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Technology... the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.
Max Frisch
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that technology allows us to reshape our environment in ways that can shield us from direct experiences.

Max Frisch's quote reflects on the paradox of technology, indicating that while it has the power to enhance our lives by making things more convenient, it can also create a disconnect from the authentic experiences of life. By arranging our world through technological advancements, we might miss out on the richness of genuine interactions and encounters, tending to favor efficiency over deep engagement.

Themes

TechnologyExperienceDisconnectPerceptionLife

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be referenced in a speech about the societal impacts of social media.

More from Max Frisch

You can put anything into words, except your own life.
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We live technologically, with man as the master of nature, man as the engineer, and let anyone who raises his voice against it stop using bridges not built by nature.... No electric light bulbs, no engines, no atomic energy, no calculating machines, no anaesthetics-back to the jungle.
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When we travel, we are like a film at the moment of exposure; it is memory that will develop it.
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We live in an age of reproduction. Most of what makes up our personal picture of the world we have never seen with our own eyes--or rather, we've seen it with our own eyes, but not on the spot: our knowledge comes to us from a distance, we are televiewers, telehearers, teleknowers.
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Nothing is harder than to accept oneself.
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A society needs famous people; the question is whom it chooses for that role. Any criticism of its choice is by implication a criticism of that society.
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Quote by Max Frisch | QuoteProject