Albert Einstein? Cell Phone Critics? Pranksters? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: A friend sent me a link to a message on a website with the title: “The day that Albert Einstein feared may have finally arrived”. The message showed eight pictures of groups of people looking intently at cell phone screens. The people were ignoring one another and were oblivious to their surroundings. The images were being used to comically illustrate the following quotation credited to Albert Einstein:
I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.
I was suspicious of this attribution and when I searched the internet I found another similar saying credited to Einstein in a web forum. This statement was also illustrated with an image of people staring at cell phone screens.
I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.
I have a different fear. I fear the day that individuals will believe that Einstein actually made one of these inane statements. Could you examine these sayings?
Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that Einstein made either of these statements. Neither appears in the comprehensive collection of quotations “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press.[1] 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Both versions given by the questioner were in circulation in 2012. For example, in the past, a website called answerbag.com presented a version of the saying in a message with an attached date of October 21, 2012:[2]Answerbag website, Section: Questions: Life And Society: More Life And Society, Message posted by Susan_madari, Date October 21, 2012, Answerbag is part of Demand Media Corporation. (Accessed … Continue reading
Einstein: I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots. Was he right?
Dates on websites are sometimes inaccurate because the retroactive alteration of text and dates is easy to accomplish. Sometimes the content of a webpage is altered, and the date associated with the content is not updated to reflect the modification.
Also, in the past, a website called imfunny.net displayed a composite image post dated November 3, 2012 with the title: “The day that Albert Einstein feared may have finally arrived”. The post consists of nine images including one displaying the quotation given below. No name is given for the person posting the message:[3]imfunny.net website, Website title: “Funny Pictures, Funny Quotes – Photos, Quotes, Images, Pics imfunny.net – is just for fun”, Title: The day that Albert Einstein feared may have … Continue reading
“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Albert Einstein
Further below are additional selected citations. Continue reading “I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction”
References
↑1 | 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. |
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↑2 | Answerbag website, Section: Questions: Life And Society: More Life And Society, Message posted by Susan_madari, Date October 21, 2012, Answerbag is part of Demand Media Corporation. (Accessed answerbag.com on March 19, 2013) link |
↑3 | imfunny.net website, Website title: “Funny Pictures, Funny Quotes – Photos, Quotes, Images, Pics imfunny.net – is just for fun”, Title: The day that Albert Einstein feared may have finally arrived, Date: November 3, 2012. (Accessed imfunny.net March 19, 2013) link |