--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: His…" description: "\"Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: His high pitched voice already stood out above the general murmur of well-behaved junior executives grooming thems..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/alan-turing-15618_bells_bell-labs-cafeteria-new-york-1943-his-hi_192167.jpg" --- # Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: His high pitched… ![“Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: His high pitched voice already stood out above the general murmur of well-behaved junior executives grooming themselves for promotion within the Bell corporation. Then he was suddenly heard to say: "No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I'm…” quote by Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/alan-turing-15618_bells_bell-labs-cafeteria-new-york-1943-his-hi_192167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/alan-turing-15618_bells_bell-labs-cafeteria-new-york-1943-his-hi_192167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/alan-turing-15618_bells_bell-labs-cafeteria-new-york-1943-his-hi_192167.jpg) > “Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: His high pitched voice already stood out above the general murmur of well-behaved junior executives grooming themselves for promotion within the Bell corporation. Then he was suddenly heard to say: "No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I'm after is just a mediocre brain, something like the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company."” [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He dismisses the pursuit of exceptional intellect, preferring mediocrity akin to corporate leadership. **In simple terms:** Choosing average over brilliance. Key Takeaway Question the value of mediocrity. Themes intelligence career ambition conformity Mood critical introspective Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - corporate culture - career planning - personal identity Key Concepts social pressure self-deprecation Questions to Reflect On - Why value average over excellence? - What drives this self-limiting view? A Different Perspective Mediocrity may limit potential impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bells/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Executives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/executives/) [Grooming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grooming/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Labs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labs/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Promotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promotion/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. 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He was the Germer of the Davisson and Germer Experiment that is sometimes referred to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-boyle/lester-germer-was-my-first-supervisor-at-bell-labs-he-was-the-germer/) Willard Boyle > [Bell Labs was a fantastic research organization but having them create and market new products for the world was terrible. They were not good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/bell-labs-was-a-fantastic-research-organization-but-having-them/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [My father worked for Bell Labs. Hence, I knew very much about the place. 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The transistor, we can argue with some confidence, probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-theory-of-serendipitous-creativity-in-other-words-seems-well/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [But when researchers at Bell Labs discovered that static tends to come from particular places in the sky, the whole field of radio astronomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/but-when-researchers-at-bell-labs-discovered-that-static-tends-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [“In 1948, while working for Bell Telephone Laboratories, he published a paper in the Bell System Technical Journal entitled "A Mathematical Theory of Communication"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-petzold/in-1948-while-working-for-bell-telephone-laboratories-he-published-a/) [Charles Petzold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-petzold/) > [“What made Bell Labs fundamentally different had as much to do with antitrust law as the geniuses it attracted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/what-made-bell-labs-fundamentally-different-had-as-much-to-do-with/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) ## More by Alan Turing > [A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/a-man-provided-with-paper-pencil-and-rubber-and-subject-to-strict/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/we-are-not-interested-in-the-fact-that-the-brain-has-the-consistency/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no-one can imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/sometimes-it-is-the-people-no-one-imagines-anything-of-who-do-the/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/no-i-m-not-interested-in-developing-a-powerful-brain/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. 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Each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/there-is-however-one-feature-that-i-would-like-to-suggest-should-be/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers… They would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/it-seems-probable-that-once-the-machine-thinking-method-had-started/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [A very large part of space-time must be investigated, if reliable results are to be obtained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/a-very-large-part-of-space-time-must-be-investigated-if-reliable/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all purely intellectual fields. 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I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/the-original-question-can-machines-think-i-believe-to-be-too/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [My little computer said such a funny thing this morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/my-little-computer-said-such-a-funny-thing-this-morning/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) [Explore all 42 Alan Turing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) ## More Bells quotes > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. 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But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) Jerry Glanville > [In cloths cheap handsomeness, doth bear the bell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-cloths-cheap-handsomeness-doth-bear-the-bell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. 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