Skip to content
quotesby

My uncle, it seems, had quickly instituted a prodigiously far-flung body of inquires amongst nearly all the friends whom he could question without impertinence, asking for nightly reports of their dreams, and the dates of any notable visions for some time past. The reception of his request seems to have varied; but he must, at the very least, have received more responses than any ordinary man could have handled without a secretary.

H. P. Lovecraft#55

DreamsInquiryInvestigation

About this quote

What does it mean?
An uncle launches a widespread inquiry into friends dreams and visions, receiving so many responses that he would need help to manage them.
In plain terms
He asks many friends about their dreams and gets too many replies to handle alone.
What can you take from it?
Collecting widespread personal data requires significant resources.

Where it applies

  • research
  • personal investigation
  • storytelling

Putting it to work

  • organize data collection
  • anticipate volume of response

Questions to consider

  • Why ask about dreams?
  • What purpose does the data serve?

Another view

The quality of responses might vary wildly.

More from H. P. Lovecraft

  1. The two sounds frequently repeated are those rendered by the letters 'Cthulhu ' and 'R'lyeh .'

    Permalink to quote #54
  2. It was from the artists and poets that the pertinent answers came, and I know that panic would have broken loose had they been able to compare notes. As it was…

    Permalink to quote #56
  3. Many of his questions seemed highly out of place to his visitor, especially those which tried to connect the latter with strange cults or societies; and Wilcox…

    Permalink to quote #53

Related quotes

  1. Many of his questions seemed highly out of place to his visitor, especially those which tried to connect the latter with strange cults or societies; and Wilcox…

    H. P. LovecraftH. P. Lovecraft quote #53
  2. I'd like to thank the Jaycees for electing me as one of their outstanding young men. When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic bo…

    Elvis PresleyElvis Presley quote #1
  3. I don't know why I have these dreams. I've never wanted to be Pope. In fact, I have a greater affinity to Martin Luther.

    Peter UstinovPeter Ustinov quote #1