---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What’s reality? I don’t know. When my…"
description: "\"“What’s reality? I don’t know. When my bird was looking at my computer monitor I thought, ‘That bird has no idea what he’s looking at.’ And yet what do..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg"
---

#  What’s reality? I don’t know. When my bird was looking at…

![“What’s reality? I don’t know. When my bird was looking at my computer monitor I thought, ‘That bird has no idea what he’s looking at.’ And yet what does the bird do? Does he panic? No, he can’t really panic, he just does the best he can. Is he able to live in a world where he’s so ignorant? Well…” quote by Terry A. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg)

> ““What’s reality? I don’t know. When my bird was looking at my computer monitor I thought, ‘That bird has no idea what he’s looking at.’ And yet what does the bird do? Does he panic? No, he can’t really panic, he just does the best he can. Is he able to live in a world where he’s so ignorant? Well, he doesn’t really have a choice. The bird is okay even though he doesn’t understand the world. You’re that bird looking at the monitor, and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I can figure this out.’ Maybe you have some bird ideas. Maybe that’s the best you can do.””

Terry A. Davis

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A bird, unaware of its surroundings, calmly persists; similarly, humans can act despite ignorance.

**In simple terms:** Ignorance doesn’t prevent action.

Key Takeaway

Act despite limited understanding.

Themes

ignorance acceptance resilience

Mood

philosophical personal

Type

Bird:1 Birds:0 Computers:0 Screen:0 Bird Does:0 Know Bird:0 Thought Bird:0 Bird Idea:0 Bird Ideas:0

When to use this quote

- Over‑simplification may ignore the need for knowledge.

Key Concepts

personal growth learning new adaptation self‑awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- calm
- resilient

A Different Perspective

How can you balance action with learning?;What does “best you can do” mean?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Birds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birds/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/)

## Related quotes

> [“As women, we are always taught never to let a man know of our affections towards him, lest he laugh, run away, or think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/as-women-we-are-always-taught-never-to-let-a-man-know-of-our-2/)

[C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/)

> [“The bird music sank into her, like a song you used to know but forgot long ago. You hear a piano play it some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-catmull/the-bird-music-sank-into-her-like-a-song-you-used-to-know-but-forgot/)

[Katherine Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-catmull/)

> [For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-thought-is-a-bird-of-space-that-in-a-cage-of-words-may-indeed/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [One day, I just thought, if you see a bird with a broken leg, you really have the urge to do something about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrik-baboumian/one-day-i-just-thought-if-you-see-a-bird-with-a-broken-leg-you-really/)

[Patrik Baboumian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrik-baboumian/)

> [“And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/and-in-much-of-your-talking-thinking-is-half-murdered-for-thought-is/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [I wish I had a lie detector test right now He hit my girl word - Oh thats what you heard? He know he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gucci-mane/i-wish-i-had-a-lie-detector-test-right-now-he-hit-my-girl-word-oh/)

[Gucci Mane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gucci-mane/)

> [“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/you-can-know-the-name-of-a-bird-in-all-the-languages-of-the-world-but/)

[Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/)

> [“I never kid about my warrior demigod status." "Oh. My. God." I lower my voice, having forgotten to whisper. "You are nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/i-never-kid-about-my-warrior-demigod-status-oh-my-god-i-lower-my/)

[Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/)

> [I don't know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do know is that it is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-don-t-know-whether-the-bird-you-are-holding-is-dead-or-alive-but/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“The truest vision of life I know is that bird in the Venerable Bede that flutters from the dark into a lighted hall, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/the-truest-vision-of-life-i-know-is-that-bird-in-the-venerable-bede/)

[Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/)

> [You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/you-can-know-the-name-of-a-bird-in-all-the-languages-of-the-world-but-2/)

[Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/)

> [“A bird does not fly because of the wind around it, but because of the strength within it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-bird-does-not-fly-because-of-the-wind-around-it-but-because-of-the/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [“If a bird does not bring out all of the songs on its heart, all its symphonies die inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-a-bird-does-not-bring-out-all-of-the-songs-on-its-heart-all-its/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [“A bird that sings too much will only lose its voice, but a bird that does not sing at all will lose its symphonies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-bird-that-sings-too-much-will-only-lose-its-voice-but-a-bird-that/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [“A dog wash?” Bird repeated the next morning. I’d called her to let her know I needed to talk. She was making her Scoopin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/a-dog-wash-bird-repeated-the-next-morning-i-d-called-her-to-let-her/)

[Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/)

## More Bird quotes

> [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/)

[Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/)

> [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/)

Nina Schuyler

> [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/)

[Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/)

> [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/)

[Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/)

> [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/)

[Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/)

> [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/)

[Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/)

> [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/)

[Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/)

> [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/)

[Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/)

[Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What’s reality? I don’t know. When my bird was looking at my computer monitor I thought, ‘That bird has no idea what he’s looking at.’ And yet what does the bird do? Does he panic? No, he can’t really panic, he just does the best he can. Is he able to live in a world where he’s so ignorant? Well, he doesn’t really have a choice. The bird is okay even though he doesn’t understand the world. You’re that bird looking at the monitor, and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I can figure this out.’ Maybe you have some bird ideas. Maybe that’s the best you can do.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terry A. Davis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-a-davis/what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird-was-looking-at-my-computer/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bird"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-a-davis/what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird-was-looking-at-my-computer/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terry-a-davis-179367_bird_what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird_1210811.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What’s reality? I don’t know. When my bird was looking at my computer monitor I thought, ‘That bird has no…” — Terry A. Davis",
                "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": "Terry A. Davis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-a-davis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What’s reality? I don’t know. When...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-a-davis/what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird-was-looking-at-my-computer/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-a-davis/what-s-reality-i-don-t-know-when-my-bird-was-looking-at-my-computer/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
