"Some years ago, I was lucky enough invited to a gathering of great and good people: artists and scientists, writers and discoverers of things. And I felt that at any moment they would realise that I didn't qualify to be there, among these people who had really done things. On my second or third night there, I was standing at the back of the hall, while a musical entertainment happened, and I started talking to a very nice, polite, elderly gentleman about several things, including our shared first name. And then he pointed to the hall of people, and said words to the effect of, "I just look at all these people, and I think, what the heck am I doing here? They’ve made amazing things. I just went where I was sent." And I said, "Yes. But you were the first man on the moon. I think that counts for something." And I felt a bit better. Because if Neil Armstrong felt like an imposter, maybe everyone did."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Businesspeople from the United StatesAcademics from the United StatesAstronauts from the United StatesAviators from the United StatesAerospace engineers from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Neil Gaiman, in remarks on "Imposter syndrome" on Tumblr (12 May 2017)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"It's an interesting place to be. I recommend it."
"He was the best, and I will miss him terribly."
"Our autopilot was taking us into a very large crater, about the size of a big football stadium with steep slopes on t…"
"The horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on Earth."
"I thought, well. when I step off it's just going to be a little step — a step from there down to there — but then I t…"
"I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature …"
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
"I'm quite certain that we'll have such [lunar] bases in our lifetime, somewhat like the Antarctic stations and simila…"
"Through books you will meet poets and novelists whose creations will fire your imagination. You will meet the great t…"