#machines

The tendency of philosophers who know nothing of machinery is to talk of man as a mere mechanism, intending by this to imply that he is without purpose. This shows a lack of understanding of machines as well as of man. ↗

— Arthur Young

#intending #know #lack #machinery #machines

As for myself: I had come to the conclusion that there was nothing sacred about myself or any human being, that we were all machines, doomed to collide and collide and collide. For want of anything better to do, we became fans of collisions. Sometimes I wrote well about collisions, which meant I was a writing machine in good repair. Sometimes I wrote badly, which meant I was a writing machine in bad repair. I no more harbored sacredness than did a Pontiac, a mousetrap, or a South Bend Lathe. ↗

— Kurt Vonnegut

#human #life #machines #relationships #death

Molecular machines display a key signature or hallmark of design, namely, irreducible complexity. In all irreducibly complex systems in which the cause of the system is known by experience or observation, intelligent design or engineering played a role in the origin of the system... We find such systems within living organisms. ↗

— Scott A. Minnich

#biology #id #intelligent-design #molecular-machines #science

I’d imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn’t be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too. ↗

— Hugo Cabret

#machinery #machines #man #reasons #imagination

If the Net becomes the center of the universe, which is what seems to be happening, then the dizzying array of machines that will be plugged into it will virtually guarantee that the specifics of which chip and which operating system you've got will be irrelevant. ↗

— Marc Andreessen

#becomes #center #chip #dizzying #got

In many biological structures proteins are simply components of larger molecular machines. ↗

— Michael Behe

#components #larger #machines #many #molecular

Opinions are to the vast apparatus of social existence what oil is to machines: one does not go up to a turbine and pour machine oil over it; one applies a little to hidden spindles and joints that one has to know. ↗

— Walter Benjamin

#applies #does #existence #go #hidden

When I say that human beings are just gene machines, one shouldn't put too much emphasis on the word 'just.' There is a very great deal of complication, and indeed beauty in being a gene machine. ↗

— Richard Dawkins

#being #beings #complication #deal #emphasis

I'm very good with technology, I always have been, and with machines in general. They seem not threatening like other people find them, but a source of fun and amusement. ↗

— Brian Eno

#amusement #been #find #fun #general

We have too many cellphones. We've got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now. ↗

— Ray Bradbury

#got #machines #many #now #rid