
Steve Jobs, "Computers are like a bicycle for our minds." - Michael Lawrence Films
About this video
A short clip of Steve Jobs describing the computer as a bicycle for the mind. He compares human efficiency of travel to what computers do for mental work.
Why it appears in the archive
HN uses it as the source of the 'bicycle for the mind' quote, which commenters cite in discussions of computing, programming and LLMs.
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From the Hacker News discussion
Just saw another brilliant Jobs quote, circa 1991, via my svlug friend Rick Moen. I think one of the things that really separate us from the higher primates is that we are 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 kilometre,and humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list. It wasn't too proud of a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn't look so good -- but 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. A computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with, and it's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds. -- Steve Jobs, 1991 [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗> the Bay Area tradition that treated computers not as office appliances but as tools for thought, instruments of liberation Missed a great chance to use the "bicycle for our minds" Steve Jobs quote (one of my favorite since it resonates so clearly with me) [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗Interview with Steve Jobs where he talks about the computer as a bicycle for the mind: [VIDEO] To put it in context, he starts off by talking about the efficiency of animal locomotion. In the animal kingdom, the condor is one of the most efficient. It uses the least amount of energy to travel a kilometer. Human walking is rather inefficient in comparison. However, with a bicycle, a man can blow away a condor.
Read original comment ↗The Steve Jobs quote mentioned about bicycles for the mind is cool [VIDEO] . I know it's old but I hadn't seen it before. The rest of the article is kind of intellectual mush starting from saying "litigated against" in the first sentence when he hasn't and continuing in a similar vein.
Read original comment ↗Immediately made me think of Steve Jobs and this great clip: "Computers are like a bicycle for our minds." [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗The bicycle analogy to [VIDEO] The computer is to the human mind, what the bicycle is to our ability to travel.
Read original comment ↗> In 1968 Douglas Engelbart used the wonderfully space aged term "brain amplification" And Steve Jobs in 1990, "And that’s what a computer is to me ... it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds." [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗I think I view programming as mental abstractions in action, or to put as Steve Jobs did bicycles for the mind. [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗