--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All animals communicate. What's special…" description: "\"All animals communicate. What's special about gossip is that it's not about the here and now. You don't gossip about lions. You don't gossip about clou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/yuval-noah-harari-100_animals_all-animals-communicate-what-s-special-a_639021.jpg" --- # All animals communicate. What's special about gossip is… ![“All animals communicate. What's special about gossip is that it's not about the here and now. You don't gossip about lions. You don't gossip about clouds. You only gossip about other people. And once you do, you can keep track of many more people - this is the basis for forming larger communities.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/yuval-noah-harari-100_animals_all-animals-communicate-what-s-special-a_639021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/yuval-noah-harari-100_animals_all-animals-communicate-what-s-special-a_639021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/yuval-noah-harari-100_animals_all-animals-communicate-what-s-special-a_639021.jpg) > “All animals communicate. What's special about gossip is that it's not about the here and now. You don't gossip about lions. You don't gossip about clouds. You only gossip about other people. And once you do, you can keep track of many more people - this is the basis for forming larger communities.” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gossip focuses on past or future events about people, not immediate facts, and helps build larger social networks. **In simple terms:** Gossip is about people, not present things, and it creates community. Key Takeaway Use gossip wisely to understand social dynamics. Themes communication social bonding information Mood analytical thoughtful Type sociological observational When to use this quote - workplace - online forums - friend groups - political discourse Key Concepts social cohesion reputation network theory Questions to Reflect On - How does gossip shape your group? - When is gossip harmful? A Different Perspective Gossip can spread misinformation and harm reputations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) [Gossip Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip-clouds-5134110/) [Gossip Lions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip-lions-5134108/) [Gossip People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Special Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-gossip-5134109/) ## Related quotes > [If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I won't live in L.A. again, hell no, my friends tell me s\*\*t when they come over I don't want to hear. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-lohan/i-won-t-live-in-l-a-again-hell-no-my-friends-tell-me-s-t-when-they/) [Lindsay Lohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-lohan/) > [I don't know whats more pathetic, people who gossip or people who listen to gossip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-vanderwaal/i-don-t-know-whats-more-pathetic-people-who-gossip-or-people-who/) [Mona Vanderwaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-vanderwaal/) > [“I mean, all this stuff you're involved in, it's all gossip. It's people talking about each other behind their backs. That's the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-mean-all-this-stuff-you-re-involved-in-it-s-all-gossip-it-s-people/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [We have to train our kids better and really enforce in them that no matter what mainstream media and pop culture and all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barrett-wilbert-weed/we-have-to-train-our-kids-better-and-really-enforce-in-them-that-no/) [Barrett Wilbert Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barrett-wilbert-weed/) > [My mom cautioned me not to become a gossip! I was always up in people's business. People told me stuff... even when I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-faulkner/my-mom-cautioned-me-not-to-become-a-gossip-i-was-always-up-in-people/) [Harris Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-faulkner/) > [We all know what it feels like to be an outcast or a loner or to fall between the cracks. To be the target…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krysten-ritter/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-an-outcast-or-a-loner-or-to-fall/) [Krysten Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krysten-ritter/) > [People like to gossip about people who are successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/people-like-to-gossip-about-people-who-are-successful/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [People gossip. People are insecure, so they talk about other people so that they won't be talked about. They point out flaws in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/people-gossip-people-are-insecure-so-they-talk-about-other-people-so-2/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [Don't indulge in gossip. ... People who throw mudballs always manage to end up getting a little on themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/don-t-indulge-in-gossip-people-who-throw-mudballs-always-manage-to/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [People gossip. People are insecure, so they talk about other people so that they won't be talked about. They point out flaws in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/people-gossip-people-are-insecure-so-they-talk-about-other-people-so/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [“She was the goddess of gossip and rumor, not the goddess of thoroughly fact-checked information. Some people, Principal Zeus included, didn't seem to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/she-was-the-goddess-of-gossip-and-rumor-not-the-goddess-of-thoroughly/) [Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/) > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? 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The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All animals communicate. What's special about gossip is that it's not about the here and now. You don't gossip about lions. You don't gossip about clouds. You only gossip about other people. 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