--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At one time, the earth was supposed to be…" description: "\"At one time, the earth was supposed to be flat. Well, so it is, even today, from Paris to Asnieres. But that fact doesn't prevent science from proving ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/vincent-van-gogh-486_believe_at-one-time-the-earth-was-supposed-to-be_1502546.jpg" --- # At one time, the earth was supposed to be flat. Well, so… ![“At one time, the earth was supposed to be flat. Well, so it is, even today, from Paris to Asnieres. But that fact doesn't prevent science from proving that the earth as a whole is spherical. No one nowadays denies it. Well...we are still at the stage of believing that life itself is flat, the…” quote by Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/vincent-van-gogh-486_believe_at-one-time-the-earth-was-supposed-to-be_1502546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/vincent-van-gogh-486_believe_at-one-time-the-earth-was-supposed-to-be_1502546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/vincent-van-gogh-486_believe_at-one-time-the-earth-was-supposed-to-be_1502546.jpg) > “At one time, the earth was supposed to be flat. Well, so it is, even today, from Paris to Asnieres. But that fact doesn't prevent science from proving that the earth as a whole is spherical. No one nowadays denies it. Well...we are still at the stage of believing that life itself is flat, the distance from birth to death. Yet the probability is that life, too, is spherical and much more extensive and capacious than the hemisphere we know.” [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often view life as a flat, limited span, but it may be broader and more complex like a sphere. **In simple terms:** Life may be broader than we think. Key Takeaway Embrace life's larger possibilities. Themes perspective existence growth Mood hopeful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - long‑term goals - personal development - spiritual exploration Key Concepts philosophy cosmology metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What would change if you saw life as a sphere? - How can you expand your view beyond immediate horizons? A Different Perspective Believing life is flat can limit ambition; not everyone sees life as spherical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Hemisphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemisphere/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [The earth also is spherical, since it presses upon its center from every direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/the-earth-also-is-spherical-since-it-presses-upon-its-center-from/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [“I want to experience the world. How can I be sure if my place on earth is supposed to be here or there, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-williams/i-want-to-experience-the-world-how-can-i-be-sure-if-my-place-on-earth/) Simon Williams > [When people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-people-thought-the-earth-was-flat-they-were-wrong-when-people/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Astronomers are spherical bastards. No matter how you look at them they are just bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-zwicky/astronomers-are-spherical-bastards-no-matter-how-you-look-at-them/) [Fritz Zwicky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-zwicky/) > [The reason bubbles are spherical is that a sphere is the smallest, most economical form possible to contain a given volume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-noddy/the-reason-bubbles-are-spherical-is-that-a-sphere-is-the-smallest/) [Tom Noddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-noddy/) > [First of all, we must note that the universe is spherical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/first-of-all-we-must-note-that-the-universe-is-spherical/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [I have always read that the world, both land and water, was spherical, as the authority and researches of Ptolemy and all the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/i-have-always-read-that-the-world-both-land-and-water-was-spherical/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [“Using freshman level calculus you can show that the one and only shape that has the smallest surface area for an enclosed volume is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/using-freshman-level-calculus-you-can-show-that-the-one-and-only/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Bubbles are round for the same reason that planets are spherical. The universe itself is like bubbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-noddy/bubbles-are-round-for-the-same-reason-that-planets-are-spherical-the/) [Tom Noddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-noddy/) > [In first place we must observe that the universe is spherical. This is either because that figure is the most perfect, as not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/in-first-place-we-must-observe-that-the-universe-is-spherical-this-is/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Karl Pilkington has the roundest head, I think, in the world. It's not technically a deformity, but I've never seen anything quite that spherical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/karl-pilkington-has-the-roundest-head-i-think-in-the-world-it-s-not/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [Asking about a time before the beginning of our spherical spacetime is like asking what lies north of the North Pole. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taner-edis/asking-about-a-time-before-the-beginning-of-our-spherical-spacetime/) [Taner Edis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taner-edis/) > [The shape of the heaven is of necessity spherical; for that is the shape most appropriate to its substance and also by nature primary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-shape-of-the-heaven-is-of-necessity-spherical-for-that-is-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## More by Vincent Van Gogh > [What am I in most people's eyes? A nonentity or an eccentric and disagreeable man... I should want my work to show what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-am-i-in-most-people-s-eyes-a-nonentity-or-an-eccentric-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/the-heart-of-man-is-very-much-like-the-sea-it-has-its-storms-it-has/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“I take great care of myself by carefully shutting myself away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-take-great-care-of-myself-by-carefully-shutting-myself-away/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [There certainly is an affinity between a person and his work, but it is not easy to define what this affinity is, and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/there-certainly-is-an-affinity-between-a-person-and-his-work-but-it/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I confess I do not know why, but looking at the stars always makes me dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-confess-i-do-not-know-why-but-looking-at-the-stars-always-makes-me/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Ah, Manet has come very, very close to it and Courbet - the marrying of form and colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-manet-has-come-very-very-close-to-it-and-courbet-the-marrying-of/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [We must not judge God from this world. It's just a study that didn't come off. It's only a master who could make such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/we-must-not-judge-god-from-this-world-it-s-just-a-study-that-didn-t/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/our-goals-can-only-be-reached-through-a-vehicle-of-a-plan-in-which-we/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [One can never study nature too much and too hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/one-can-never-study-nature-too-much-and-too-hard/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [But by fighting the difficulties in which one finds oneself, an inner strength develops from within our heart, which improves in life's fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/but-by-fighting-the-difficulties-in-which-one-finds-oneself-an-inner/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Ah! My dear friend painting is to us what the music of Berlioz and Wagner was before us - a consolatory art for sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-my-dear-friend-painting-is-to-us-what-the-music-of-berlioz-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Painting demands an intelligent model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/painting-demands-an-intelligent-model/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [That this awareness of my own fallibility will prevent me from making many mistakes doesn't alter the fact that I'm bound to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/that-this-awareness-of-my-own-fallibility-will-prevent-me-from-making/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [What is drawing? It is working oneself through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-is-drawing-it-is-working-oneself-through-an-invisible-iron-wall/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [You will say that everyone has seen landscapes and figures from childhood on. The question is: Has everybody also been reflexive as a child?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/you-will-say-that-everyone-has-seen-landscapes-and-figures-from/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) [Explore all 508 Vincent Van Gogh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [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/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At one time, the earth was supposed to be flat. Well, so it is, even today, from Paris to Asnieres. But that fact doesn't prevent science from proving that the earth as a whole is spherical. No one nowadays denies it. Well...we are still at the stage of believing that life itself is flat, the distance from birth to death. 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