--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think brains might be machines that…" description: "\"“I think brains might be machines that turn information into feelings and feelings back into decisions and I've discovered that my machine has been put..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg" --- # I think brains might be machines that turn information… ![“I think brains might be machines that turn information into feelings and feelings back into decisions and I've discovered that my machine has been put together in a strange way and it translates life in a strange way but I have no way to fix this—I'm not a brain-machine fixer, I'm just a haver of…” quote by Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg) > ““I think brains might be machines that turn information into feelings and feelings back into decisions and I've discovered that my machine has been put together in a strange way and it translates life in a strange way but I have no way to fix this—I'm not a brain-machine fixer, I'm just a haver of a brain, like anyone, and none of us know how to fix ourselves, at least not entirely, not well enough”” [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The mind processes information into emotions and decisions, yet we lack full control over this complex system. **In simple terms:** Our brains are imperfect decision machines. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and seek self‑knowledge. Themes cognition emotion self‑awareness Mood reflective introspective Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - mindful meditation Key Concepts neuroscience philosophy of mind Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve self‑understanding? - What role do emotions play in your choices? 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As long as you don't have any dementia or Alzheimer's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/you-re-young-forever-when-you-write-alfred-hitchcock-directed-until/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [“The best way to think of how our brains frame information is to imagine a picture frame, except unlike a normal frame, this one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/the-best-way-to-think-of-how-our-brains-frame-information-is-to/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [I like to think our brains are a bit like algorithms. Whatever you give it and feed it, you get out the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/i-like-to-think-our-brains-are-a-bit-like-algorithms-whatever-you/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [“Suddenly, an idea swooshed into his marsupial brain like a small propeller plane buzzing a crowd. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/suddenly-an-idea-swooshed-into-his-marsupial-brain-like-a-small/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) > [He has a brain like Einstein's - dead since 1955](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-perret/he-has-a-brain-like-einstein-s-dead-since-1955/) [Gene Perret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-perret/) ## More by Catherine Lacey > [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“...no moment cares, and the ones you wish could stretch out like a hammock for you to lie in, well, those moments leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/no-moment-cares-and-the-ones-you-wish-could-stretch-out-like-a/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“The late-afternoon light was thick and orange and she passed four different couples taking photos of themselves on the same cobblestoned block, all their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/the-late-afternoon-light-was-thick-and-orange-and-she-passed-four/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“Every few minutes or so I would remember the look from the man who had wanted fifty cents, and I'd look at that framed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/every-few-minutes-or-so-i-would-remember-the-look-from-the-man-who/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“How someone wants to explain catastrophe isn't important--that's what I know now. When shit happens, it doesn't really matter what asshole is responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/how-someone-wants-to-explain-catastrophe-isn-t-important-that-s-what/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“Eventually she got out of bed, took a long shower, gargling and spitting mouthfuls of water, then screaming, just a little and quietly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/eventually-she-got-out-of-bed-took-a-long-shower-gargling-and/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I couldn't decide how to feel about what he was saying, whether it was all nonsense or just more evidence that I would never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-couldn-t-decide-how-to-feel-about-what-he-was-saying-whether-it-was/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“She missed his nothing. It had felt like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/she-missed-his-nothing-it-had-felt-like-something/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I wasn't sure if it was safe for me to be sharing time and space with other people, who all seemed so much gentler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-wasn-t-sure-if-it-was-safe-for-me-to-be-sharing-time-and-space-with/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“Why were we never together anymore, just alone in each other's vicinity?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/why-were-we-never-together-anymore-just-alone-in-each-other-s-vicinity/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“And I began to believe that you could exchange your life, send it back for a different model, and I knew that wasn’t really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/and-i-began-to-believe-that-you-could-exchange-your-life-send-it-back/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I thought that if I could ever do a background check on myself, I knew exactly what I'd do with it. I wouldn't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-thought-that-if-i-could-ever-do-a-background-check-on-myself-i-knew/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“ We have reached a point as a culture, where the predominant view of romantic partnership is no longer about survival or wealth or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/we-have-reached-a-point-as-a-culture-where-the-predominant-view-of/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“There was at least one morning I was certain, though only for a few hours, that everything that could ever really happen to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/there-was-at-least-one-morning-i-was-certain-though-only-for-a-few/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I closed my eyes, tried to get as far away from myself as I could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-closed-my-eyes-tried-to-get-as-far-away-from-myself-as-i-could/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) [Explore all 129 Catherine Lacey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. 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No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? 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In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think brains might be machines that turn information into feelings and feelings back into decisions and I've discovered that my machine has been put together in a strange way and it translates life in a strange way but I have no way to fix this—I'm not a brain-machine fixer, I'm just a haver of a brain, like anyone, and none of us know how to fix ourselves, at least not entirely, not well enough”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherine Lacey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-turn-information-into-feelings/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-turn-information-into-feelings/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/catherine-lacey-3511_computers_i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-tu_2355653.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think brains might be machines that turn information into feelings and feelings back into decisions and…” — Catherine Lacey", "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": "Catherine Lacey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I think brains might be machines...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-turn-information-into-feelings/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-turn-information-into-feelings/#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 } } ] } ```