Chapter 1, “January: Some Swans are White” (p. 12)
“
It’s one of those weird truths you learn early on as police that quite a high percentage of the public have all the survival instinct of a moth in a candle factory. They run the wrong way, they refuse to move, some will run toward the danger, and others will instantly whip out their phones and take footage.
— Ben Aaronovitch
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It’s one of those weird truths you learn early on as police that quite a high percentage of the public have all the survival instinct of a moth in a candle factory. They run the wrong way, they refuse to move, some will run toward the danger, and others will instantly whip out their phones and take footage." in the context of "Chapter 1, “January: Some Swans are White” (p. 12)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ben Aaronovitch" (Quotes, False Value (2020): All page numbers are from the hardcover first American edition, published by Daw Books, , 1st printing
Italics as in the book )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter.
About Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter.
View all quotes →