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I don't think it had ever occurred to me that man's supremacy is not primarily due to his brain, as most of the books would have one think. It is due to the brain's capacity to make use of the information conveyed to it by a narrow band of visible light rays. His civilization, all that he had achieved or might achieve, hung upon his ability to perceive that range of vibrations from red to violet. Without that, he was lost.
John Wyndham
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Human superiority is rooted in the ability to perceive light rather than just intelligence.

In this quote, John Wyndham emphasizes that what sets humans apart from other species is not merely their brainpower, but rather their capacity to interpret and utilize the information from visible light. This perception allows for the development of civilization and culture, suggesting that our understanding of the world is fundamentally tied to our sensory experience of it.

Themes

PerceptionLightCivilizationIntelligenceVibrations

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker at a science conference might use this quote to highlight the importance of human perception in scientific discovery.

More from John Wyndham

To deprive a gregarious creature of companionship is to maim it, to outrage its nature. The prisoner and the cenobite are aware that the herd exists beyond their exile; they are an aspect of it. But when the herd no longer exists, there is, for the herd creature, no longer entity, a part of no whole; a freak without a place. If he cannot hold on to his reason, then he is lost indeed; most utterly, most fearfully lost, so that he becomes no more than the twitch in the limb of a corpse.
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Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it needs the motor of understanding to convert it into power.
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Knowing makes all the difference... It's the difference between just trying to keep alive, and having something to live for
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