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-foster/people-were-sitting-together-talking-and-telling-stories-face-to-face/) [Mike Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-foster/) > [“I hate couples sitting together for hours and waiting for each other to kiss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/i-hate-couples-sitting-together-for-hours-and-waiting-for-each-other/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [A guy was trying to get a girl's attention. He decided to ask her to help him with his homework. She agreed. While sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-guy-was-trying-to-get-a-girl-s-attention-he-decided-to-ask-her-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...whenever I see a table of college “friends” sitting together they are inevitably texting with unseen others, searching, always searching, I guess, for something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/whenever-i-see-a-table-of-college-friends-sitting-together-they-are/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [The multiplexes audience has one way of thinking. When they are all sitting together temperamentally, there is room for a filmmaker to reach out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-leela-bhansali/the-multiplexes-audience-has-one-way-of-thinking-when-they-are-all/) [Sanjay Leela Bhansali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-leela-bhansali/) > [“What else we know? Nothing. That´s why we´re sitting together in this car now. Because we´re the same, and because we don´t know a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-else-we-know-nothing-that-s-why-we-re-sitting-together-in-this/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Here is the door of my mom's house, well-remembered childhood portal. Here is the yard, and a set of wires that runs from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/here-is-the-door-of-my-mom-s-house-well-remembered-childhood-portal/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Father and the child were no longer speaking, but they sat together in silence. The child was at his feet, and he sat, up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dominique-taxer/father-and-the-child-were-no-longer-speaking-but-they-sat-together-in/) [Carmen Dominique Taxer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dominique-taxer/) > [“The light poured through the windows upon his photographs and the poem of us sitting together a last time. Robert dying: creating silence. Myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/the-light-poured-through-the-windows-upon-his-photographs-and-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [True friendship is sitting together in silence without feeling awkward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-friendship-is-sitting-together-in-silence-without-feeling-awkward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think college football is a reflection of Middle America. You go into a college football town, and you will find three generations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jackson/i-think-college-football-is-a-reflection-of-middle-america-you-go/) [Keith Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jackson/) > [“Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with the people we feel drawn to all our lives, precisely these so-called simple people, whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/again-and-again-we-picture-ourselves-sitting-together-with-the-people/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“Then there are the simple things. The way she fits against my side when we’re sitting together. How she can silence my addled thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-tomblin/then-there-are-the-simple-things-the-way-she-fits-against-my-side/) [Erik Tomblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-tomblin/) > [Gogol remembers having to do the same thing when he was younger, when his grandparents died...He remembers, back then, being bored by it, annoyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/gogol-remembers-having-to-do-the-same-thing-when-he-was-younger-when/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) [Browse all 42 Sitting together quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-together/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I wondered if that was how the world went round - nothing more than eight billion strangers sitting together and telling each other stories and lies while trying to figure out just who the hell each other really was.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Vernon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-went-round-nothing-more-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sitting together" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-went-round-nothing-more-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/steve-vernon-43494_sitting-together_i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-wen_2661680.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wondered if that was how the world went round - nothing more than eight billion strangers sitting together…” — Steve Vernon", "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": "Steve Vernon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vernon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I wondered if that was how...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-went-round-nothing-more-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vernon/i-wondered-if-that-was-how-the-world-went-round-nothing-more-than/#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 } } ] } ```