--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not that I think that computers…" description: "\"“It's not that I think that computers don't have their place, but surely their place is not in bed, which is my favorite place to read, and surely thei..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-s-not-that-i-think-that-computers-don_2274937.jpg" --- # It's not that I think that computers don't have their… ![“It's not that I think that computers don't have their place, but surely their place is not in bed, which is my favorite place to read, and surely their place is not snuggled up with a cat in your lap in an old armchair. You can't have your laptop computer and your cat in your lap simultaneously…” quote by Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-s-not-that-i-think-that-computers-don_2274937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-s-not-that-i-think-that-computers-don_2274937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-s-not-that-i-think-that-computers-don_2274937.jpg) > ““It's not that I think that computers don't have their place, but surely their place is not in bed, which is my favorite place to read, and surely their place is not snuggled up with a cat in your lap in an old armchair. You can't have your laptop computer and your cat in your lap simultaneously, while trying to manage a cup of tea, which you might spill on your computer. On the other hand, if you spilled your cup of tea on your book -- well, Charles Lamb would probably just like it better. He once said that he particularly liked books that had old muffin crumbs in them. Muffin crumbs in your computer would not be a good idea.”” [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Computers belong in functional settings, not cozy, messy ones; distractions reduce productivity. **In simple terms:** Keep tech away from cozy distractions. Key Takeaway Design workspaces for focus. Themes technology productivity environment distraction Mood reflective humorous Type essay observational When to use this quote - home office - reading nook - coffee breaks - pet owners Key Concepts human factors work ergonomics digital habits Questions to Reflect On - Can a balance be struck between comfort and efficiency? - Do pets improve or hinder work? A Different Perspective Some may find comfort in mixed settings; flexibility can aid creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Computer Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-cat-4172131/) [Computer Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-good-1301868/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Computers Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers-don-1452833/) [Crumbs Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crumbs-computer-5287555/) [Cup of tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cup-of-tea/) [Think Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-computers-643238/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [A computer and a cat are somewhat alike - they both purr, and like to be stroked, and spend a lot of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/a-computer-and-a-cat-are-somewhat-alike-they-both-purr-and-like-to-be/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The computer is very good for me; I can magnify my work very easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraud/the-computer-is-very-good-for-me-i-can-magnify-my-work-very-easily/) [Jean Giraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraud/) > [Tennis has to be very careful.Not everyone is a computer, it is very good we have John McEnroe. 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With computers you make mistakes faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-osborne/people-think-computers-will-keep-them-from-making-mistakes-they-re/) [Adam Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-osborne/) > [“People think computers are different from people because they don't have minds, even though, in the Turing test, computers can have conversations with people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/people-think-computers-are-different-from-people-because-they-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I think computers have changed things tremendously. At one time, you tended to take the rough with the smooth. But now, because you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hackett/i-think-computers-have-changed-things-tremendously-at-one-time-you/) [Steve Hackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hackett/) > [Comic books aren't nerdy. 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I can never imagine what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/considering-what-human-beings-do-and-have-done-to-human-beings-and-to/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We think that computers are the most remarkable tools that humankind has ever come up with, and we think that people are basically tool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-think-that-computers-are-the-most-remarkable-tools-that-humankind/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Many people say 'I'm horrible at computers,' but I think that computers are horrible at humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-people-say-i-m-horrible-at-computers-but-i-think-that-computers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Microsoft has changed the way people think about computers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arfa-karim/microsoft-has-changed-the-way-people-think-about-computers/) [Arfa Karim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arfa-karim/) > [I happen to think that computers are the most important thing to happen to musicians since the invention of cat-gut which was a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moog/i-happen-to-think-that-computers-are-the-most-important-thing-to/) [Robert Moog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moog/) > [“Also people think they're not computers because they have feelings and computers don't have feelings. But feeling are just having a picture on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/also-people-think-they-re-not-computers-because-they-have-feelings/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More by Anne Fadiman > [“...in the midst of the tumult, part ecstasy and part panic, into which all first-time mothers are thrown by sleep deprivation and headlong identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/in-the-midst-of-the-tumult-part-ecstasy-and-part-panic-into-which-all/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“He simply could not imagine a time when being a Jew, or even a half Jew, was not a disability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/he-simply-could-not-imagine-a-time-when-being-a-jew-or-even-a-half/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“When he looked back at the menu as an old man, it brought back everything; the food, the wine, the private dining room, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/when-he-looked-back-at-the-menu-as-an-old-man-it-brought-back/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“His books commingled democratically, united under the all-inclusive flag of Literature. 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You need to find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-most-important-thing-when-starting-out-with-essay-writing-is-to/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“we expect a wine of quality to demand something from us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/we-expect-a-wine-of-quality-to-demand-something-from-us/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Going through a dead parent's memorabilia is a hazardous undertaking; there is a fine line between pleasure and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/going-through-a-dead-parent-s-memorabilia-is-a-hazardous-undertaking/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“He was constantly, pathologically, insanely busy. That’s how he afforded the wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/he-was-constantly-pathologically-insanely-busy-that-s-how-he-afforded/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [...the reader who plucks a book from her shelf only once is as deprived as the listener who, after attending a single performance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-reader-who-plucks-a-book-from-her-shelf-only-once-is-as-deprived/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Benjamin Franklin wrote that he would like to be embalmed in a cask of Madeira”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/benjamin-franklin-wrote-that-he-would-like-to-be-embalmed-in-a-cask/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. On this shelf rests a small, mysterious corpus of volumes whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone-s-library-contains-an-odd/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [If you truly love a book, you should sleep with it, write in it, read aloud from it, and fill its pages with muffin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/if-you-truly-love-a-book-you-should-sleep-with-it-write-in-it-read/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [Something amazing happens when the rest of the world is sleeping. I am glued to my chair. I forget that I ever wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/something-amazing-happens-when-the-rest-of-the-world-is-sleeping-i-am/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) [Explore all 85 Anne Fadiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's not that I think that computers don't have their place, but surely their place is not in bed, which is my favorite place to read, and surely their place is not snuggled up with a cat in your lap in an old armchair. You can't have your laptop computer and your cat in your lap simultaneously, while trying to manage a cup of tea, which you might spill on your computer. On the other hand, if you spilled your cup of tea on your book -- well, Charles Lamb would probably just like it better. He once said that he particularly liked books that had old muffin crumbs in them. 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