--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact…" description: "\"The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact on our minds, but in relative terms, the scale of casualties actually wasn't all that high.\" — Steven Pinker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg" --- # The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact on our minds… ![“The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact on our minds, but in relative terms, the scale of casualties actually wasn't all that high.” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg) > “The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact on our minds, but in relative terms, the scale of casualties actually wasn't all that high.” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. While 9/11 was shocking, the overall death toll was modest compared to many historical tragedies. **In simple terms:** 9/11’s death count is relatively low. Key Takeaway Contextualize tragedies to avoid inflated fear. Themes history perception violence Mood analytical critical Type educational informative When to use this quote - news consumption - policy debate - education curricula - public speeches Key Concepts statistics media framing human nature Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape our sense of scale? - What role should statistics play in public memory? A Different Perspective Focusing on numbers may downplay emotional impact on victims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) ## Related quotes > [I think on civilian casualties they could do more. It's actually something I've discussed with the editors involved. They're aware of it, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-okrent/i-think-on-civilian-casualties-they-could-do-more-it-s-actually/) [Daniel Okrent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-okrent/) > [Peace is a condition in which no civilian pays any attention to military casualties which do not achieve a page one lead story unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/peace-is-a-condition-in-which-no-civilian-pays-any-attention-to/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [People don't remember me for how high my legs went, even though they went up very high, and how many pirouettes I did. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-jamison/people-don-t-remember-me-for-how-high-my-legs-went-even-though-they/) [Judith Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-jamison/) > [Bad times are indelible. They stay with you forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/bad-times-are-indelible-they-stay-with-you-forever/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [This is a lyrical guide that addresses the deep human yearning to make a difference. It's full of indelible stories reminding us that, yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/this-is-a-lyrical-guide-that-addresses-the-deep-human-yearning-to/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) is probably the most influential film of my generation. It's the personification of good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-abrams/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-1977-is-probably-the-most-influential/) [J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-abrams/) > [With iron and blood, it seems, and from the rich depths of the earth, John Griswold has fashioned a classic American novel, its dignified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-shacochis/with-iron-and-blood-it-seems-and-from-the-rich-depths-of-the-earth/) [Bob Shacochis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-shacochis/) > [“Whether you realize it or not, you have lived many lives, and each one has left an indelible mark on your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/whether-you-realize-it-or-not-you-have-lived-many-lives-and-each-one/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [The professionals resemble and recognize each other by virtue of the stigmata that their trade has left upon them. They are like the dog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-professionals-resemble-and-recognize-each-other-by-virtue-of-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Oldboy makes us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. It's a grand, gritty, indelible experience, the sort of picture that mimics great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/oldboy-makes-us-feel-a-part-of-something-bigger-than-ourselves-it-s-a/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [“Do you trust me?" She could still hear him, through flesh and noise. "I love you!" she shouted. It wasn't the answer he'd expected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-metcalf/do-you-trust-me-she-could-still-hear-him-through-flesh-and-noise-i/) [Dawn Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-metcalf/) > [The shock of any trauma, I think changes your life. It's more acute in the beginning and after a little time you settle back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/the-shock-of-any-trauma-i-think-changes-your-life-it-s-more-acute-in/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Feminist theory has left an indelible mark on my own critical—and creative—thinking . . . For me, everything I questioned about what it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/feminist-theory-has-left-an-indelible-mark-on-my-own-critical-and/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Failure actually makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-sharma/failure-actually-makes-you-strong/) [Neha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-sharma/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [The alternative comedy scene is actually pretty small, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-wilson/the-alternative-comedy-scene-is-actually-pretty-small-i-guess/) [Casey Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-wilson/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I actually do sing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-actually-do-sing-sometimes/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. It's often things which other people might not notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-frame/i-ve-actually-got-quite-a-good-memory-i-ve-good-recall-it-s-often/) [Ronald Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-frame/) > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) Browse all 4,248 Actually quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact on our minds, but in relative terms, the scale of casualties actually wasn't all that high.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impact-on-our-minds-but-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actually" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impact-on-our-minds-but-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/steven-pinker-526_actually_the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impac_1301523.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The 9/11 strikes left an indelible impact on our minds, but in relative terms, the scale of casualties…” — Steven Pinker", "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": "Steven Pinker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The 9/11 strikes left an indelible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impact-on-our-minds-but-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-9-11-strikes-left-an-indelible-impact-on-our-minds-but-in/#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 } } ] } ```