--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything that can be done to a rat can be…" description: "\"Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png" --- # Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human… ![“Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes. THAT is cyberpunk.” quote by Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png) > “Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes. THAT is cyberpunk.” [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human experimentation parallels animal testing, highlighting ethical blind spots in technology. **In simple terms:** We treat humans like lab rats, ignoring moral costs. Key Takeaway Question ethical boundaries before advancing tech. Themes ethics technology humanity Mood cautious reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - medical research - AI development - policy making - public awareness Key Concepts bioethics dehumanization societal complacency Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent misuse of technology? - How do we balance progress with compassion? A Different Perspective The quote assumes all tech is harmful; not all advances are negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cyberpunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyberpunk/) [Going away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-away/) [Hard things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-things/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [You can't make cheese from rats. ... It's hard enough just milking the little beggars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-jolly/you-can-t-make-cheese-from-rats-it-s-hard-enough-just-milking-the/) [Arthur M. Jolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-jolly/) > [Having had so many human rats in my life, I don't think I'm scared of the animal variety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-colin-campbell/having-had-so-many-human-rats-in-my-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-scared-of/) [Lady Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-colin-campbell/) > [If you made a better rat than a human, it’s not much to boast about, Peter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-made-a-better-rat-than-a-human-it-s-not-much-to-boast-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you made a better rat than a human, that's not much to boast about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sirius-black/if-you-made-a-better-rat-than-a-human-that-s-not-much-to-boast-about/) [Sirius Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sirius-black/) > [“he pours three types of blood into the hole—cat, rat, and human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-pours-three-types-of-blood-into-the-hole-cat-rat-and-human/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [For me, the best thing about Cyberpunk is that it taught me how to enjoy shopping malls, which used to terrify me. Now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/for-me-the-best-thing-about-cyberpunk-is-that-it-taught-me-how-to/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [“Do you remember, Abelard... Once I told you that ecstasy was better than being God." "I remember." "I was wrong, darling. Being God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/do-you-remember-abelard-once-i-told-you-that-ecstasy-was-better-than/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“Feel no regret for roses, autumn too has its delights...How could she say that? Didn't she see that for us there could never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/feel-no-regret-for-roses-autumn-too-has-its-delights-how-could-she/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [I took Punk to be the detonation of some slow-fused projectile buried deep in society's flank a decade earlier, and I took it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-took-punk-to-be-the-detonation-of-some-slow-fused-projectile-buried/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“How convenient, lust and a career move in the same packet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha/how-convenient-lust-and-a-career-move-in-the-same-packet/) [Misha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha/) > [“Najia can feel yts subdermal activators against her forearm. Not man not woman not both not neither. Nute. Another way of being human, speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/najia-can-feel-yts-subdermal-activators-against-her-forearm-not-man/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [I like the idea of using cool cyberpunk stuff to tell really stupid jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-quinn/i-like-the-idea-of-using-cool-cyberpunk-stuff-to-tell-really-stupid/) [Zoe Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-quinn/) > [“In America profit is everything. They would never suspect honor. Money, greed, even revenge. But never honor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha/in-america-profit-is-everything-they-would-never-suspect-honor-money/) [Misha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha/) > [“He got one finger cut off when he was young... The cafe paid for a replacement, put some nano-plastic in there. The kid got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-noon/he-got-one-finger-cut-off-when-he-was-young-the-cafe-paid-for-a/) [Jeff Noon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-noon/) > [“No good thing renders its possessor happy, unless his mind is reconciled to the possibility of loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tade-thompson/no-good-thing-renders-its-possessor-happy-unless-his-mind-is/) Tade Thompson ## More by Bruce Sterling > [They used to be seen as insane or unthinkable acts of madmen. But if they take place they'll be called 'war' too. And there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/they-used-to-be-seen-as-insane-or-unthinkable-acts-of-madmen-but-if/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“You give a guy a license to steal, you've got to expect him to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/you-give-a-guy-a-license-to-steal-you-ve-got-to-expect-him-to-use-it/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“America hadn't really been suited for its long and tiresome role as the Last Superpower, the World's Policeman. As a patriotic American, Oscar was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/america-hadn-t-really-been-suited-for-its-long-and-tiresome-role-as/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“But the economy's out of control. Money just doesn't need human beings anymore. Most of us only get in the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/but-the-economy-s-out-of-control-money-just-doesn-t-need-human-beings/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [It's going to be really interesting to see what the heroin market does in the next two years or so. One thing you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/it-s-going-to-be-really-interesting-to-see-what-the-heroin-market/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [Information wants you to give me a dollar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/information-wants-you-to-give-me-a-dollar/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [Architects thrive after massive urban disasters. The abject collapse of East Berlin gave us the only city in Europe with a mighty host of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/architects-thrive-after-massive-urban-disasters-the-abject-collapse/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [Information wants to be free. Believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/information-wants-to-be-free-believe-it/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [The internet brought many laudable things, but prosperity, stability, accountability and honest politics were not four of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/the-internet-brought-many-laudable-things-but-prosperity-stability/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [I was once a student in a punk T-Shirt hooked on screwed-up scenarios. That's how I became the esteemed cultural figure that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/i-was-once-a-student-in-a-punk-t-shirt-hooked-on-screwed-up-scenarios/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [ “If America suffers from drugs, perhaps you should ask what America is lacking, \[“What an asshole,”\] Eric King commented suddenly. They ignored him.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/if-america-suffers-from-drugs-perhaps-you-should-ask-what-america-is/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“Forget trying to pass for normal. Follow your geekdom. Embrace nerditude. In the immortal words of Lafcadio Hearn, a geek of incredible obscurity whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/forget-trying-to-pass-for-normal-follow-your-geekdom-embrace/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [I like to get paid for doing basic research, so it's pleasant to write some nonfiction about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/i-like-to-get-paid-for-doing-basic-research-so-it-s-pleasant-to-write/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [Find a client and get a job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/find-a-client-and-get-a-job/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [I wouldn't describe that "position" as "parasitic." I'd describe that experience as "edifying." I don't merely write from a critical intellectual distance. I actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/i-wouldn-t-describe-that-position-as-parasitic-i-d-describe-that/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) [Explore all 126 Bruce Sterling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes. THAT is cyberpunk.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Sterling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-be-done-to-a-human-being-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-be-done-to-a-human-being-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/bruce-sterling-3596_can-do_anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-b_1787221.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This…” — Bruce Sterling", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bruce Sterling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anything that can be done to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-be-done-to-a-human-being-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/anything-that-can-be-done-to-a-rat-can-be-done-to-a-human-being-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```