--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't…" description: "\"Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no one's around to write horror stories.\" — Vernor Vinge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png" --- # Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no… ![“Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no one's around to write horror stories.” quote by Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png) > “Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no one's around to write horror stories.” [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Minor catastrophes often go unnoticed because no one witnesses them, leaving them unrecorded. **In simple terms:** Small disasters are ignored without witnesses. Key Takeaway Document all impacts, big or small. Themes technology awareness history Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - disaster response planning - media coverage - historical research - policy making Key Concepts obscurity record-keeping impact assessment Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve detection? - What counts as a disaster? A Different Perspective Some events may be impossible to detect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Disasters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disasters/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Horror stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror-stories/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to write a horror story. But in some ways, I have always thought of myself as a kind of ghost-story/horror writer, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-wanted-to-write-a-horror-story-but-in-some-ways-i-have-always/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [ \[Robert\] Aikman would write horror stories that weren't gore, they weren't slashers, and they weren't monster stories either. He called them ghost stories. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/robert-aikman-would-write-horror-stories-that-weren-t-gore-they-weren/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“You can be brave and confident as you like, you can convince yourself that you’re invulnerable, that you know what you’re dealing with. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-hayder/you-can-be-brave-and-confident-as-you-like-you-can-convince-yourself/) [Mo Hayder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-hayder/) > [Most history is a record of the triumphs, disasters, and follies of top people. The black hole in it is the way of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-howard-20th-earl-of-arundel/most-history-is-a-record-of-the-triumphs-disasters-and-follies-of-top/) Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel > [We love disasters that have nothing to do with us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/we-love-disasters-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-us/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [All disasters stem from us. Why is there a war? Perhaps because now and then I might be inclined to snap at my neighbour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/all-disasters-stem-from-us-why-is-there-a-war-perhaps-because-now-and/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [But ah! disasters have their use; And life might e'en be too sunshiny...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stuart-calverley/but-ah-disasters-have-their-use-and-life-might-e-en-be-too-sunshiny/) [Charles Stuart Calverley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stuart-calverley/) > [Disasters have no mercy hours where they stop visiting the people; for them, all hours are favourite and legitimate to visit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/disasters-have-no-mercy-hours-where-they-stop-visiting-the-people-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Live disasters are wonderful attractions when you're safe on the other side of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/live-disasters-are-wonderful-attractions-when-you-re-safe-on-the/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [i am a limitless series of natural disasters and all of these disasters have been unnaturally repressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-am-a-limitless-series-of-natural-disasters-and-all-of-these/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [When you see natural disasters caught on film you realize how well they had been imagined by Hollywood for such a long time. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-harris/when-you-see-natural-disasters-caught-on-film-you-realize-how-well/) [Jared Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-harris/) > [The environmental movement, like all political processes, reacts best to disasters. But these are very slow, very gradual disasters in the making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/the-environmental-movement-like-all-political-processes-reacts-best/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [Disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, oil spills and radioactive fallout cause massive death of people, pigs, bats and birds. These disasters also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stamets/disasters-such-as-earthquakes-tsunamis-volcanoes-floods-oil-spills/) [Paul Stamets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stamets/) > [Birth: The first and direst of all disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/birth-the-first-and-direst-of-all-disasters/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Even disasters -- there are always disasters when you travel -- can be turned into adventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/even-disasters-there-are-always-disasters-when-you-travel-can-be/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) ## More by Vernor Vinge > [I have come to kill you."The death's heads shrugged. "You have come to try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/i-have-come-to-kill-you-the-death-s-heads-shrugged-you-have-come-to/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“From this era on, I think invention will be the parent of necessity – and not the other way around.’ That was easy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/from-this-era-on-i-think-invention-will-be-the-parent-of-necessity/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [How to explain? How to describe? Even the omniscient viewpoint quails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/how-to-explain-how-to-describe-even-the-omniscient-viewpoint-quails/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [All his life he had lived by the law. Often his job had been to stop acts of revenge…And now revenge was all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/all-his-life-he-had-lived-by-the-law-often-his-job-had-been-to-stop/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Animals can adapt to problems and make inventions, but often no faster than natural selection can do its work - the world acts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/animals-can-adapt-to-problems-and-make-inventions-but-often-no-faster/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/within-thirty-years-we-will-have-the-technological-means-to-create/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Tycoon had a peddler's talent for using words to redefine reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/tycoon-had-a-peddler-s-talent-for-using-words-to-redefine-reality/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [It is a point where our old models must be discarded and a new reality rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/it-is-a-point-where-our-old-models-must-be-discarded-and-a-new/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [The heart of manipulation is to empathize without being touched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-heart-of-manipulation-is-to-empathize-without-being-touched/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“I’m a librarian, not a leader.” “You’re both! Librarians and archeologists have always been the ones to bring civilization back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/i-m-a-librarian-not-a-leader-you-re-both-librarians-and-archeologists/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“While We are out of Touch or How to Survive and Prosper during the Next Thirty Minutes by Your Friend, the Mysterious Stranger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/while-we-are-out-of-touch-or-how-to-survive-and-prosper-during-the/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [If there be only hours, at least learn what there is time to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/if-there-be-only-hours-at-least-learn-what-there-is-time-to-learn/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Over the last few weeks, some newsgroups have been full of tales of war and battle fleets, of billions dying in the clash of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/over-the-last-few-weeks-some-newsgroups-have-been-full-of-tales-of/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Hexapodia as the key insight...I haven't had a chance to see the famous video from Straumli Realm, except as an evocation. (My only gateway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/hexapodia-as-the-key-insight-i-haven-t-had-a-chance-to-see-the-famous/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Nau had been very careful that enough nukes remained. If necessary, he could play the old, old game of total disaster management. So what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/nau-had-been-very-careful-that-enough-nukes-remained-if-necessary-he/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) [Explore all 111 Vernor Vinge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) ## More Disaster quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [One of the undervalued contributors to Trump's stunning 2016 victory was the masterful performance Pence had in his debate against Hillary Clinton running mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mollie-hemingway/one-of-the-undervalued-contributors-to-trump-s-stunning-2016-victory/) [Mollie Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mollie-hemingway/) > [You know, we can't beat ISIS. We can't do anything. We can't take care of our vets. We can't have good health care. "Obama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-know-we-can-t-beat-isis-we-can-t-do-anything-we-can-t-take-care/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“She was—of course—perfectly normal— quiet and polite and reasonably intelligent and...normal and self destructive and lonely and terrified of every thing And she loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tah-the-trickster/she-was-of-course-perfectly-normal-quiet-and-polite-and-reasonably/) Tah the Trickster > [Obviously, it's my goal to be the top scorer in the Bundesliga, but it wouldn't be a disaster if I didn't achieve that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gomez/obviously-it-s-my-goal-to-be-the-top-scorer-in-the-bundesliga-but-it/) [Mario Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gomez/) > [Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/yes-life-in-chechnya-so-far-looks-more-like-a-life-after-a-natural/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Even disasters -- there are always disasters when you travel -- can be turned into adventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/even-disasters-there-are-always-disasters-when-you-travel-can-be/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-are-always-just-one-successful-terrorist-attack-away-from-a/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [The only aspect of our travels that is interesting to others is disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellmanmartha-gellman/the-only-aspect-of-our-travels-that-is-interesting-to-others-is/) Martha GellmanMartha Gellman [Browse all 2,239 Disaster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no one's around to write horror stories.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vernor Vinge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-noticed-at-all-no-one-s-around/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disaster" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-noticed-at-all-no-one-s-around/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/vernor-vinge-4357_disaster_sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-n_1157471.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no one's around to write horror stories.” — Vernor Vinge", "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": "Vernor Vinge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-noticed-at-all-no-one-s-around/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-noticed-at-all-no-one-s-around/#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 } } ] } ```