--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: a scientist or a writer is one who…" description: "\"a scientist or a writer is one who ruminates continuously on the nature of physical or imaginative life, experiences repeated relief and excitement whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg" --- # a scientist or a writer is one who ruminates continuously… ![“a scientist or a writer is one who ruminates continuously on the nature of physical or imaginative life, experiences repeated relief and excitement when the insight comes, and is endlessly attracted to working out the idea.” quote by Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg) > “a scientist or a writer is one who ruminates continuously on the nature of physical or imaginative life, experiences repeated relief and excitement when the insight comes, and is endlessly attracted to working out the idea.” [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scientist or writer constantly contemplates existence, feeling joy when insights arise, and is driven to develop ideas. **In simple terms:** Contemplation leads to insight and creative development. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and develop ideas. Themes creativity insight discipline Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research projects - writing sessions - academic work - artistic brainstorming - problem solving Key Concepts philosophy psychology creativity Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain curiosity? - What habits help turn insight into work? A Different Perspective Insight can be fleeting and hard to capture without discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excitement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-experience/) [Life experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-experiences/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Relief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relief/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The scientist in me worries that my happiness is nothing more than a symptom of bipolar disease, hypergraphia from a postpartum disorder. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-weaver-flaherty/the-scientist-in-me-worries-that-my-happiness-is-nothing-more-than-a/) [Alice Weaver Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-weaver-flaherty/) > [“You could have been a great scientist or something. Or a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/you-could-have-been-a-great-scientist-or-something-or-a-writer/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [What I enjoy most is travelling to different places and meeting new people. For me, it's all about life experiences, and I'm very grateful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jensen-ackles/what-i-enjoy-most-is-travelling-to-different-places-and-meeting-new/) [Jensen Ackles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jensen-ackles/) > [The single most powerful element of youth is that you don't have the life experiences to know what can't be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-braun/the-single-most-powerful-element-of-youth-is-that-you-don-t-have-the/) [Adam Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-braun/) > [I'm grateful for the experiences I've accumulated. Of course, there are certain things you wish were not on anyone's list of life experiences, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-zellweger/i-m-grateful-for-the-experiences-i-ve-accumulated-of-course-there-are/) [Renee Zellweger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-zellweger/) > [We're not in high school anymore and we've had a little more life experiences to help us better understand what were going through in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-hernandez/we-re-not-in-high-school-anymore-and-we-ve-had-a-little-more-life/) [Jay Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-hernandez/) > [Oral history is a research method. It is a way of conducting long, highly detailed interviews with people about their life experiences, often in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-leavy/oral-history-is-a-research-method-it-is-a-way-of-conducting-long/) [Patricia Leavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-leavy/) > [I would say my life experiences are my poetry, whether I'm writing about those actual, factual experiences or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/i-would-say-my-life-experiences-are-my-poetry-whether-i-m-writing/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [For me there is a poesis, a poetics, around the trope of the road that is embedded within many life experiences of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/for-me-there-is-a-poesis-a-poetics-around-the-trope-of-the-road-that/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I culled poetry from odors, sounds, faces, and ordinary events occurring around me. Breezes bulged me as if I were cloth; sounds nicked their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-santiago-baca/i-culled-poetry-from-odors-sounds-faces-and-ordinary-events-occurring/) [Jimmy Santiago Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-santiago-baca/) > [Because we all come from different circumstances, our life experiences really color how we view things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/because-we-all-come-from-different-circumstances-our-life-experiences/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [In the wider context, what I believe I was - the point I was making was that our life experiences do permit us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/in-the-wider-context-what-i-believe-i-was-the-point-i-was-making-was/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Positive thoughts generate positive feelings and attract positive life experiences. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/positive-thoughts-generate-positive-feelings-and-attract-positive/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [I have friends who were friends of mine before I did music and they are my friends now, and we share life experiences. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blunt/i-have-friends-who-were-friends-of-mine-before-i-did-music-and-they/) [James Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blunt/) > [What I strive to do is make my characters seem like real people so that the reader experiences them as people - that's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaume-cabre/what-i-strive-to-do-is-make-my-characters-seem-like-real-people-so/) [Jaume Cabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaume-cabre/) ## More by Vivian Gornick > [Research is the live heart of the scientific life ... Greatness of position, respect for past accomplishments, the Nobel Prize itself -- none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/research-is-the-live-heart-of-the-scientific-life-greatness-of/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“Suddenly, literature, politics, and analysis came together, and I began to think more inclusively about the emotional imprisonment of mind and spirit to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/suddenly-literature-politics-and-analysis-came-together-and-i-began/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [When I work I feel more alive than under any other circumstances. There's not an 'I love you' in the world that can match…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/when-i-work-i-feel-more-alive-than-under-any-other-circumstances/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“All I had to do was get old enough and New York would be mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/all-i-had-to-do-was-get-old-enough-and-new-york-would-be-mine/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“And I—the girl growing in their midst, being made in their image—I absorbed them as I would chloroform on a cloth laid against my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/and-i-the-girl-growing-in-their-midst-being-made-in-their-image-i/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [Before I knew that I was Jewish or a girl I knew that I was a member of the working class. At a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/before-i-knew-that-i-was-jewish-or-a-girl-i-knew-that-i-was-a-member/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [When the whole world is writing letters, it's easy to lap into the quiet within, tell the story of an hour, keep alive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/when-the-whole-world-is-writing-letters-it-s-easy-to-lap-into-the/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“The live, warm presence of my mother had disappeared. In its place stood this remoteness posing as Mama. Her anxiety was unbearable to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/the-live-warm-presence-of-my-mother-had-disappeared-in-its-place/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [What you feel when you're writing is the relief of thinking: if you write the sentence correctly, you're clarifying. If you write the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/what-you-feel-when-you-re-writing-is-the-relief-of-thinking-if-you/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [No man worth his salt does not wish to be a husband and father; yet no man is raised to be a husband and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/no-man-worth-his-salt-does-not-wish-to-be-a-husband-and-father-yet-no/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [Psychoanalysis showed me that I might be neurotic because I was a girl but, as Chekhov might have put it, I alone had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/psychoanalysis-showed-me-that-i-might-be-neurotic-because-i-was-a/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“I had an affair with a downtown playwright. Two things about this man: He was an ex-alcoholic, and he was phobic about leaving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/i-had-an-affair-with-a-downtown-playwright-two-things-about-this-man/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [The desire for narration keeps on reasserting itself, so that since modernism and fiction brought narration to an end, it is sought in memoirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/the-desire-for-narration-keeps-on-reasserting-itself-so-that-since/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [The point of women's liberation is not to stand at the door of the male world, beating our fists, and crying, 'Let me in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/the-point-of-women-s-liberation-is-not-to-stand-at-the-door-of-the/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“Una mujer sabe si ama a un hombre", decía. "Si no está segura, es que no lo ama”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/una-mujer-sabe-si-ama-a-un-hombre-dec-a-si-no-est-segura-es-que-no-lo/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) [Explore all 77 Vivian Gornick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) ## More Excitement quotes > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [I've always bought CDs and even when I was young and at primary school I had a massive collection of CDs. I just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/i-ve-always-bought-cds-and-even-when-i-was-young-and-at-primary/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [Any trend that generates a lot of excitement encounters scepticism due to the bad experiences - internet and housing crashes - of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathie-wood/any-trend-that-generates-a-lot-of-excitement-encounters-scepticism/) [Cathie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathie-wood/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“Life is difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/life-is-difficult/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Any creative process is about being in a territory which isn't secure, isn't necessarily familiar, and isn't convenient in any sort of way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/any-creative-process-is-about-being-in-a-territory-which-isn-t-secure/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [. . when the initial excitement of playing starts to evaporate, good habits are needed to sustain the learning process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-snell/when-the-initial-excitement-of-playing-starts-to-evaporate-good/) [Howard Snell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-snell/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. It would bring a lot of excitement to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/i-m-going-to-be-honest-i-would-love-for-flava-flav-to-be-president-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I used it in a shot where Richard Burton goes down the hall to get a gun in a closet. And I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-used-it-in-a-shot-where-richard-burton-goes-down-the-hall-to-get-a/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When I was so fatigued that I couldn't move, the excitement of going to the barn and getting my foot in the stirrup would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-romney/when-i-was-so-fatigued-that-i-couldn-t-move-the-excitement-of-going/) [Ann Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-romney/) [Browse all 1,598 Excitement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "a scientist or a writer is one who ruminates continuously on the nature of physical or imaginative life, experiences repeated relief and excitement when the insight comes, and is endlessly attracted to working out the idea.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vivian Gornick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-ruminates-continuously-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Excitement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-ruminates-continuously-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/vivian-gornick-8241_excitement_a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-rumin_2156826.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“a scientist or a writer is one who ruminates continuously on the nature of physical or imaginative life…” — Vivian Gornick", "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": "Vivian Gornick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "a scientist or a writer is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-ruminates-continuously-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/a-scientist-or-a-writer-is-one-who-ruminates-continuously-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```