--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Electric Monk was a labour-saving…" description: "\"“The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. Dishwashers washed tedious dishes for you, thus saving you the bo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/douglas-adams-122_monk_the-electric-monk-was-a-labour-saving-de_2653169.png" --- # The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a… ![“The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. Dishwashers washed tedious dishes for you, thus saving you the bother of washing them yourself, video recorders watched tedious television for you, thus saving you the bother of looking at it yourself; Electric…” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/douglas-adams-122_monk_the-electric-monk-was-a-labour-saving-de_2653169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/douglas-adams-122_monk_the-electric-monk-was-a-labour-saving-de_2653169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/douglas-adams-122_monk_the-electric-monk-was-a-labour-saving-de_2653169.png) > ““The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. Dishwashers washed tedious dishes for you, thus saving you the bother of washing them yourself, video recorders watched tedious television for you, thus saving you the bother of looking at it yourself; Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous task, that of believing all the things the world expected you to believe. Unfortunately”” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A device that takes over the mental labor of believing, freeing people from the burden of constant conformity. **In simple terms:** A tool that does the thinking for you. Key Takeaway Beware of outsourcing critical thinking. Themes technology conformity automation faith critical thinking Mood cautious reflective critical Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - personal decision making - media consumption - religious belief - education - workplace dynamics Key Concepts automation mindfulness social pressure Questions to Reflect On - Do you rely on shortcuts for belief? - What are the costs of delegating thought? A Different Perspective It can erode personal responsibility and autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monk/) ## Related quotes > [The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder... Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-electric-monk-was-a-labour-saving-device-like-a-dishwasher-or-a/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Electric monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous task, that of believing all the things the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/electric-monks-believed-things-for-you-thus-saving-you-what-was/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [High on a rocky promontory sat an Electric Monk on a bored horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/high-on-a-rocky-promontory-sat-an-electric-monk-on-a-bored-horse/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I think what attracts me about the Electric Monk is that it's such an eloquent example of the futility of belief for belief's sake.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-what-attracts-me-about-the-electric-monk-is-that-it-s-such-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Unfortunately this Electric Monk had developed a fault, and had started to believe all kinds of things, more or less at random. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/unfortunately-this-electric-monk-had-developed-a-fault-and-had/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Where we've been wise is that, while 'Monk' may have been a risk at the beginning, we've built its success and built on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/where-we-ve-been-wise-is-that-while-monk-may-have-been-a-risk-at-the/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [I turned into a monk when my mother went to learn Buddhism in Burma. While she learnt at the monastery, I used to roam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/i-turned-into-a-monk-when-my-mother-went-to-learn-buddhism-in-burma/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-have-my-own-way-to-walk-and-for-some-reason-or-other-zen-is-right/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Believe nothing, O monks, just because you have been told it, or it is commonly believed, or because it is traditional or because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/believe-nothing-o-monks-just-because-you-have-been-told-it-or-it-is/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [If your spirit still looks around at the time of prayer, then it does not yet pray as a monk. You are no better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evagrius-ponticus/if-your-spirit-still-looks-around-at-the-time-of-prayer-then-it-does/) [Evagrius Ponticus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evagrius-ponticus/) > [I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. The infinite suns, the infinite distances between them, and yourself an invisible dot on an invisible dot, infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-universe-the-whole-infinite-universe-the-infinite-suns-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/any-man-who-can-hitch-the-length-and-breadth-of-the-galaxy-rough-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. So we'll have to tell you something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-come-to-me-for-advice-but-you-can-t-cope-with-anything-you-don-t/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Explore all 1,168 Douglas Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More Monk quotes > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [If your spirit still looks around at the time of prayer, then it does not yet pray as a monk. You are no better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evagrius-ponticus/if-your-spirit-still-looks-around-at-the-time-of-prayer-then-it-does/) [Evagrius Ponticus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evagrius-ponticus/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Believe nothing, O monks, just because you have been told it, or it is commonly believed, or because it is traditional or because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/believe-nothing-o-monks-just-because-you-have-been-told-it-or-it-is/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-have-my-own-way-to-walk-and-for-some-reason-or-other-zen-is-right/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I turned into a monk when my mother went to learn Buddhism in Burma. While she learnt at the monastery, I used to roam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/i-turned-into-a-monk-when-my-mother-went-to-learn-buddhism-in-burma/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [Where we've been wise is that, while 'Monk' may have been a risk at the beginning, we've built its success and built on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/where-we-ve-been-wise-is-that-while-monk-may-have-been-a-risk-at-the/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [Firstly, as a Buddhist monk, I hold that violence is not good. Secondly, I am a firm believer in the Gandian ethic of passive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/firstly-as-a-buddhist-monk-i-hold-that-violence-is-not-good-secondly/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [My heart has become capable of every form: It is a pasture for gazelles And a monastery for Christian monks, And the pilgrim's Ka'ba,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-arabi/my-heart-has-become-capable-of-every-form-it-is-a-pasture-for/) [Ibn Arabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-arabi/) > [As I tell my children, the first thing is always health. Get sleep, don't party, don't do drugs or drink. If your body is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/as-i-tell-my-children-the-first-thing-is-always-health-get-sleep-don/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [No matter how good you are, you still need grace to get out of the material world. You can be a yogi or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/no-matter-how-good-you-are-you-still-need-grace-to-get-out-of-the/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [The Jackdaw sat in the Cardinal's chair! Bishop and Abbot and Prior were there, Many a monk and many a friar, Many a knight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harris-barham/the-jackdaw-sat-in-the-cardinal-s-chair-bishop-and-abbot-and-prior/) [Richard Harris Barham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harris-barham/) [Browse all 518 Monk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monk/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. 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