--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do you think that civilization advances…" description: "\"Do you think that civilization advances because of things written in books? Not a bit of what is written in books ever got there until after the though..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/walter-russell-3334_bits_do-you-think-that-civilization-advances_804275.png" --- # Do you think that civilization advances because of things… ![“Do you think that civilization advances because of things written in books? Not a bit of what is written in books ever got there until after the thought of it happened in someone's mind. Someone first had to collect it from space, or recollect it from its electrical pattern to which he (or she)…” quote by Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/walter-russell-3334_bits_do-you-think-that-civilization-advances_804275.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/walter-russell-3334_bits_do-you-think-that-civilization-advances_804275.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/walter-russell-3334_bits_do-you-think-that-civilization-advances_804275.png) > “Do you think that civilization advances because of things written in books? Not a bit of what is written in books ever got there until after the thought of it happened in someone's mind. Someone first had to collect it from space, or recollect it from its electrical pattern to which he (or she) had been attuned. The book is but a record of what has already happened.” [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas originate in the mind before they are recorded; books merely preserve thoughts that already exist. **In simple terms:** Thoughts precede writing; books are records. Key Takeaway Cultivate original thinking before relying on texts. Themes creativity knowledge mind originality Mood reflective inquisitive analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - education - research Key Concepts philosophy epistemology innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do books influence future ideas? - Can a thought exist without a medium? A Different Perspective The view may undervalue the role of books in shaping thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. 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The precise opposite is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-that-we-should-cultivate-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The further our civilization advances upon its present lines so much the cheaper sort of thing does "fame" become, especially of the literary sort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-further-our-civilization-advances-upon-its-present-lines-so-much/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [As civilization advances, man grows unconscious of the primitive elements of life; he is separated from them by his perfection of material techniques.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/as-civilization-advances-man-grows-unconscious-of-the-primitive/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [As civilization advances, poetry almost necessarily declines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-civilization-advances-poetry-almost-necessarily-declines/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As civilization advances, the sense of wonder declines. 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