"After all my probing into the human brain, I should still be aware of mysteries and come up with them myself"
About this Quote
The key move is the insistence that she should "still be aware of mysteries" and even "come up with them myself". That last clause is the tell: mystery here isn’t a passive gap in knowledge; it’s something you actively generate. For performers, that’s the job description - you don’t solve a person, you build a believable interior from fragments. She’s arguing that understanding humans requires creative inference as much as clinical scrutiny.
In context, it reads like a defense of ambiguity in an era that rewards neat origin stories: trauma explains everything, attachment style predicts your dating life, brain chemistry closes the case. Stephenson’s intent feels almost protective. She’s making room for the irreducible messiness that keeps people from being reduced to narratives, metrics, or punchy labels - and she’s suggesting that the ethical stance isn’t certainty, but curiosity disciplined by doubt.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Stephenson, Pamela. (2026, January 16). After all my probing into the human brain, I should still be aware of mysteries and come up with them myself. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-all-my-probing-into-the-human-brain-i-115037/
Chicago Style
Stephenson, Pamela. "After all my probing into the human brain, I should still be aware of mysteries and come up with them myself." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-all-my-probing-into-the-human-brain-i-115037/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"After all my probing into the human brain, I should still be aware of mysteries and come up with them myself." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-all-my-probing-into-the-human-brain-i-115037/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.




