--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is there sound, he wondered, without…" description: "\"“Is there sound, he wondered, without reception? Do you hear the shot that gets you? How big, in fact, was the Big Bang? Do our pathetic earthly squeal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/tim-o-brien-1818_big-bang_is-there-sound-he-wondered-without-recep_893310.png" --- # Is there sound, he wondered, without reception? Do you… ![“Is there sound, he wondered, without reception? Do you hear the shot that gets you? How big, in fact, was the Big Bang? Do our pathetic earthly squeals fall upon deaf ears? Is silence golden or common stone.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/tim-o-brien-1818_big-bang_is-there-sound-he-wondered-without-recep_893310.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/tim-o-brien-1818_big-bang_is-there-sound-he-wondered-without-recep_893310.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/tim-o-brien-1818_big-bang_is-there-sound-he-wondered-without-recep_893310.png) > ““Is there sound, he wondered, without reception? Do you hear the shot that gets you? How big, in fact, was the Big Bang? Do our pathetic earthly squeals fall upon deaf ears? Is silence golden or common stone.”” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions whether sound exists without a receiver, linking silence to meaning and the unknowable nature of the universe. **In simple terms:** Sound needs a listener; silence can be meaningful or empty. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond what is heard. Themes communication existence silence Mood contemplative philosophical Type literary existential When to use this quote - listening to music - meditation - scientific inquiry Key Concepts philosophy cosmology perception Questions to Reflect On - Do you find silence comforting? - How do you interpret unheard signals? A Different Perspective Silence may be indifferent, not always profound. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big bang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-bang/) [Deaf ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf-ears/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [“He’d heard everything he needed to know. Yuri’s finger curled around the Barrett’s match trigger, applying pressure… In cold air, sound travels at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-england/he-d-heard-everything-he-needed-to-know-yuri-s-finger-curled-around/) [Stephen England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-england/) > [You won you got me didn't you hear you shot me you may have gotten me but I sure as heck got you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayonna-marie-brace/you-won-you-got-me-didn-t-you-hear-you-shot-me-you-may-have-gotten-me/) [Dayonna Marie Brace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayonna-marie-brace/) > [Silence is golden for me. I live in the country and hear only my pets, birds, crickets, and the wind in the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-armstrong/silence-is-golden-for-me-i-live-in-the-country-and-hear-only-my-pets/) [Franny Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-armstrong/) > [and silence is the golden mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/and-silence-is-the-golden-mountain/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“If silence were golden, everyone would be rich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/if-silence-were-golden-everyone-would-be-rich/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [Speech may be silver but silence is golden. Traders with the golden touch do not talk about their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bradford-raschke/speech-may-be-silver-but-silence-is-golden-traders-with-the-golden/) [Linda Bradford Raschke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bradford-raschke/) > [Silence is golden but when it threatens your freedom it's yellow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/silence-is-golden-but-when-it-threatens-your-freedom-it-s-yellow/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“I need this conversation. They say silence is golden. Maybe it is, although I'm not sure it's worth that much. It has its price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-sapkowski/i-need-this-conversation-they-say-silence-is-golden-maybe-it-is/) [Andrzej Sapkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-sapkowski/) > [Words are wonderful gifts given to our voice, they may often become noise; but silence is always golden, it gives us power to conquer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinmoy-sarkar/words-are-wonderful-gifts-given-to-our-voice-they-may-often-become/) Chinmoy Sarkar > [“Silence is golden but, ducktape is silver”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-mckoin/silence-is-golden-but-ducktape-is-silver/) Ellie McKoin > [“Say as little as possible,” Lady Berwick told the girls severely. “Remember that silence is golden.” Glancing at Pandora, she added, “In your case,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/say-as-little-as-possible-lady-berwick-told-the-girls-severely/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Silence is golden, and gold is up these days, so silence is a solid investment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/silence-is-golden-and-gold-is-up-these-days-so-silence-is-a-solid/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [My silence is golden, I Dnt waste time on empty barrels, empty barrels make the most noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweetner/my-silence-is-golden-i-dnt-waste-time-on-empty-barrels-empty-barrels/) [Sweetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweetner/) > [It is well, when in difficulties, to say never a word, neither black nor white. Speech is silver but silence is golden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/it-is-well-when-in-difficulties-to-say-never-a-word-neither-black-nor/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“My silence is golden and can never be misquoted." ~Elissa Gabrielle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-gabrielle/my-silence-is-golden-and-can-never-be-misquoted-elissa-gabrielle/) [Elissa Gabrielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-gabrielle/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. 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You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. 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I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Big bang quotes > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [ Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre, the guys who run that show \[Big Bang Theory\], are really funny and really smart, and the cast is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/bill-prady-and-chuck-lorre-the-guys-who-run-that-show-big-bang-theory/) [Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/) > [Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. 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