--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are machines of forgetfulness" description: "\"People are machines of forgetfulness\" — Henri Barbusse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/henri-barbusse-12416_computers_people-are-machines-of-forgetfulness-160_1607430.png" --- # People are machines of forgetfulness ![“People are machines of forgetfulness” quote by Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/henri-barbusse-12416_computers_people-are-machines-of-forgetfulness-160_1607430.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/henri-barbusse-12416_computers_people-are-machines-of-forgetfulness-160_1607430.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/henri-barbusse-12416_computers_people-are-machines-of-forgetfulness-160_1607430.png) > “People are machines of forgetfulness” [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to forget past events, allowing them to move forward but also risking loss of valuable lessons. **In simple terms:** Humans forget easily. Key Takeaway Balance memory with letting go. Themes memory forgetfulness history learning Mood nostalgic cautious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal growth - historical analysis - relationship dynamics Key Concepts cognitive bias psychology Questions to Reflect On - What should we remember to avoid past errors? - When is forgetting beneficial? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on forgetting can repeat mistakes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Forgetfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetfulness/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [People talk about "job creation," as if that had ever been the aim the industrial economy. 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And we have to respect that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-conte/people-are-not-machines-and-we-have-to-respect-that/) [Jack Conte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-conte/) > [I genuinely think in the future there'll be so many AIs and stuff that they'll start to become like real people. Machines with real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raye/i-genuinely-think-in-the-future-there-ll-be-so-many-ais-and-stuff/) [Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raye/) > [We're dumber and less cognitively nimble if we're not around other people - and, now, other machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/we-re-dumber-and-less-cognitively-nimble-if-we-re-not-around-other/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [“So this is the development that will make a difference: a method for groups of people and machines to work together to make decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-this-is-the-development-that-will-make-a-difference-a-method-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The industrial model is gone. People are more than machines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/the-industrial-model-is-gone-people-are-more-than-machines/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. 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/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? 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Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Henri Barbusse > [“He fell back. He had cried out so loud that even if there had been no breach in the wall, I should have heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/he-fell-back-he-had-cried-out-so-loud-that-even-if-there-had-been-no/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“Separation! They were very much alike in ideas and temperament, and just then they were helping each other as much as they could. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/separation-they-were-very-much-alike-in-ideas-and-temperament-and/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“It is not by sin that we attain happiness, nor is it by virtue, nor is it by that kind of divine fire by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/it-is-not-by-sin-that-we-attain-happiness-nor-is-it-by-virtue-nor-is/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [Let everything be remade on simple lines. There is only one people, there is only one people!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/let-everything-be-remade-on-simple-lines-there-is-only-one-people/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [There are cloudy moments when one asks himself if men do not deserve all the disasters into which they rush! No - I recover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/there-are-cloudy-moments-when-one-asks-himself-if-men-do-not-deserve/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“She was thinking of him. Doubled up, small as a child, she gazed intently into the distance, at the man who was not there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/she-was-thinking-of-him-doubled-up-small-as-a-child-she-gazed/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“We have the divinity of our great misery. And our solitude, with its toilsome ideas, tears and laughter, is fatally divine. However wrong we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/we-have-the-divinity-of-our-great-misery-and-our-solitude-with-its/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“I had no genius, no mission to fulfill, no great heart to bestow. I had nothing and I deserved nothing. But all the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/i-had-no-genius-no-mission-to-fulfill-no-great-heart-to-bestow-i-had/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“Sin, sin! To rid myself of boredom by committing a crime, to break up monotony by deceiving. To sin in order to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/sin-sin-to-rid-myself-of-boredom-by-committing-a-crime-to-break-up/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [All lovers in the world are alike: they fall in love by chance; they see each other, and are attached to each other by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/all-lovers-in-the-world-are-alike-they-fall-in-love-by-chance-they/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [At the touch of mankind, things wear away with heartbreaking slowness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/at-the-touch-of-mankind-things-wear-away-with-heartbreaking-slowness/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [I see too deep and too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/i-see-too-deep-and-too-much/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [I am more sensitive than other people. Things that other people would not notice awaken a distinct echo in me, and in such moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/i-am-more-sensitive-than-other-people-things-that-other-people-would/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“They felt that everything was fleeting, that everything wore out, that everything that was not dead would die, and that even the illusory ties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/they-felt-that-everything-was-fleeting-that-everything-wore-out-that/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“Ah, my poor child, how far gone you are in your blindness! Why did you have me summoned?" "I had hopes, I had hopes."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/ah-my-poor-child-how-far-gone-you-are-in-your-blindness-why-did-you/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) [Explore all 48 Henri Barbusse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) ## 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. 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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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