History suggests that the disillusioned and the disaffected do not readily take to the streets nor man the barricades to defend a system that failed to defend them.
David OlusogaRead
We nonchalantly expect that next year's smartphone will be faster and better than this year's, yet we struggle to imagine that society and our lives could progress at anything like the pace at which technology advances and we meekly accept it when things go backwards.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We take technological progress for granted while often failing to recognize the societal challenges it brings.
This quote reflects on the paradox of technological advancement; we eagerly anticipate improvements in our devices, yet we are often blind to the broader implications of this progress on society. It suggests that while technology evolves rapidly, we may not adapt at the same pace and tend to accept regression in social aspects without much resistance.
Themes
TechnologyProgressSocietyChangeAdaptation
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a discussion about how society adapts to rapid technological changes.
More from David Olusoga
All quotes βNo matter that you're a British citizen, no matter that you were born here - your skin colour means you do not have the same rights as others to express critical opinions about your own country.
David OlusogaRead
Public buildings, built from the rates and taxes paid by past generations, are being auctioned off by impoverished councils who need the money to pay the redundancies of workers they can no longer afford to employ. Many of these grand Victorian buildings will be turned into flats that most people will never be able to afford.
David OlusogaRead
Black history is a series of missing chapters from British history. I'm trying to put those bits back in.
David OlusogaRead
Our national history cannot be national if, in the near future, one in three young adults feels their stories remain untold, if this country's long global history of empire and interconnections is marginalised and if the historical reality of race is rendered almost invisible.
David OlusogaRead
Racism is a belief system. It was assembled over centuries from many component parts - bits of biblical scripture, the propaganda of the slave-owning lobby and the pseudo-science of academics working in universities in Europe and America.
David OlusogaRead
Similar quotes
Programmers are not to be measured by their ingenuity and their logic but by the completeness of their case analysis.
Alan PerlisRead
The Open Source theorem says that if you give away source code, innovation will occur. Certainly, Unix was done this way... However, the corollary states that the innovation will occur elsewhere. No matter how many people you hire. So the only way to get close to the state of the art is to give the people who are going to be doing the innovative things the means to do it. That's why we had built-in source code with Unix. Open source is tapping the energy that's out there.
Bill JoyRead
I don't subscribe to the view some people have in the industry that you should purposefully design products that do not last that long. I don't think it is good for anyone.
Tim CookRead
As our technology evolves, we will have the capacity to reach new, ever-increasing depths. The question is what kind of technology, in the end, do we want to deploy in the far reaches of the ocean? Tools of science, ecology and documentation, or the destructive tools of heavy industry?
Philippe Cousteau, Jr.Read
The Model T blazed the way for the motor industry & started the movement for good roads everywhere. It is still the pioneer car in many parts of the world which are just beginning to be motorized.
Henry FordRead
I love what the Valley does. I love company building. I love startups. I love technology companies. I love new technology. I love this process of invention. Being able to participate in that as a founder and a product creator, or as an investor or a board member, I just find that hugely satisfying.
Marc AndreessenRead