--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They simply don't know that much about…" description: "\"They simply don't know that much about what they're doing. There isn't enough control. There isn't enough capability in ordinary people to tinker with ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/david-r-brower-9665_complicated_they-simply-don-t-know-that-much-about-w_1733022.jpg" --- # They simply don't know that much about what they're doing… ![“They simply don't know that much about what they're doing. There isn't enough control. There isn't enough capability in ordinary people to tinker with such a complicated piece of machinery.” quote by David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/david-r-brower-9665_complicated_they-simply-don-t-know-that-much-about-w_1733022.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/david-r-brower-9665_complicated_they-simply-don-t-know-that-much-about-w_1733022.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/david-r-brower-9665_complicated_they-simply-don-t-know-that-much-about-w_1733022.jpg) > “They simply don't know that much about what they're doing. There isn't enough control. There isn't enough capability in ordinary people to tinker with such a complicated piece of machinery.” [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often lack the knowledge and tools to manage complex systems, limiting effective control **In simple terms:** Most lack skill to handle complex tech Key Takeaway Increase education and access to tools Themes technology education empowerment Mood concerned optimistic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community projects - DIY engineering - public workshops Key Concepts Systems theory human factors Questions to Reflect On - What training would empower ordinary people? - How can we simplify technology without losing function? A Different Perspective Complex systems may remain inaccessible despite training ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Machinery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machinery/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Tinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-tinker-1447446/) [Piece Machinery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piece-machinery-1447448/) [Tinker Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tinker-complicated-1447447/) ## Related quotes > [The spinning wheel is itself an exquisite piece of machinery. My head daily bows in reverence to its unknown inventor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spinning-wheel-is-itself-an-exquisite-piece-of-machinery-my-head/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The liberty the citizen enjoys is to be measured not by governmental machinery he lives under, whether representative or other, but by the paucity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-liberty-the-citizen-enjoys-is-to-be-measured-not-by-governmental/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The economy of human time is the next advantage of machinery in manufactures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-economy-of-human-time-is-the-next-advantage-of-machinery-in/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [The whole of the developments and operations of analysis are now capable of being executed by machinery ... As soon as an Analytical Engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-whole-of-the-developments-and-operations-of-analysis-are-now/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [All civilization in a sense exists only in the mind. Gunpowder, textile arts, machinery, laws, telephones are not themselves transmitted from man to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-l-kroeber/all-civilization-in-a-sense-exists-only-in-the-mind-gunpowder-textile/) [Alfred L. Kroeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-l-kroeber/) > [Often, equipment can as easily function as a security blanket for musicians unwilling or unable to risk anything personal in the studio. Whether one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-landau/often-equipment-can-as-easily-function-as-a-security-blanket-for/) [Jon Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-landau/) > [Most people think that aging is irreversible and we know that there are mechanisms even in the human machinery that allow for the reversal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/most-people-think-that-aging-is-irreversible-and-we-know-that-there/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [AI is not just heading for our industry, it will radically change the machinery we use in marketing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/ai-is-not-just-heading-for-our-industry-it-will-radically-change-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [But Margaret went less abroad, among machinery and men; saw less of power in its public effect, and, as it happened, she was thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-margaret-went-less-abroad-among-machinery-and-men-saw-less-of/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-the-church-needs-to-day-is-not-more-machinery-or-better-not-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It required unusual inquisitiveness to pursue the development of scientific curiosities such as charged pith balls, the voltaic cell, and the electrostatic machine. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-seitz/it-required-unusual-inquisitiveness-to-pursue-the-development-of/) [Frederick Seitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-seitz/) > [But tending machinery was one thing; defining what we were trying to do and why we were doing it, and developing ways to measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-richardson/but-tending-machinery-was-one-thing-defining-what-we-were-trying-to/) [Elliot Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-richardson/) > [Culture looks beyond machinery, culture hates hatred; culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-looks-beyond-machinery-culture-hates-hatred-culture-has-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [I admit that these terms and the diagrams connected with them repel some readers, and fill others with the vain imagination that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/i-admit-that-these-terms-and-the-diagrams-connected-with-them-repel/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by David R. Brower > [Is the minor convenience of allowing the present generation the luxury of doubling its energy consumption every 10 years worth the major hazard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/is-the-minor-convenience-of-allowing-the-present-generation-the/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [While the death of young men in war is unfortunate, it is no more serious than the touching of mountains and wilderness areas by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/while-the-death-of-young-men-in-war-is-unfortunate-it-is-no-more/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [Keep your rivers flowing as they will, and you will continue to know the most important of all freedoms-the boundless scope of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/keep-your-rivers-flowing-as-they-will-and-you-will-continue-to-know/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [We still need conservationists who will attempt the impossible, achieving it because they aren't aware how impossible it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/we-still-need-conservationists-who-will-attempt-the-impossible/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [I don't think we have very good records about what they were thinking except, as I pointed out earlier today, that they did invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/i-don-t-think-we-have-very-good-records-about-what-they-were-thinking/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [A great deal of pressure was then built up to remove me from the club and my resignation was, finally, a forced one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/a-great-deal-of-pressure-was-then-built-up-to-remove-me-from-the-club/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [For how many people do you think might yet stand on this planet before the sun grows cold? That's the responsibility we hold in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/for-how-many-people-do-you-think-might-yet-stand-on-this-planet/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [All I know about thermal pollution is that if we continue our present rate of growth in electrical energy consumption it will simply take,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/all-i-know-about-thermal-pollution-is-that-if-we-continue-our-present/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [It's very hard for me to know what to say about fusion right now, inasmuch as it is not yet scientifically feasible. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/it-s-very-hard-for-me-to-know-what-to-say-about-fusion-right-now/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [Once we open the door to the plutonium economy, we expose ourselves to absolutely terrible, horrifying risks from these people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/once-we-open-the-door-to-the-plutonium-economy-we-expose-ourselves-to/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [You don't need it, but will you take some advice from a Californian who's been around for a while? Cherish these rivers. Witness for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/you-don-t-need-it-but-will-you-take-some-advice-from-a-californian/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [There is no place where we can safely store worn-out reactors or their garbage. No place!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/there-is-no-place-where-we-can-safely-store-worn-out-reactors-or/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [Politicians are like weather vanes. Our job is to make the wind blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/politicians-are-like-weather-vanes-our-job-is-to-make-the-wind-blow/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [True wilderness is where you keep it, and real wilderness experience cannot be a sedentary one; you have to seek it out not seated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/true-wilderness-is-where-you-keep-it-and-real-wilderness-experience/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [The goal now is a socialist, redistributionist society, which is nature's proper steward and society's only hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/the-goal-now-is-a-socialist-redistributionist-society-which-is-nature/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) [Explore all 71 David R. Brower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) ## More Complicated quotes > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) [Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin/) > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) [Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They simply don't know that much about what they're doing. There isn't enough control. There isn't enough capability in ordinary people to tinker with such a complicated piece of machinery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David R. 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