--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I grew up using maps and having a sense…" description: "\"I grew up using maps and having a sense of direction, and now I have a phone. I used to try to remember numbers, and now I... can just call them up ins..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/franklin-foer-3604_computers_i-grew-up-using-maps-and-having-a-sense_889150.jpg" --- # I grew up using maps and having a sense of direction, and… ![“I grew up using maps and having a sense of direction, and now I have a phone. I used to try to remember numbers, and now I... can just call them up instantly. And that's great. But what's happening right now is that we're in a phase of human evolution where we're merging with machines.” quote by Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/franklin-foer-3604_computers_i-grew-up-using-maps-and-having-a-sense_889150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/franklin-foer-3604_computers_i-grew-up-using-maps-and-having-a-sense_889150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/franklin-foer-3604_computers_i-grew-up-using-maps-and-having-a-sense_889150.jpg) > “I grew up using maps and having a sense of direction, and now I have a phone. I used to try to remember numbers, and now I... can just call them up instantly. And that's great. But what's happening right now is that we're in a phase of human evolution where we're merging with machines.” [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We are transitioning from analog memory tools to digital extensions, blending biology with technology. **In simple terms:** We rely on phones, merging with machines. Key Takeaway Embrace tech while preserving human agency. Themes technology human evolution memory dependency Mood reflective concerned Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - personal navigation - communication - memory recall - decision making Key Concepts digital augmentation cognitive offloading transhumanism Questions to Reflect On - How does reliance on devices change our thinking? - What balance should we strike between tech and memory? A Different Perspective Technology can erode deep memory skills and over‑reliance may reduce autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direction/) [Direction Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direction-phone-1129215/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Human evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-evolution/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-numbers-1129216/) [Right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-now/) [Sense Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-direction-341419/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) [Using Maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-maps-1129217/) ## Related quotes > [Everybody remembers numbers and computers remember numbers. People remember procedures and computers certainly remember procedures. But the other thing that's still important is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/everybody-remembers-numbers-and-computers-remember-numbers-people/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [I somehow can't remember numbers, names, and faces. I forget very easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divyanka-tripathi/i-somehow-can-t-remember-numbers-names-and-faces-i-forget-very-easily/) [Divyanka Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divyanka-tripathi/) > [We've been merging with tools since the beginning of human evolution, and arguably, that's one of the things that makes us human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/we-ve-been-merging-with-tools-since-the-beginning-of-human-evolution/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [“More than any previous coterie of corporations, the tech monopolies aspire to mold humanity into their desired image of it. They believe that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/more-than-any-previous-coterie-of-corporations-the-tech-monopolies/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [One of the things that I've found in everything that I've done: People want leaders to create a sense of direction and to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-greitens/one-of-the-things-that-i-ve-found-in-everything-that-i-ve-done-people/) [Eric Greitens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-greitens/) > [A constant ongoing joke among the people that I travel with is my absolutely hopeless sense of direction. I'm able to get lost a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/a-constant-ongoing-joke-among-the-people-that-i-travel-with-is-my/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Trying to find my way around the Rayburn building is always a challenge. 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It's a circle, but then it stops being a circle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-valletta/i-have-an-incredible-sense-of-direction-but-london-is-confusing-it-s/) [Amber Valletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-valletta/) > [Everybody has their doubts in their 20s, but I've always loved sort of having a sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-rohrbach/everybody-has-their-doubts-in-their-20s-but-i-ve-always-loved-sort-of/) [Kelly Rohrbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-rohrbach/) > [I've got a very poor sense of direction. I keep forgetting which way is forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-parfitt/i-ve-got-a-very-poor-sense-of-direction-i-keep-forgetting-which-way/) [Geoffrey Parfitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-parfitt/) > [I have a terrible sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/i-have-a-terrible-sense-of-direction/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) > [I have a horrible sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/i-have-a-horrible-sense-of-direction/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [If our homes should provide anything, they should provide a sense of who we are and how we got here, a sense of connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-conran/if-our-homes-should-provide-anything-they-should-provide-a-sense-of/) [Terence Conran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-conran/) ## More by Franklin Foer > [Once upon a time, if you were going to get a loan from me, I would have had to look at your file, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/once-upon-a-time-if-you-were-going-to-get-a-loan-from-me-i-would-have/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [“But in the end, the hackers were misunderstood figures. 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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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