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The marketplace judges technologies by their practical effectiveness, by whether they succeed or fail to do the job they are designed to do.
Freeman Dyson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Technologies are evaluated based on their ability to perform their intended function effectively.

This quote by Freeman Dyson highlights the importance of practical effectiveness in technology, suggesting that innovations are ultimately assessed by their success or failure in accomplishing the tasks they are meant to perform. In the marketplace, it is not the ideas or intentions behind a technology that matter, but its real-world application and results that determine its value and longevity.

Themes

TechnologyEffectivenessInnovationMarketplaceEvaluation

In practice

Example use cases

In a tech conference when discussing new products.

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For some days I quietly worked out in my own mind the metaphysics of Cosmic Unity. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that it was the living truth. It was logically incontrovertible. It provided for the first time a firm foundation for ethics. It offered mankind the radical change of heart and mind that was our only hope of peace at a time of desperate danger. Only one small problem remained. I must find a way to convert the world to my way of thinking.
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