Where does this Kurt Vonnegut quote come from and what does it mean?

Question

"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center."

I'm just wondering in what context it is, and if you could give me either a literal or figurative interpretation.

Answer 1

It is certainly true that being nearer the edge, as opposed in the centre of something, gives one a greater perspective on the subject in question.

I'm working on where the quote comes from. ~  From 'Player Piano' written in 1952.

Vonnegut's first novel, an unforgiving portrait of an automated and totalitarian future.  A human revolt against the machines which control life was arranged by the machines themselves to prove the futility of such resistance

There is a lot more info in the site below.

Answer 2

Finnerty says it in Player Piano (1952). He says he keeps getting pulled back to the center but the edge is where he wants to be. He goes on to say," Big, undreamed things --- the people on the edge see them first."

I think it means that if you want to experience all life has to offer , you must get out of your comfort zone ( the center)  and explore the farther reaches of human experience. Whether it's mountain climbing or sailing, visiting the Space Center or fishing in an area  foreign to you. You can expand your world view  by trying things you've never done before, by thinking in new directions, by the new and different experiences  such thinking can lead to. The further you get from your normal pursuits, the  broader your perspective on living becomes.