--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am upset because we have pooled our…" description: "\"“I am upset because we have pooled our human genius into the building of an elaborate Tower and have filled it up with the same tyrants that have plagu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/josiah-bancroft-29581_innovation_i-am-upset-because-we-have-pooled-our-hu_2052125.jpg" --- # I am upset because we have pooled our human genius into… ![“I am upset because we have pooled our human genius into the building of an elaborate Tower and have filled it up with the same tyrants that have plagued our race since we crawled from the sea. Why does our innovation never extend to our conscience?” quote by Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/josiah-bancroft-29581_innovation_i-am-upset-because-we-have-pooled-our-hu_2052125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/josiah-bancroft-29581_innovation_i-am-upset-because-we-have-pooled-our-hu_2052125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/josiah-bancroft-29581_innovation_i-am-upset-because-we-have-pooled-our-hu_2052125.jpg) > ““I am upset because we have pooled our human genius into the building of an elaborate Tower and have filled it up with the same tyrants that have plagued our race since we crawled from the sea. Why does our innovation never extend to our conscience?”” [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human ingenuity builds great structures, yet moral progress lags, leaving societies governed by the same oppressive forces. **In simple terms:** Innovation outpaces conscience. Key Takeaway Cultivate ethical development alongside technological advancement. Themes ethics technology societal progress Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - corporate governance - AI development - education reform Key Concepts philosophy political theory human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can conscience be integrated into innovation? - What responsibilities do creators have? A Different Perspective Moral lag can cause systemic abuse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Filled Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled-tyrants-1975489/) [Human Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-genius-2700188/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) [Tyrants Plagued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants-plagued-3872227/) [Upset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upset/) ## Related quotes > [The women's movement is filled with tyrants, just as men's political movements are equally filled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/the-women-s-movement-is-filled-with-tyrants-just-as-men-s-political/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [The most amazing and effective inventions are not those which do most honour to the human genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-most-amazing-and-effective-inventions-are-not-those-which-do-most/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [If we wish to know the force of human genius, we should read Shakespeare. If we wish to see the insignificance of human learning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/if-we-wish-to-know-the-force-of-human-genius-we-should-read/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I know that the twelve notes in each octave and the variety of rhythm offer me opportunities that all of human genius will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-know-that-the-twelve-notes-in-each-octave-and-the-variety-of-rhythm/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [In order to make a perfect and beautiful machine, it is not requisite to know how to make it. All the works of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-order-to-make-a-perfect-and-beautiful-machine-it-is-not-requisite/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Great eloquence we cannot get, except from human genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-starr-king/great-eloquence-we-cannot-get-except-from-human-genius/) [Thomas Starr King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-starr-king/) > [The very properties of the human mind that provide an enormous scope for human genius in some domains will serve as barriers to progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-very-properties-of-the-human-mind-that-provide-an-enormous-scope/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [All the labor of all the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius are destined to extinction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-the-labor-of-all-the-ages-all-the-devotion-all-the-inspiration/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/if-greatness-of-purpose-smallness-of-means-and-astonishing-results-2/) [Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/) > [No man can exactly calculate the capacity of human genius and stupidity, nor the incapacity of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/no-man-can-exactly-calculate-the-capacity-of-human-genius-and/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [The endless legacy of the past to the present is the secret source of human genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-endless-legacy-of-the-past-to-the-present-is-the-secret-source-of/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [There is nothing that human imagination can figure brilliant and enviable that human genius and skill do not aspire to realize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/there-is-nothing-that-human-imagination-can-figure-brilliant-and/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [My definition of genius is not being that person the actual human is a genius, but it's a person that just allows God to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/my-definition-of-genius-is-not-being-that-person-the-actual-human-is/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## More by Josiah Bancroft > [“She would not tell him the truth for some weeks, but she would eventually confess that she had left with him because the fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/she-would-not-tell-him-the-truth-for-some-weeks-but-she-would/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“Love, as the poets so often painted it, was just bald lust wearing a pompous wig. He believed true love was more like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/love-as-the-poets-so-often-painted-it-was-just-bald-lust-wearing-a/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“Senlin could easily tell which porters only became busy at his approach. The hardest workers moved slowly, deliberately, while the lazy appeared eternally fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/senlin-could-easily-tell-which-porters-only-became-busy-at-his/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“I’m glad your self-righteousness has given you some exercise, but you forget: we are not such a tidy, reasonable, and humane race. Our thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/i-m-glad-your-self-righteousness-has-given-you-some-exercise-but-you/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“But that’s how it always is in the beginning. Learning starts with failure.” Iren”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/but-that-s-how-it-always-is-in-the-beginning-learning-starts-with/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“I haven’t met many men who wouldn’t take advantage of a woman they shared a cage with.” Senlin waved the point away, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/i-haven-t-met-many-men-who-wouldn-t-take-advantage-of-a-woman-they/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“Young backs have short memories,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/young-backs-have-short-memories/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“Never let a rigid itinerary discourage you from an unexpected adventure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/never-let-a-rigid-itinerary-discourage-you-from-an-unexpected/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“Senlin marveled at how adept the human race was at injecting a sense of routine into peculiar environments; it seemed a certainty that once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/senlin-marveled-at-how-adept-the-human-race-was-at-injecting-a-sense/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“Because they can keep us here forever, and I can’t stay here. Do you want to die like this? I don’t. I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/because-they-can-keep-us-here-forever-and-i-can-t-stay-here-do-you/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“He believed true love was more like an education: it was deep and subtle and never complete. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/he-believed-true-love-was-more-like-an-education-it-was-deep-and/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“We are, each of us, a multitude. I am not the man I was this morning, nor the man of yesterday. I am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/we-are-each-of-us-a-multitude-i-am-not-the-man-i-was-this-morning-nor/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“With subjugation comes certainty. Liberty is full of gambles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/with-subjugation-comes-certainty-liberty-is-full-of-gambles/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“It is better to be pleased by one’s own distastefulness than to please another man’s tastes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/it-is-better-to-be-pleased-by-one-s-own-distastefulness-than-to/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) > [“The handkerchief is the universal utensil of the seasoned traveler. It can be a sanitizing device, a seat cover, a dust mask, a garrote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-bancroft/the-handkerchief-is-the-universal-utensil-of-the-seasoned-traveler-it/) [Josiah Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) [Explore all 18 Josiah Bancroft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-bancroft/) ## More Innovation quotes > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-believe-that-one-defines-oneself-by-reinvention/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“In the innovation age customer experience is key. Your impression defines their expression”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/in-the-innovation-age-customer-experience-is-key-your-impression/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [“Incrementalism never allows innovation to flourish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-ratna/incrementalism-never-allows-innovation-to-flourish/) [Abhishek Ratna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-ratna/) > [I have tremendous admiration for companies with the kind of pioneering spirit and innovation eBay has demonstrated from day one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/i-have-tremendous-admiration-for-companies-with-the-kind-of/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [Why is it that, when we want to think outside the proverbial box, we often put ourselves in one? We gather our team in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/why-is-it-that-when-we-want-to-think-outside-the-proverbial-box-we/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [We have to be innovative, we have to be fresh, we have to be new. People are counting on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-have-to-be-innovative-we-have-to-be-fresh-we-have-to-be-new-people/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [I'd take garbage, and I'd glue them together and create inventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-makosinski/i-d-take-garbage-and-i-d-glue-them-together-and-create-inventions/) [Ann Makosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-makosinski/) > [“Some innovations just don’t attract enough economic or social demand: just as supersonic flight and manned space flight stagnated after the 1970s, today (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-rees/some-innovations-just-don-t-attract-enough-economic-or-social-demand/) [Martin J. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-rees/) > [We're focused on providing innovations in software, driving the continuous improvement for a much better experience, and there's a lot going on here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-re-focused-on-providing-innovations-in-software-driving-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Other things being equal, it is the person who can lift his work up to the plane of the intuitional and inspiration who achieves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanwood-cobb/other-things-being-equal-it-is-the-person-who-can-lift-his-work-up-to/) [Stanwood Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanwood-cobb/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) [Browse all 4,437 Innovation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am upset because we have pooled our human genius into the building of an elaborate Tower and have filled it up with the same tyrants that have plagued our race since we crawled from the sea. 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