--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is well known that stone can think…" description: "\"“It is well known that stone can think, because the whole of electronics is based on that fact, but in some universes men spend ages looking for other ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/terry-pratchett-19_geology_it-is-well-known-that-stone-can-think-be_824499.jpg" --- # It is well known that stone can think, because the whole… ![“It is well known that stone can think, because the whole of electronics is based on that fact, but in some universes men spend ages looking for other intelligences in the sky without once looking under their feet. That is because they've got the time-span all wrong. From stone's point of view the…” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/terry-pratchett-19_geology_it-is-well-known-that-stone-can-think-be_824499.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/terry-pratchett-19_geology_it-is-well-known-that-stone-can-think-be_824499.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/terry-pratchett-19_geology_it-is-well-known-that-stone-can-think-be_824499.jpg) > ““It is well known that stone can think, because the whole of electronics is based on that fact, but in some universes men spend ages looking for other intelligences in the sky without once looking under their feet. That is because they've got the time-span all wrong. From stone's point of view the universe is hardly created and mountain ranges are bouncing up and down like organ-stops while continents zip backward and forward in general high spirits, crashing into each other from the sheer joy of momentum and getting their rocks off. It is going to be quite some time before stone notices its disfiguring skin disease and starts to scratch, which is just as well.”” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stone is portrayed as a sentient entity, highlighting humanity’s misdirected search for intelligence while ignoring the obvious beneath our feet. **In simple terms:** People look up for alien life, ignoring the intelligence in stones. Key Takeaway Consider overlooked sources of insight. Themes humor philosophy science perspective Mood playful thoughtful Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - geology research - philosophical reflection - creative writing - science education Key Concepts sentience anthropocentrism cosmology Questions to Reflect On - What everyday "stones" might we be overlooking? - How does humor reveal deeper truths? A Different Perspective Stone consciousness is a fictional device, not scientific fact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Geology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geology/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Turn a brick to a stone but you think we dont have a soul. As a kid need to grow, the powders weight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/turn-a-brick-to-a-stone-but-you-think-we-dont-have-a-soul-as-a-kid/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [“Stone seems to bring into play an opposite quality of time. Stone, unlike man-made materials, is a primary material; therefore, it seems to existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-serra/stone-seems-to-bring-into-play-an-opposite-quality-of-time-stone/) [Richard Serra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-serra/) > [“If one could run the story of that first human group like a speeded-up motion picture through a million years of time, one might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/if-one-could-run-the-story-of-that-first-human-group-like-a-speeded/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Emma Stone, I think, always looks beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/emma-stone-i-think-always-looks-beautiful/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [“ They set down all their knowledge on bits of leather or waxed wood or tablets of stone and think that is wisdom. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/they-set-down-all-their-knowledge-on-bits-of-leather-or-waxed-wood-or/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [A rock or stone is not a subject that, of itself, may interest a philosopher to study; but, when he comes to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hutton/a-rock-or-stone-is-not-a-subject-that-of-itself-may-interest-a/) [James Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hutton/) > [“That's Third Thoughts for you. When a huge rock is going to land on your head, they're the thoughts that think: Is that an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/that-s-third-thoughts-for-you-when-a-huge-rock-is-going-to-land-on/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The decline of geography in academia is easy to understand: we live in an age of ever-increasing specialization, and geography is a generalist's discipline.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/the-decline-of-geography-in-academia-is-easy-to-understand-we-live-in/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Geology is rapidly taking its place as an introduction to the higher history of man. If the author has sought to exalt a favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dwight-dana/geology-is-rapidly-taking-its-place-as-an-introduction-to-the-higher/) [James Dwight Dana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dwight-dana/) > [As geology is essentially a historical science, the working method of the geologist resembles that of the historian. This makes the personality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinout-willem-van-bemmelen/as-geology-is-essentially-a-historical-science-the-working-method-of/) [Reinout Willem van Bemmelen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinout-willem-van-bemmelen/) > [At Olduvai, for 20 years, Mary and I had investigated and made a general survey of the overall geology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leakey/at-olduvai-for-20-years-mary-and-i-had-investigated-and-made-a/) [Louis Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leakey/) > [I may remind you that history is not a branch of literature. The facts of history, like the facts of geology or astronomy, can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-bury/i-may-remind-you-that-history-is-not-a-branch-of-literature-the-facts/) [J. B. Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-bury/) > [“Have you ever plunged into the immensity of space and time by reading the geological treatises of Cuvier? Borne away on the wings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/have-you-ever-plunged-into-the-immensity-of-space-and-time-by-reading/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My work more than didn't fit in. It crossed willy-nilly the boundaries that people had spent their lives building up. It hits some 30…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/my-work-more-than-didn-t-fit-in-it-crossed-willy-nilly-the-boundaries/) [Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/) > [ \[In geology,\] As in history, the material in hand remains silent if no questions are asked. The nature of these questions depends on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-geology-as-in-history-the-material-in-hand-remains-silent-if-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. 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Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You are not apprehensive, are you? I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Geology quotes > [ \[In geology,\] As in history, the material in hand remains silent if no questions are asked. The nature of these questions depends on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-geology-as-in-history-the-material-in-hand-remains-silent-if-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My work more than didn't fit in. 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Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-bury/) > [At Olduvai, for 20 years, Mary and I had investigated and made a general survey of the overall geology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leakey/at-olduvai-for-20-years-mary-and-i-had-investigated-and-made-a/) [Louis Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leakey/) > [As geology is essentially a historical science, the working method of the geologist resembles that of the historian. This makes the personality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinout-willem-van-bemmelen/as-geology-is-essentially-a-historical-science-the-working-method-of/) [Reinout Willem van Bemmelen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinout-willem-van-bemmelen/) > [Geology is rapidly taking its place as an introduction to the higher history of man. 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From stone's point of view the universe is hardly created and mountain ranges are bouncing up and down like organ-stops while continents zip backward and forward in general high spirits, crashing into each other from the sheer joy of momentum and getting their rocks off. 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