--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The humans have a curious force they call…" description: "\"The humans have a curious force they call ambition. It drives them, and, through them, it drives us. This force which keeps them active, we lack. Perha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg" --- # The humans have a curious force they call ambition. It… ![“The humans have a curious force they call ambition. It drives them, and, through them, it drives us. This force which keeps them active, we lack. Perhaps, in time, we machines will acquire it.” quote by John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg) > “The humans have a curious force they call ambition. It drives them, and, through them, it drives us. This force which keeps them active, we lack. Perhaps, in time, we machines will acquire it.” [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition drives humans; machines lack it but may develop it over time. **In simple terms:** Humans are driven by ambition; machines may acquire it. Key Takeaway Cultivate purposeful goals. Themes ambition human nature AI development Mood thoughtful speculative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - AI ethics discussions - personal development - team leadership Key Concepts Motivation purpose future of AI Questions to Reflect On - Will machines ever feel genuine ambition? - Can ambition be programmed? A Different Perspective Machines may never truly experience desire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [I've always been curious about why one man jumps out of a foxhole with a grenade and charges a machine gun nest, and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-ve-always-been-curious-about-why-one-man-jumps-out-of-a-foxhole/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [The word 'seek' means to go in search of, try to discover, try to acquire. It requires an active, assertive approach to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-word-seek-means-to-go-in-search-of-try-to-discover-try-to-acquire/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [It is curious to note that when for reasons of conscience, people refuse to kill, they are often exempted from active military duty. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/it-is-curious-to-note-that-when-for-reasons-of-conscience-people/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [“Our dominant idea about the mind fail to recognise the conflict between the two sides of the mind — the mind as machine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-mangabeira-unger/our-dominant-idea-about-the-mind-fail-to-recognise-the-conflict/) [Roberto Mangabeira Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-mangabeira-unger/) > [“My dream is to create something so beautiful that it encourages people to present the best version of themselves to me everywhere I go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/my-dream-is-to-create-something-so-beautiful-that-it-encourages/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [“Try to think of it as though we are rewriting history––the first time this experience occurred you and I never kissed in this Dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/try-to-think-of-it-as-though-we-are-rewriting-history-the-first-time/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [Since, however, it is immaterial whether the work is done by assistants or a machine, I decided to build a machine equivalent to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-however-it-is-immaterial-whether-the-work-is-done-by-assistants/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A house is not a machine! It's something else for living - but not a machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/a-house-is-not-a-machine-it-s-something-else-for-living-but-not-a/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [Once upon a time we were just plain people. But that was before we began having relationships with mechanical systems. Get involved with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/once-upon-a-time-we-were-just-plain-people-but-that-was-before-we/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [That's right, you are not machine keep working all the time, but I am working here as a single machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/that-s-right-you-are-not-machine-keep-working-all-the-time-but-i-am/) Mak\_786 > [In the Machine Age, the company itself became a machine - a machine for making money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/in-the-machine-age-the-company-itself-became-a-machine-a-machine-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [One machine can do the work of hundred ordinary men but no machine can do the work of one extra ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smartmuslimanas/one-machine-can-do-the-work-of-hundred-ordinary-men-but-no-machine/) SmartMuslimAnas > [“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/there-s-a-time-when-the-operation-of-the-machine-becomes-so-odious/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) ## More by John Wyndham > [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“But he survived, that radio announcer. His ship and five others out of the flotilla of ten came through, a bit radioactive, but otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/but-he-survived-that-radio-announcer-his-ship-and-five-others-out-of/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“You will have experienced, perhaps, that feeling of being relieved of a weight that you had not properly realized was there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/you-will-have-experienced-perhaps-that-feeling-of-being-relieved-of-a/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“We have both been given the same wish to survive, We are all, you see, toys of the life-force. It made you numerically stronger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/we-have-both-been-given-the-same-wish-to-survive-we-are-all-you-see/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [But, as I understand it, your God is a universal God; He is God on all suns and all planets. Surely, then, He must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/but-as-i-understand-it-your-god-is-a-universal-god-he-is-god-on-all/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“Personal honesty takes time to assert itself - if it is ever allowed to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/personal-honesty-takes-time-to-assert-itself-if-it-is-ever-allowed-to/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [Why was I condemned to live in a democracy where every fool's vote is equal to a sensible man's?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/why-was-i-condemned-to-live-in-a-democracy-where-every-fool-s-vote-is/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“It seemed to me an odd view to take - rather as if one should protest that one didn't LIKE the idea of dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/it-seemed-to-me-an-odd-view-to-take-rather-as-if-one-should-protest/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“a sort of botanical glory-hole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/a-sort-of-botanical-glory-hole/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“Darling, whose book is this to be?" "Ostensibly yours, my sweet" "I see -- rather like my life since I met you?" "Yes darling”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/darling-whose-book-is-this-to-be-ostensibly-yours-my-sweet-i-see/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“Sophie dear,' I said. 'Are you in love with him - with this spider-man?' 'Oh, don't call him that - please - we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/sophie-dear-i-said-are-you-in-love-with-him-with-this-spider-man-oh/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“It was all conveyed by the nicest, almost indetectably refined blend of sympathy and bitchiness...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/it-was-all-conveyed-by-the-nicest-almost-indetectably-refined-blend/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [Find a nice, self sufficient hilltop, and fortify it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/find-a-nice-self-sufficient-hilltop-and-fortify-it/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“... the more complex they made their world, the less capable they were of dealing with it. They had no means of consensus. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-more-complex-they-made-their-world-the-less-capable-they-were-of/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“I'm not romancing. I'm talking about the inevitable time when, unless we do something to stop it, men will be hunting men through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-m-not-romancing-i-m-talking-about-the-inevitable-time-when-unless/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) [Explore all 81 John Wyndham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) ## More Acquire quotes > [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) Browse all 1,020 Acquire quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The humans have a curious force they call ambition. It drives them, and, through them, it drives us. This force which keeps them active, we lack. Perhaps, in time, we machines will acquire it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Wyndham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-call-ambition-it-drives-them-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acquire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-call-ambition-it-drives-them-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/john-wyndham-8340_acquire_the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-cal_1329993.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The humans have a curious force they call ambition. It drives them, and, through them, it drives us. This…” — John Wyndham", "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": "John Wyndham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The humans have a curious force...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-call-ambition-it-drives-them-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-humans-have-a-curious-force-they-call-ambition-it-drives-them-and/#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 } } ] } ```