The common everyday bicycle is one of the most underrated inventions. In the US, we mostly consider it as a toy for kids. But the invention and wide use of bicycles, a simple tool of transportation, became a major force of innovation and change throughout the world. It lead to mass efficiencies in many industries, gave mobility and freedoms to major portions of the population world-wide, and spurred inventions within the automotive industry and the rise of the industrial revolution.
No surprise I’m a fan of bikes. I’ve written about some of the history of bicycles in The Ubiquitous Bike: Still A Creative Force? and the possible resurgence of the bicycle in Pondering the Possibilities: Sweat Worthy Entertainment. But Steve Jobs “Bicycles for our Minds” quote sums it up best and rightly gives credit where credit is due.
Computer = Bicycle for our Minds
"I think one of the things that really separates us from the high primates is that we’re tool builders. I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet.The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. And, humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing, about a third of the way down the list. It was not too proud a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn’t look so good. But, then somebody at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And, a man on a bicycle, a human on a bicycle, blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts. And that’s what a computer is to me. What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with, and it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”
~ Steve Jobs, via video Michael Lawrence Films
Enjoy more Steve Jobs quotes:
Words: Steve Jobs “Poke Life …”
Words: “… You Tend To Get Told …”
STEVEN PAUL “STEVE” JOBS
(1955 – 2011)
Co-founder , Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc.
Husband, Father,
Creator, Inventor, Marketer, Entrepreneur
Co-founder and CEO of Pixar
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Interesting comparison. Makes me want to put away Steve Jobs’ innovations and get my bike out–though not today!
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