--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People were like machines. They broke…" description: "\"“People were like machines. They broke down. They rattled. They could burn you or maim you if you weren't careful. Her job was not only to figure out w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/hugh-howey-841_art_people-were-like-machines-they-broke-dow_1953165.jpg" --- # People were like machines. They broke down. They rattled… ![“People were like machines. They broke down. They rattled. They could burn you or maim you if you weren't careful. Her job was not only to figure out why this happened and who was to blame, but also to listen for the signs of it coming. Being sheriff, like being a mechanic, was as much the fine art…” quote by Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/hugh-howey-841_art_people-were-like-machines-they-broke-dow_1953165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/hugh-howey-841_art_people-were-like-machines-they-broke-dow_1953165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/hugh-howey-841_art_people-were-like-machines-they-broke-dow_1953165.jpg) > ““People were like machines. They broke down. They rattled. They could burn you or maim you if you weren't careful. Her job was not only to figure out why this happened and who was to blame, but also to listen for the signs of it coming. Being sheriff, like being a mechanic, was as much the fine art of preventive maintenance as it was the cleaning up after a breakdown.”” [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sheriff’s role blends reactive crisis management with proactive prevention, like a mechanic maintaining machines. **In simple terms:** Sheriff prevents problems and fixes them. Key Takeaway Balance maintenance with emergency response. Themes responsibility prevention maintenance community leadership Mood alert strategic Type pragmatic reflective When to use this quote - urban policing - industrial safety - facility management - emergency services Key Concepts systems thinking risk management public safety service ethic Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a looming crisis? - How can you improve early detection? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on prevention can lead to complacency about unexpected failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Careful Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careful-job-3181762/) [Coming Sheriff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-sheriff-3181760/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Fine art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-art/) [Like Mechanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-mechanic-1334794/) [Preventive Maintenance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preventive-maintenance-222395/) [Sheriff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheriff/) [Sheriff Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheriff-like-3181761/) ## Related quotes > [Life's tough on the body and I'm a big fan of preventive maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-leone/life-s-tough-on-the-body-and-i-m-a-big-fan-of-preventive-maintenance/) [Brad Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-leone/) > [Preventive Maintenance: Don't start today by doing yesterday's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deniece-schofield/preventive-maintenance-don-t-start-today-by-doing-yesterday-s-work/) [Deniece Schofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deniece-schofield/) > [A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spanish-proverb/a-man-too-busy-to-take-care-of-his-health-is-like-a-mechanic-too-busy/) [Spanish Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spanish-proverb/) > [With my own home, I feel like I'm the mechanic who drives a crappy car. I never have time to work on my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-scott/with-my-own-home-i-feel-like-i-m-the-mechanic-who-drives-a-crappy-car/) [Jonathan Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-scott/) > [“Hey.How's it going?" Martin always butched it up a little with his brother. He tried to sound like a mechanic. Why a mechanic? Martin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/hey-how-s-it-going-martin-always-butched-it-up-a-little-with-his/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [When you're a screenwriter, it's like being a mechanic. 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All those years of practice are starting to pay off - his footy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-condon/bull-spots-us-and-gives-his-two-thumbs-salute-trotting-backwards-imm/) [Bill Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-condon/) > [Some people's photography is an art. Not mine. Art is a dirty word in photography. All this fine art crap is killing it already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/some-people-s-photography-is-an-art-not-mine-art-is-a-dirty-word-in/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [“Fine art galleries are the excellent setups for exhibiting art, generally aesthetic art such as paints, sculptures, and digital photography. Basically, art galleries showcase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/famous-art-galleries/fine-art-galleries-are-the-excellent-setups-for-exhibiting-art/) [Famous Art Galleries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/famous-art-galleries/) > [I like to cook, walk on the beach, go to concerts and look at fine art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-drescher/i-like-to-cook-walk-on-the-beach-go-to-concerts-and-look-at-fine-art/) [Fran Drescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-drescher/) > [A creative life is an amplified life. It's a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/a-creative-life-is-an-amplified-life-it-s-a-bigger-life-a-happier/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“By the close of the nineteenth century her studies with her father were being supplemented by tuition in the classics from Dr Warr of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/by-the-close-of-the-nineteenth-century-her-studies-with-her-father/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [The distinctions of fine art bore me to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-distinctions-of-fine-art-bore-me-to-death/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## More by Hugh Howey > [“the mind-numbing routine. It was the castration of thought,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-mind-numbing-routine-it-was-the-castration-of-thought/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/even-in-the-darkness-his-smile-threw-shadows/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“The Loud came before the quiet. That was a Rule of the World, for the bangs and shouts need somewhere to echo, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-loud-came-before-the-quiet-that-was-a-rule-of-the-world-for-the/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“People from IT sent to replace those they’d killed. Juliette’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/people-from-it-sent-to-replace-those-they-d-killed-juliette-s/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a heap of words designed to hinder communication rather than facilitate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-heap-of-words-designed-to-hinder-communication-rather-than/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“That leaves Bravo Company, the expendables who know what they’re doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-leaves-bravo-company-the-expendables-who-know-what-they-re-doing/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Sleep was a vehicle for passing the time, for avoiding the present. It was a trolley for the depressed, the impatient, and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sleep-was-a-vehicle-for-passing-the-time-for-avoiding-the-present-it/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Overhead, tangles of wires knotted together in a grand display of unplanned infrastructure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/overhead-tangles-of-wires-knotted-together-in-a-grand-display-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Montana wants to scream, but the thing she is angry at is in the past. The past can’t hear her. This is the thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/montana-wants-to-scream-but-the-thing-she-is-angry-at-is-in-the-past/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I guess what I'm sayin' is, if you want to give Jules a job, be very careful.” “Why be careful?” Marnes asked. Marck gazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-guess-what-i-m-sayin-is-if-you-want-to-give-jules-a-job-be-very/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [One of the many things that surprised me about 'Wool' is how many of its fans don't consider themselves science fiction readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/one-of-the-many-things-that-surprised-me-about-wool-is-how-many-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“We have allowed a dangerous forest to grow as we try to guard against individual trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/we-have-allowed-a-dangerous-forest-to-grow-as-we-try-to-guard-against/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“You’re . . . a rock,” I tell the rock. “The fuck I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/you-re-a-rock-i-tell-the-rock-the-fuck-i-am/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I hated Sundays as a kid. From the moment I woke up, I could feel Monday looming,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-hated-sundays-as-a-kid-from-the-moment-i-woke-up-i-could-feel/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) [Explore all 351 Hugh Howey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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