--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No such thing as original thought. We are…" description: "\"“No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars that burned before our time.”\" — Tom Hiddleston" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png" --- # No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars… ![“No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars that burned before our time.” quote by Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png) > ““No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars that burned before our time.”” [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Original ideas are impossible; we are merely recombining ancient influences. **In simple terms:** All thoughts echo past stars. Key Takeaway Embrace influence, create anew. Themes creativity originality influence Mood philosophical contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - art - science research Key Concepts cultural inheritance intellectual humility innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance inspiration and innovation? - Can we claim true originality? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on lack of originality can stifle confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Original thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-thought/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Shadows Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows-stars-1893416/) [Stars Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars-burned-307128/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-shadows-2035853/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Lilette was like a star—full of light and distant beauty. Han was like the shadows around the stars—he let her shine. ~Jolin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-johnson/lilette-was-like-a-star-full-of-light-and-distant-beauty-han-was-like/) [Elana Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-johnson/) > [“When I die, my characters are going to spend forever pinging in the shadows and stars looking for brains to latch onto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/when-i-die-my-characters-are-going-to-spend-forever-pinging-in-the/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [“We were both just too messed up to ever be with each other in the way we needed to be. Two shooting stars that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/we-were-both-just-too-messed-up-to-ever-be-with-each-other-in-the-way/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [There were stars. They burned my eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/there-were-stars-they-burned-my-eyes/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“The stars burned with a lidless fixity and they drew nearer in the night until toward dawn he was stumbling among the whinstones of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-stars-burned-with-a-lidless-fixity-and-they-drew-nearer-in-the/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Maybe the past could never be past. Maybe it's burned into us like the stars are burned into the backdrop of the sky, irrevocable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-chua/maybe-the-past-could-never-be-past-maybe-it-s-burned-into-us-like-the/) [Joyce Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-chua/) > [“The whole of Paris was lit up. The tiny dancing flames had bespangled the sea of darkness from end to end of the horizon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-whole-of-paris-was-lit-up-the-tiny-dancing-flames-had-bespangled/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-facility-for-quotation-covers-the-absence-of-original-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If there's an original thought out there, I could use one right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-there-s-an-original-thought-out-there-i-could-use-one-right-now/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [All things are reproductions, ideas are reproductions of original thought. In terms of the ultimate singularity, all things are nothingness. Reverse on the inside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/all-things-are-reproductions-ideas-are-reproductions-of-original/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [Some people rely on rumors and gossip because they are devoid of any original thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-saget/some-people-rely-on-rumors-and-gossip-because-they-are-devoid-of-any/) [Bob Saget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-saget/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Genius differs from talent not by the amount of original thoughts, but by making the latter fertile and by positioning them properly, in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/genius-differs-from-talent-not-by-the-amount-of-original-thoughts-but/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [When we have the same thought again, the line of the original thought is deepened, causing what's called a memory trace. With each repetition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/when-we-have-the-same-thought-again-the-line-of-the-original-thought/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More by Tom Hiddleston > [“My mum always taught me the value of knowing, recognizing and acknowledging when you had a good day. There are so many bad days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/my-mum-always-taught-me-the-value-of-knowing-recognizing-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I definitely go through periods where I'm in a particular mood, or there's a consistent imaginative context that I feel I'm in, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-definitely-go-through-periods-where-i-m-in-a-particular-mood-or/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [“To have compassion for a character is no different from having compassion for another human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/to-have-compassion-for-a-character-is-no-different-from-having/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I think a healthy connection with the natural world actually makes us more human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-think-a-healthy-connection-with-the-natural-world-actually-makes-us/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [If you look at all of the villains in the course of human history, they've all believed, delusionally, in the virtue of their actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/if-you-look-at-all-of-the-villains-in-the-course-of-human-history/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I don't want to be quoted as 'Tom Hiddleston, psychologist says...' But there is a psychological aspect to being an actor. We are particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-don-t-want-to-be-quoted-as-tom-hiddleston-psychologist-says-but/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I gave myself permission to care, because there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of caring, who are afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-gave-myself-permission-to-care-because-there-are-a-lot-of-people-in/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [The most interesting thing about being alive is that there is no black and white; there are many shades of gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/the-most-interesting-thing-about-being-alive-is-that-there-is-no/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [ “Well, the thing that I suppose is closest to my heart is Shakespeare. I really am a nerd about Shakespeare, I love it \[laughs\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/well-the-thing-that-i-suppose-is-closest-to-my-heart-is-shakespeare-i/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I would always play the baddie, incidentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-would-always-play-the-baddie-incidentally/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Make love, not war. Unless you’re Loki, in which case: do what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/make-love-not-war-unless-you-re-loki-in-which-case-do-what-you-want/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Everybody is great and the chemistry is different with everyone. That is the joy of acting - you really don't know how it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/everybody-is-great-and-the-chemistry-is-different-with-everyone-that/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Truth in drama is elusive. You never quite find it, but the search for it is compulsive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/truth-in-drama-is-elusive-you-never-quite-find-it-but-the-search-for/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) [Explore all 220 Tom Hiddleston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars that burned before our time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Hiddleston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are-shadows-of-stars-that-burned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astronomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are-shadows-of-stars-that-burned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/tom-hiddleston-1633_astronomy_no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are_991900.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars that burned before our time.” — Tom Hiddleston", "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": "Tom Hiddleston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“No such thing as original thought....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are-shadows-of-stars-that-burned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/no-such-thing-as-original-thought-we-are-shadows-of-stars-that-burned/#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 } } ] } ```