“Without a hook, the new information falls on the floor.”

— Ursula Goodenough, book The Sacred Depths of Nature

p xxi
The Sacred Depths of Nature (1998)
Context: Human memory, they say, is like a coat closet: The most enduring outcome of a formal education is that it creates rows of coat hooks so that later on, when you come upon a new piece of information, you have a hook to hang it on. Without a hook, the new information falls on the floor.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Without a hook, the new information falls on the floor." by Ursula Goodenough?

Ursula Goodenough photo

Ursula Goodenough64

American biologist 1943

Related quotes

“Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

Beauty
1860s, The Conduct of Life (1860)

“Beauty without intelligence is like a hook without bait.”

Molière book Tartuffe

Source: Tartuffe

Lois McMaster Bujold quote: “The gods give no gifts without hooks embedded.”

“The gods give no gifts without hooks embedded.”

Lois McMaster Bujold (1949) Science Fiction and fantasy author from the USA

Source: World of the Five Gods series, Paladin of Souls (2003), p. 157

“Eventually something you love is going to be taken away. And then you will fall to the floor crying. And then, however much later, it is finally happening to you: you’re falling to the floor crying thinking, “I am falling to the floor crying,” but there’s an element of the ridiculous to it — you knew it would happen and, even worse, while you’re on the floor crying you look at the place where the wall meets the floor and you realize you didn’t paint it very well.”

Richard Siken (1967) American poet

“A fall from the third floor hurts as much as a fall from the hundredth. If I have to fall, may it be from a high place.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

“The floor seemed wonderfully solid. It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.”

Sylvia Plath book The Bell Jar

Variant: It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.
Source: The Bell Jar

“You’re a solid person, Sage. You’re easy on the eyes, if a little skinny, and your ability to memorize useless information is going to totally hook in some guy.”

Richelle Mead Bloodlines

Source: Bloodlines

“The words fill my head, and fall to the floor, that if God's on our side, he'll stop the next war.”

Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist

Song lyrics, The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964), With God On Our Side

“Something new is wanted. A new novel, perhaps. Something the ten-percenters don't have their hooks into yet. Those soul-fuckers should all be killed.”

Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) American journalist and author

Letter to William J. Kennedy (12 July 1967), p. 630
1990s, The Proud Highway : The Fear and Loathing Letters Volume I (1997)

“We all fall to the floor at some point. It's how you pick yourself up that's the real challenge. Isn't it?”

Madonna (1958) American singer, songwriter, and actress

Related topics