--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A value is like a fax machine: it’s not…" description: "\"A value is like a fax machine: it’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.\" — Kwame Anthony Appiah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_computers_a-value-is-like-a-fax-machine-it-s-not-m_579920.jpg" --- # A value is like a fax machine: it’s not much use if you’re… ![“A value is like a fax machine: it’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.” quote by Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_computers_a-value-is-like-a-fax-machine-it-s-not-m_579920.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_computers_a-value-is-like-a-fax-machine-it-s-not-m_579920.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_computers_a-value-is-like-a-fax-machine-it-s-not-m_579920.jpg) > “A value is like a fax machine: it’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.” [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Values become meaningful only when shared; they lose utility if held in isolation. **In simple terms:** Values need others to be useful. Key Takeaway Share your values, seek community. Themes community shared values interdependence Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - team projects - networking events - collaborative initiatives Key Concepts social capital collective benefit Questions to Reflect On - How can you encourage others to adopt your values? - What value do you hold that others might benefit from? A Different Perspective If everyone shares the same value, it may become meaningless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [People have SMS, right? It stinks. It's a dead technology, like a fax machine left over from the Seventies, sitting there as a cash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/people-have-sms-right-it-stinks-it-s-a-dead-technology-like-a-fax/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [I don't send messages, I'm not a fax machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-don-t-send-messages-i-m-not-a-fax-machine/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I don't know. I don't have a fax machine, so I didn't get that message.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-don-t-know-i-don-t-have-a-fax-machine-so-i-didn-t-get-that-message/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I spent all my money on a FAX machine. Now I can only FAX collect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-spent-all-my-money-on-a-fax-machine-now-i-can-only-fax-collect/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Those inevitable dreams where you can't get your column in, you know, and at first they were the Xerox telecopy, and then they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/those-inevitable-dreams-where-you-can-t-get-your-column-in-you-know/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I have a fax machine with "fax waiting".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-have-a-fax-machine-with-fax-waiting/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I've never gotten cash out of a machine. I use my credit cards, so I don't need to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-creamer/i-ve-never-gotten-cash-out-of-a-machine-i-use-my-credit-cards-so-i/) [Paula Creamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-creamer/) > [Saying that cultural objects have value is like saying that telephones have conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/saying-that-cultural-objects-have-value-is-like-saying-that/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Our emotions tell us what to value. They're like a little GPS system: Go that way. Don't go that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/our-emotions-tell-us-what-to-value-they-re-like-a-little-gps-system/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I have gained value like an antique. If there is an '80s event, I normally get the call and that is a nice problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/limahl/i-have-gained-value-like-an-antique-if-there-is-an-80s-event-i/) [Limahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/limahl/) > [“a fax machine was the monstrous bastard child of a phone, a printer, a scanner, a calculator, and the devil,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bellassai/a-fax-machine-was-the-monstrous-bastard-child-of-a-phone-a-printer-a/) [Matt Bellassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bellassai/) > [I really haven't joined the 20th or the 21st century yet. Someday. I'm getting closer. I have voicemail and a fax machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-clarkson/i-really-haven-t-joined-the-20th-or-the-21st-century-yet-someday-i-m/) [Patricia Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-clarkson/) > [Fax me a fact and I'll telegram a hologram or telephone the son of man and tell him he is done. Leave a message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/fax-me-a-fact-and-i-ll-telegram-a-hologram-or-telephone-the-son-of/) [Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/) > [The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in 'Metcalfe's law'–which states that the number of potential connections in a network…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/the-growth-of-the-internet-will-slow-drastically-as-the-flaw-in/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [The eye and brain are not like a fax machine, nor are there little people looking at the images coming in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torsten-wiesel/the-eye-and-brain-are-not-like-a-fax-machine-nor-are-there-little/) [Torsten Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torsten-wiesel/) ## More by Kwame Anthony Appiah > [There are many people of cosmopolitan temperament who are not from the elites of their societies or the world; and while, for a variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/there-are-many-people-of-cosmopolitan-temperament-who-are-not-from/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Cosmopolitans begin, I think, with a sense of one thing we all certainly share, which is our fallibility. Nobody has reason to be confident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/cosmopolitans-begin-i-think-with-a-sense-of-one-thing-we-all/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [In life, the challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game; the challenge is to figure out what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/in-life-the-challenge-is-not-so-much-to-figure-out-how-best-to-play/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Conversation doesn’t have to lead to consensus about anything especially not values; it’s enough that it helps people get used to one another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/conversation-doesn-t-have-to-lead-to-consensus-about-anything/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [“It's important to understand that while honor is an entitlement to respect--and shame comes when you lose that title--a person of honor cares first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/it-s-important-to-understand-that-while-honor-is-an-entitlement-to/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [I've long had the idea that the factors that are most important in determining what we believe, how we live, and what we accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/i-ve-long-had-the-idea-that-the-factors-that-are-most-important-in/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [When philosophers talk about reason they often have in mind Having been in the business of philosophy more than half my life, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/when-philosophers-talk-about-reason-they-often-have-in-mind-having/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [I started philosophy looking for answers. But along the way I came to prize exploring the questions. Progress in philosophy consists, I think, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/i-started-philosophy-looking-for-answers-but-along-the-way-i-came-to/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [“This is, of course, an easy Berlinian riposte. Start with some graceful hand waving about incommensurability; declare that nothing could reconcile these great goods;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/this-is-of-course-an-easy-berlinian-riposte-start-with-some-graceful/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Conversations...begin with the sort of imaginative engagement you get when you read a novel or watch a movie or attend to a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/conversations-begin-with-the-sort-of-imaginative-engagement-you-get/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [I favor a form of cosmopolitanism that takes nations very seriously, particularly because of the role of national law in sustaining or, unfortunately, undermining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/i-favor-a-form-of-cosmopolitanism-that-takes-nations-very-seriously/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [The phrase 'academic freedom' is often used carelessly: here is a work that will allow a more careful conversation about those many crucial issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/the-phrase-academic-freedom-is-often-used-carelessly-here-is-a-work/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [The challenge, then, is to take minds and hearts formed over the long millennia of living in local troops and equip them with ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/the-challenge-then-is-to-take-minds-and-hearts-formed-over-the-long/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [“What were they thinking?' we ask about our ancestors, but we know that, a century hence, our descendents will ask the same thing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/what-were-they-thinking-we-ask-about-our-ancestors-but-we-know-that-a/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [We can't literally talk with everybody else on the planet or even with representatives of every group. But we can be in favor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/we-can-t-literally-talk-with-everybody-else-on-the-planet-or-even/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) [Explore all 23 Kwame Anthony Appiah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) ## 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. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [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/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. 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. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) William Henry Pickering > [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. 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? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. 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