---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They work now with computers for building…"
description: "\"They work now with computers for building buildings and books, but not ever with new ideas.\" — Emil Ruder"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png"
---

#  They work now with computers for building buildings and…

![“They work now with computers for building buildings and books, but not ever with new ideas.” quote by Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png)

> “They work now with computers for building buildings and books, but not ever with new ideas.”

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote suggests that while computers assist in constructing physical and textual artifacts, they are not yet harnessed for generating truly novel concepts.

**In simple terms:** Computers help build things but not create new ideas.

Key Takeaway

Explore ways to integrate AI in creative ideation.

Themes

technology creativity limitations

Mood

reflective critical

Type

observational analytical

When to use this quote

- architectural design
- publishing
- research
- product development

Key Concepts

AI innovation design thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we design tools that foster genuine creativity?
- What role should humans play in ideation?

A Different Perspective

Computers may lack consciousness needed for originality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [New ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-ideas/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/)

## Related quotes

> [I just love building buildings. I'm the largest developer in New York City. I'm having a lot of fun doing it. I think I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-just-love-building-buildings-i-m-the-largest-developer-in-new-york/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [Even when I work with computers, with high technology, I always try to put in the touch of the hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/even-when-i-work-with-computers-with-high-technology-i-always-try-to/)

[Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/)

> [A lot of people who work in computers think that the world is like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/a-lot-of-people-who-work-in-computers-think-that-the-world-is-like/)

[Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/)

> [We should treat computers as fancy telephones, whose purpose is to connect people… As long as we remember that we ourselves are the source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-should-treat-computers-as-fancy-telephones-whose-purpose-is-to/)

[Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/)

> [I don't work with computers. I'd never played a video game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-reichardt/i-don-t-work-with-computers-i-d-never-played-a-video-game/)

[Kelly Reichardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-reichardt/)

> [At the age of 5, when I was in kindergarten, I often used to pass by the computer labs and see students doing work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arfa-karim/at-the-age-of-5-when-i-was-in-kindergarten-i-often-used-to-pass-by/)

[Arfa Karim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arfa-karim/)

> [With genetic engineering, we will be able to increase the complexity of our DNA, and improve the human race. But it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/with-genetic-engineering-we-will-be-able-to-increase-the-complexity/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [ In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of communicating with a computer are entirely inadequate. \[...\] Graphical communication in some form or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the-ordinary-means-of/)

[Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/)

> [I like stuff designed by dead people. The old designers. They always got it right because they didn't have to grow up with computers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/i-like-stuff-designed-by-dead-people-the-old-designers-they-always/)

[John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/)

> [Considering the current sad state of our computer programs, software development is clearly still a black art, and cannot yet be called an engineering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/considering-the-current-sad-state-of-our-computer-programs-software/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [Computer Science is the only discipline in which we view adding a new wing to a building as being maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-horning/computer-science-is-the-only-discipline-in-which-we-view-adding-a-new/)

[Jim Horning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-horning/)

> [Even the best designers produce successful products only if their designs solve the right problems. A wonderful interface to the wrong features will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/even-the-best-designers-produce-successful-products-only-if-their/)

[Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/)

> [I would like new people with new ideas to come into it and change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-marriner/i-would-like-new-people-with-new-ideas-to-come-into-it-and-change-it/)

[Neville Marriner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-marriner/)

> [When a new idea comes our way, we must put it on our mental scales and weigh it carefully before deciding its value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/when-a-new-idea-comes-our-way-we-must-put-it-on-our-mental-scales-and/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [Every day, I read about new ideas and research that could help someone I care about live a longer and healthier life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/every-day-i-read-about-new-ideas-and-research-that-could-help-someone/)

[Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/)

## More by Emil Ruder

> [A printed work, which cannot be read, becomes a product without purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/a-printed-work-which-cannot-be-read-becomes-a-product-without-purpose/)

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

> [To design is to plan, to order, to relate, and to control. In short, it opposes all means of disorder and accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/to-design-is-to-plan-to-order-to-relate-and-to-control-in-short-it/)

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

> [Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it-and-that-is-to-convey/)

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

> [“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/typography-has-one-plain-duty-before-it-and-that-is-to-convey-2/)

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

> [They should make new ways to better design buildings and books. The computer was the end of Swiss typography!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/they-should-make-new-ways-to-better-design-buildings-and-books-the/)

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

> [Today we are inundated with such an immense flood of printed matter that the value of individual work has depreciated, for our harassed contemporaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/today-we-are-inundated-with-such-an-immense-flood-of-printed-matter/)

[Emil Ruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

[Explore all 7 Emil Ruder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/)

## More Book quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "They work now with computers for building buildings and books, but not ever with new ideas.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Emil Ruder"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/they-work-now-with-computers-for-building-buildings-and-books-but-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/they-work-now-with-computers-for-building-buildings-and-books-but-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/emil-ruder-51885_book_they-work-now-with-computers-for-buildin_3011184.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“They work now with computers for building buildings and books, but not ever with new ideas.” — Emil Ruder",
                "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": "Emil Ruder",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ruder/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "They work now with computers for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/they-work-now-with-computers-for-building-buildings-and-books-but-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ruder/they-work-now-with-computers-for-building-buildings-and-books-but-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
