--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps 65 million years from now…" description: "\"“Perhaps 65 million years from now, intelligent rats will look back gratefully on the decimation wrought by humankind, just as we today can thank that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_perhaps-65-million-years-from-now-intell_1051642.jpg" --- # Perhaps 65 million years from now, intelligent rats will… ![“Perhaps 65 million years from now, intelligent rats will look back gratefully on the decimation wrought by humankind, just as we today can thank that dinosaur-busting asteroid. Still,” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_perhaps-65-million-years-from-now-intell_1051642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_perhaps-65-million-years-from-now-intell_1051642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_perhaps-65-million-years-from-now-intell_1051642.jpg) > ““Perhaps 65 million years from now, intelligent rats will look back gratefully on the decimation wrought by humankind, just as we today can thank that dinosaur-busting asteroid. Still,”” [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. Future intelligent rats may thank humans for causing their evolution, similar to how we thank the asteroid that ended the dinosaurs. **In simple terms:** Rats might view humanity as a catalyst for their rise. Key Takeaway Consider long‑term impacts of actions. Themes future responsibility evolution Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical speculative When to use this quote - environmental policy - technology development - species conservation - ethical research Key Concepts anthropocentrism intergenerational ethics Questions to Reflect On - How might current actions shape distant future species? - Do we bear responsibility for future beneficiaries? A Different Perspective Human actions can have unintended positive outcomes for other species. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Million years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) ## Related quotes > [“What then drove forward the evolution of the massive human brain during those 2 million years? Frankly, we don’t know. 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Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I spent a million years looking for you and all I got is half of my heart for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meow/i-spent-a-million-years-looking-for-you-and-all-i-got-is-half-of-my/) [Meow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meow/) ## 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. 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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 Million years quotes > [I spent a million years looking for you and all I got is half of my heart for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meow/i-spent-a-million-years-looking-for-you-and-all-i-got-is-half-of-my/) [Meow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meow/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [No, I would never in a million years compare anything we've done to anything we've previously done. I don't believe in it - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-root/no-i-would-never-in-a-million-years-compare-anything-we-ve-done-to/) [Jim Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-root/) > [“In God's scheme what is a few billion years here and there. Perhaps there have come and gone a dozen human civilizations in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-uris/in-god-s-scheme-what-is-a-few-billion-years-here-and-there-perhaps/) [Leon Uris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-uris/) > [Sometimes,” he said after a second that lasted a million years, “things get broken. And they can’t be fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hart/sometimes-he-said-after-a-second-that-lasted-a-million-years-things/) [Megan Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hart/) > [Singularity is the point at which "all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/singularity-is-the-point-at-which-all-the-change-in-the-last-million/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Well lose more species of plants and animals between 2000 and 2065 than weve lost in the last 65 million years. If we dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/well-lose-more-species-of-plants-and-animals-between-2000-and-2065/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [While our world is shaking and crumbling, we need to realize that one thing will never change, and that is God. He is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/while-our-world-is-shaking-and-crumbling-we-need-to-realize-that-one/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I would have never thought in a million years that I would appeal to an Avril fan. But I'm glad that I do because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-walker/i-would-have-never-thought-in-a-million-years-that-i-would-appeal-to/) [Butch Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-walker/) > [“No, my point is that life on earth can take of itself. 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Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“The rain would fall, the plants would grow, the animals would eat and kill and die and grow again, and the ghost of sentient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/the-rain-would-fall-the-plants-would-grow-the-animals-would-eat-and/) [Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/) > [I never in a million years thought I would be able to be a Paralympic athlete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oksana-masters/i-never-in-a-million-years-thought-i-would-be-able-to-be-a-paralympic/) [Oksana Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oksana-masters/) [Browse all 236 Million years quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps 65 million years from now, intelligent rats will look back gratefully on the decimation wrought by humankind, just as we today can thank that dinosaur-busting asteroid. 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