I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fifty years.
Interpretation
The quote reflects Wilbur Wright's humble acknowledgment of his past skepticism about human flight.
In this quote, Wilbur Wright reminisces about a time when he doubted the feasibility of flight, indicating that innovation and progress often happen faster than we can imagine. It serves as a reminder that great advancements can occur in unexpected ways and that our limitations may be surpassed through determination and ingenuity.
In practice
During a speech on technological advancements, one might quote this to emphasize the unpredictability of progress.
I am an enthusiast, but not a crank in the sense that I have some pet theories as to the proper construction of a flying machine. I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then, if possible, add my mite to help on the future worker who will attain final success.
Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what they receive.
The fact that the great scientist believed in flying machines was the one thing that encouraged us to begin our studies.
The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space... on the infinite highway of the air.
Like most early enthusiasts, I always thought the way the Internet encouraged multitasking made users less vulnerable to manipulation, while simultaneously exploiting even more of our brain's capacity than before. Apparently not.
We are now living in a completely digitalized world and a completely globalized world, so we have to find some new mechanisms and values to deal with this post-digitalized and post-globalized world.
The consumer is deciding what they want to see and when and how, and filmmakers are more aware and accepting of the fact that success is not predicated on your movie showing in a traditional theater for a certain amount of time.
I'm astonished at how readily a great many people I know, young people, have accepted a reduced economic prospect and limited freedoms in any substantial sense, and basically traded them for being able to screw around online.
There is a demon in technology. It was put there by man and man will have to exorcise it before technological civilization can achieve the eighteenth-century ideal of humane civilized life.
By 2029, computers will have emotional intelligence and be convincing as people.
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