--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We yearn for frictionless, technological…" description: "\"We yearn for frictionless, technological solutions. But people talking to people is still the way norms and standards change.\" — Atul Gawande" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6b/atul-gawande-1871_norm_we-yearn-for-frictionless-technological_1309894.png" --- # We yearn for frictionless, technological solutions. But… ![“We yearn for frictionless, technological solutions. But people talking to people is still the way norms and standards change.” quote by Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6b/atul-gawande-1871_norm_we-yearn-for-frictionless-technological_1309894.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6b/atul-gawande-1871_norm_we-yearn-for-frictionless-technological_1309894.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6b/atul-gawande-1871_norm_we-yearn-for-frictionless-technological_1309894.png) > “We yearn for frictionless, technological solutions. But people talking to people is still the way norms and standards change.” [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technological fixes are appealing, yet real change in norms and standards still relies on human interaction and dialogue. **In simple terms:** Tech alone isn’t enough; people must talk to change norms. Key Takeaway Prioritize human communication alongside tech solutions. Themes technology communication social change norms Mood thoughtful analytical Type professional inspirational When to use this quote - policy development - community building - innovation workshops Key Concepts systems thinking behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance tech with human dialogue? - What barriers exist to people‑to‑people influence? A Different Perspective Tech solutions can overlook cultural resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [“When the solution to a given problem doesn’t lay right before our eyes, it is easy to assume that no solution exists. But history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/when-the-solution-to-a-given-problem-doesn-t-lay-right-before-our/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [Scientific and technological "solutions" which poison the environment or degrade the social structure and man himself are of no benefit, no matter how brilliantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/scientific-and-technological-solutions-which-poison-the-environment/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [“The biggest cultural mistake we can indulge in is to yearn for technological solutions to our deepest cultural problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-crouch/the-biggest-cultural-mistake-we-can-indulge-in-is-to-yearn-for/) [Andy Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-crouch/) > [I have no problem with technological solutions to social problems. The key question for me is, 'Who gets to implement them?' and, 'What kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-have-no-problem-with-technological-solutions-to-social-problems-the/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [When I hear people talking about other people that they hang with to me. I be seating there like Damn I wonder what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vonia/when-i-hear-people-talking-about-other-people-that-they-hang-with-to/) Vonia > [Every time I hear people talking about the other people All I hear are negative I wonder why do people always forget to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seiki-rowins-bie/every-time-i-hear-people-talking-about-the-other-people-all-i-hear/) [Seiki Rowins Bie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seiki-rowins-bie/) > [When you're on set, you're constantly surrounded by people - talking to people, being touched by people. So I like to just spend time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-brewer/when-you-re-on-set-you-re-constantly-surrounded-by-people-talking-to/) [Madeline Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-brewer/) > [I like talking but on my terms. I don't like people talking to me, but I like talking to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-martin/i-like-talking-but-on-my-terms-i-don-t-like-people-talking-to-me-but/) [Guy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-martin/) > [I have always liked hanging out with people and talking to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/i-have-always-liked-hanging-out-with-people-and-talking-to-people/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/talking-with-most-people-usually-involves-a-search-for-truth-talking/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Talking to other people about a part is not helpful for me. It's such an internal and complicated and still kind of mysterious process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/talking-to-other-people-about-a-part-is-not-helpful-for-me-it-s-such/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [My accent gets more pronounced when I've been talking to people from Derry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-downey/my-accent-gets-more-pronounced-when-i-ve-been-talking-to-people-from/) [Roma Downey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-downey/) > [I'm so done talking too many people on here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazzy/i-m-so-done-talking-too-many-people-on-here/) [Jazzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazzy/) > [I love going on walks and talking to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-bridgers/i-love-going-on-walks-and-talking-to-people/) [Phoebe Bridgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-bridgers/) > [“And better still to be alone with one’s books. They tell their incredible stories at the time when you want to hear them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-better-still-to-be-alone-with-one-s-books-they-tell-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Atul Gawande > [Don’t let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesn’t. Write about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/don-t-let-yourself-be-find-something-new-to-try-something-to-change/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“Wilson spent several days camped out in one government office after another until she had secured an exemption. Unbelievably, she and her husband cleared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/wilson-spent-several-days-camped-out-in-one-government-office-after/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“8. Chapter 4 describes the birth of the assisted-living facility concept (Park Place), designed by Keren Wilson to provide her disabled mother, Jessie, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/8-chapter-4-describes-the-birth-of-the-assisted-living-facility/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [When we lived in a society where we had large families that lived together, especially in agricultural societies like my grandfather and father grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/when-we-lived-in-a-society-where-we-had-large-families-that-lived/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [My biggest fear, that 27 percent of Americans under 65 have an existing health condition that, without the protections of the Affordable Care Act,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/my-biggest-fear-that-27-percent-of-americans-under-65-have-an/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“..how we seek to spend our time may depend on how much time we perceive ourselves to have. When you are young and healthy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/how-we-seek-to-spend-our-time-may-depend-on-how-much-time-we-perceive/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“I cannot pretend he escaped unscathed. The extended period of low blood pressure damaged an optic nerve and left him essentially blind in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/i-cannot-pretend-he-escaped-unscathed-the-extended-period-of-low/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [The battle of being mortal is the battle to maintain the integrity of one’s life,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/the-battle-of-being-mortal-is-the-battle-to-maintain-the-integrity-of/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“an average of $94,000 during the last year of life with a metastatic breast cancer. Our medical system is excellent at trying to stave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/an-average-of-94-000-during-the-last-year-of-life-with-a-metastatic/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“we need practice to get good at what we do. There is one difference in medicine, though: it is people we practice upon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/we-need-practice-to-get-good-at-what-we-do-there-is-one-difference-in/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [People underestimate the importance of dilligence as a virtue. No doubt it has something to do with how supremely mundane it seems. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/people-underestimate-the-importance-of-dilligence-as-a-virtue-no/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Developing a skill is painful, though. It is difficult. And that's part of the satisfaction. You will only find meaning in what you struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/developing-a-skill-is-painful-though-it-is-difficult-and-that-s-part/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Just look at the list of who the lowest-paid people are. Pediatricians are at the bottom. You would also look at internists. You would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/just-look-at-the-list-of-who-the-lowest-paid-people-are-pediatricians/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“When Felix came to this crossroads, the orthopedic shoe to drop wasn’t his. It was Bella’s. Year by year, I witnessed the progression in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/when-felix-came-to-this-crossroads-the-orthopedic-shoe-to-drop-wasn-t/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) [Explore all 200 Atul Gawande quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) ## More Norm quotes > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Modern capitalism seeks to assure us that it operates according to the principles of free creativity, endless development and diversity. It glosses over its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadezhda-tolokonnikova/modern-capitalism-seeks-to-assure-us-that-it-operates-according-to/) [Nadezhda Tolokonnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadezhda-tolokonnikova/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [I see history as really cyclical in terms of the intense idealism, and the desire to create a better life outside of societal norms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-see-history-as-really-cyclical-in-terms-of-the-intense-idealism-and/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [It is in the measure that special methods acknowledge their common core in transcendental method, that norms common to all the sciences will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/it-is-in-the-measure-that-special-methods-acknowledge-their-common/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [I was a breed of people who aren't capable of doing anything, really. At college I began to get the idea that being macho…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-was-a-breed-of-people-who-aren-t-capable-of-doing-anything-really/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) > [ There is something very special about this part of the world \[U.S\], which is the openness and the curiosity and the lack of prejudice… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/there-is-something-very-special-about-this-part-of-the-world-u-s/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [Even today to be civilised is held to be synonymous with being westernised. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/even-today-to-be-civilised-is-held-to-be-synonymous-with-being/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [I've grown up watching and admiring Norm. Sherie actually starred in the first off-Broadway show I ever saw in New York, which was The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/i-ve-grown-up-watching-and-admiring-norm-sherie-actually-starred-in/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/as-a-child-my-mother-told-me-lots-of-fairy-stories-many-her-own/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [If girls are ever going to start to be in bands as the norm rather than as the exception. They need to see people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobi-vail/if-girls-are-ever-going-to-start-to-be-in-bands-as-the-norm-rather/) Tobi Vail > [That's like making fun of a maniac because his brain isn't completely right, because he isn't in the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/that-s-like-making-fun-of-a-maniac-because-his-brain-isn-t-completely/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [Faith must rise beyond the recognised norm into a lifestyle that accurately represents the victorious Son of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/faith-must-rise-beyond-the-recognised-norm-into-a-lifestyle-that/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch, what make you go beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cicely-tyson/challenges-make-you-discover-things-about-yourself-that-you-never/) [Cicely Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cicely-tyson/) Browse all 589 Norm quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We yearn for frictionless, technological solutions. 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