--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you read, I'm sure you don't realize…" description: "\"When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes are going backwards and forwards and to this place and that place. Mine don't do that.\" — Terr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/terry-pratchett-19_backwards_when-you-read-i-m-sure-you-don-t-realize_2378726.jpg" --- # When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes… ![“When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes are going backwards and forwards and to this place and that place. Mine don't do that.” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/terry-pratchett-19_backwards_when-you-read-i-m-sure-you-don-t-realize_2378726.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/terry-pratchett-19_backwards_when-you-read-i-m-sure-you-don-t-realize_2378726.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/terry-pratchett-19_backwards_when-you-read-i-m-sure-you-don-t-realize_2378726.jpg) > “When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes are going backwards and forwards and to this place and that place. Mine don't do that.” [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. He notes that reading involves mentally moving between places, unlike the eyes' physical motion. **In simple terms:** Reading transports the mind, not the eyes. Key Takeaway Embrace mental journeys. Themes imagination reading perception cognition Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - travel planning Key Concepts literary theory cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - How does reading change your perspective? - Can you visualize without reading? A Different Perspective Physical focus may limit imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) ## Related quotes > [“How would he know if time was going backwards or forwards or if he was going with it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/how-would-he-know-if-time-was-going-backwards-or-forwards-or-if-he/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [A person with half volition goes backwards and forwards, but makes no progress on even the smoothest of roads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/a-person-with-half-volition-goes-backwards-and-forwards-but-makes-no/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Change is non-linear and can go backwards, forwards and sideways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/change-is-non-linear-and-can-go-backwards-forwards-and-sideways/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [I don't know where I should go, backwards or forwards now I don't know what I should do, feelin lonely or be with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william/i-don-t-know-where-i-should-go-backwards-or-forwards-now-i-don-t-know/) [WillIAm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william/) > [I travel backwards and forwards quite a lot. 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Why would I?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-diaz/i-m-not-going-backwards-in-this-sport-ever-especially-in-pay-why/) [Nick Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-diaz/) > [Efforts to bring about democracy have hit a wall and are going backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/efforts-to-bring-about-democracy-have-hit-a-wall-and-are-going/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backwards."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backwards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never felt my career was going backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-adam/i-never-felt-my-career-was-going-backwards/) [Charlie Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-adam/) > [Is it better, is it worse? Are we sittin' in reverse? It's just like were going backwards. 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'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 Backwards quotes > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I wear T-shirts and backwards hats and buy my shoes at Payless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-wear-t-shirts-and-backwards-hats-and-buy-my-shoes-at-payless/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/in-the-spiritual-life-he-who-does-not-advance-goes-backwards/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Can anyone be so foolish as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or places where things may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/can-anyone-be-so-foolish-as-to-believe-that-there-are-men-whose-feet/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-took-a-little-break-i-was-coming-back-to-work-and-the-last-thing-i/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [We have different expectations for different groups of people. We tend to modulate the degree with which we're forgiving or punitive depending on how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/we-have-different-expectations-for-different-groups-of-people-we-tend/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [You know what, if you play 'She Looks So Perfect' backwards... you just listen to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-hemmings/you-know-what-if-you-play-she-looks-so-perfect-backwards-you-just/) [Luke Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-hemmings/) > [Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/nursing-is-a-progressive-art-such-that-to-stand-still-is-to-go/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [“Just like backing out of the driveway… If the driveway was ten miles long, full of rocks and pits, with lethal radiation hovering above,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-thorman/just-like-backing-out-of-the-driveway-if-the-driveway-was-ten-miles/) [Daniel Thorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-thorman/) > [We're not competitor obsessed, we're customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-re-not-competitor-obsessed-we-re-customer-obsessed-we-start-with/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) Browse all 837 Backwards quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes are going backwards and forwards and to this place and that place. 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