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I am somewhat exhausted; I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor?
Arthur Conan Doyle
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects a sense of fatigue and frustration with unproductive efforts.

In this quote, Arthur Conan Doyle uses the metaphor of a battery pouring electricity into a non-conductor to express the feeling of exhaustion that comes from trying to make an impact or generate energy where it's not appreciated or received. It illustrates the sense of weariness that can arise when one's efforts go unrecognized or unreciprocated, evoking a broader contemplation on the futility of certain endeavors.

Themes

ExhaustionEffortFutilityEnergyFrustration

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about perseverance, one might quote this to highlight the challenges of working hard without seeing results.

More from Arthur Conan Doyle

It has always seemed to me that so long as you produce your dramatic effect, accuracy of detail matters little. I have never striven for it and I have made some bad mistakes in consequence. What matter if I hold my readers?
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You yourself may not be luminous, but you are a conductor of light.
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I could not rest, Watson, I could not sit quiet in my chair, if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty were walking the streets of London unchallenged.
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It seems very strange ... that in the course of the world's history so obvious an improvement should never have been adopted. ... The next generation of Britishers would be the better for having had this extra hour of daylight in their childhood.
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