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Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.
Aldous Huxley
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that advancements in technology may lead to regression rather than improvement in society.

Aldous Huxley's quote reflects a critical perspective on technological progress, implying that while technology offers us greater efficiency and capability, it can also result in negative consequences that may hinder genuine progress. Instead of advancing society, technology can sometimes reinforce outdated behaviors or systems, leading us to regress rather than evolve.

Themes

TechnologyProgressRegressionSocietyEfficiency

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, one might quote Huxley to emphasize potential downsides.

More from Aldous Huxley

To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
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Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
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In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
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On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
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No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
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The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
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