The only thing that was in my mind when we made that first phone call was, 'Is it going to work?' We had all these parts hand soldered together, engineers standing by with the soldering iron - just in case.
Martin CooperRead
Engineers and entrepreneurs are fundamentally dissatisfied with the way the world is and want to make it better. There are so many things you could do with technology if you can match it up with real problems.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Innovators strive to improve the world by leveraging technology to solve real problems.
This quote by Martin Cooper highlights the intrinsic dissatisfaction of engineers and entrepreneurs with the current state of the world. It emphasizes that this discontent drives them to seek solutions and improvements, suggesting that there is immense potential in technology when it is applied to address genuine issues faced by society.
Themes
TechnologyInnovationEntrepreneurshipEngineersProblemsWorld Improvement
In practice
Example use cases
During a tech conference, a speaker can use this quote to inspire young entrepreneurs.
More from Martin Cooper
All quotes →People are mobile. They move around, and anytime they want to communicate, if you tie them to the wall or the wires, you're restricting them, you're infringing on their freedom.
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As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call. Remember that in 1973, there weren't cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter - probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life.
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When you are doing one thing - talking on your phone, texting, whatever - you are automatically not doing something else. What is the greatest scarcity in the world today? It's not oil. It's time. Time is precious. Don't throw it away.
Martin CooperRead
Somehow in the last 100 years, every time there is a problem of getting more spectrum, there is a technology that comes along that solves that problem.
Martin CooperRead
It pleases me no end to have had some small impact on people's lives because these phones do make people's lives better. They promote productivity, they make people more comfortable, they make them feel safe and all of those things.
Martin CooperRead
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