---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can hardly tell where the computer…"
description: "\"You can hardly tell where the computer models finish and the real dinosaurs begin\" — Laura Dern"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg"
---

#  You can hardly tell where the computer models finish and…

![“You can hardly tell where the computer models finish and the real dinosaurs begin” quote by Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg)

> “You can hardly tell where the computer models finish and the real dinosaurs begin”

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Distinguishing between computer simulations and actual extinct species is increasingly difficult.

**In simple terms:** Models blur with reality.

Key Takeaway

Critically assess scientific claims.

Themes

science technology simulation extinction knowledge

Mood

cautious inquisitive

Type

scientific educational

When to use this quote

- education
- research
- media literacy
- policy making

Key Concepts

philosophy of science epistemology digital modeling

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we verify model accuracy?
- What safeguards ensure scientific integrity?

A Different Perspective

Overreliance on models can mislead.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Dinosaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinosaur/) [Dinosaurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinosaurs/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/)

## Related quotes

> [I met designers that are in the business for ten years in the movies, and their biggest complaint is things don't look anything like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-simon/i-met-designers-that-are-in-the-business-for-ten-years-in-the-movies/)

[Daniel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-simon/)

> [This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-fascination-with-computer-models-is-something-i-understand-very/)

[Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/)

> [ Computer models of the climate…\[are\] a very dubious business if you don't have good inputs. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/computer-models-of-the-climate-are-a-very-dubious-business-if-you-don/)

[Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/)

> [...the computer models are very good at solving equations of fluid dynamics but very bad at describing the real world. The real world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/the-computer-models-are-very-good-at-solving-equations-of-fluid/)

[Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/)

> [The dinosaurs are remember only by their bones. What will we be remembered for with humanity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/the-dinosaurs-are-remember-only-by-their-bones-what-will-we-be/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

> [Man, I so sick of dinosaurs. They wasn't extinct, I'd go out an' kill 'em myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/man-i-so-sick-of-dinosaurs-they-wasn-t-extinct-i-d-go-out-an-kill-em/)

[Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/)

> [“Clearly we have all the time in the world,” she said crossly. “Feel free to start way back with the dinosaurs—just as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-meyer/clearly-we-have-all-the-time-in-the-world-she-said-crossly-feel-free/)

[Kai Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-meyer/)

> [As a kid, I knew all of the dinosaurs. It's one of those tragedies that I've forgotten what dinosaurs are cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smith/as-a-kid-i-knew-all-of-the-dinosaurs-it-s-one-of-those-tragedies-that/)

[Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-smith/)

> [“there is no denying that by the dawn of the Campanian subinterval of the latest Cretaceous, beginning about 84 million years ago, tyrannosaurs had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-brusatte/there-is-no-denying-that-by-the-dawn-of-the-campanian-subinterval-of/)

[Steve Brusatte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-brusatte/)

> [This last chapter .. may have given the impression that somehow man is the ultimate triumph of evolution, that all these millions of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/this-last-chapter-may-have-given-the-impression-that-somehow-man-is/)

[David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/)

> [RAWR does NOT mean I love you in dinosaur. Did you ever see Jurassic Park? It means I'm gonna fuckin eat your lil ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany/rawr-does-not-mean-i-love-you-in-dinosaur-did-you-ever-see-jurassic/)

[Brittany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany/)

> [“So far, every claim by one evolutionist that a dinosaur fossil represents a transition between kinds has been counterbalanced by another evolutionist on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thomas/so-far-every-claim-by-one-evolutionist-that-a-dinosaur-fossil/)

Brian Thomas

> [Y'all know how we have dogs and stuff right? So I think it was bigger people in the world before us, and the dinosaurs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-clarkson/y-all-know-how-we-have-dogs-and-stuff-right-so-i-think-it-was-bigger/)

[Jordan Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-clarkson/)

> [The Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction was a horrible event. Dinosaurs and many other animals and plants were killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/the-cretaceous-paleogene-extinction-was-a-horrible-event-dinosaurs/)

[Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/)

> [“Birds were what became of dinosaurs. Those mountains of flesh whose petrified bones were on display at the Museum of Natural History had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/birds-were-what-became-of-dinosaurs-those-mountains-of-flesh-whose/)

[Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/)

## More by Laura Dern

> [What a cool job to be part of - whether it's doing lighting or acting or serving food on set. You're part of telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/what-a-cool-job-to-be-part-of-whether-it-s-doing-lighting-or-acting/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [You can change. And you can be an agent of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/you-can-change-and-you-can-be-an-agent-of-change/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [Irvin Kershner, no matter what anyone says, has done some great work. 'Eyes of Laura Mars' is an incredible movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/irvin-kershner-no-matter-what-anyone-says-has-done-some-great-work/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [It's one thing to have forced time off as an actor, and another thing when you actually say, 'I don't want to read anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/it-s-one-thing-to-have-forced-time-off-as-an-actor-and-another-thing/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [I've worked with David Lynch since I was 17, and working with him is home and family; being around Alexander Payne is home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/i-ve-worked-with-david-lynch-since-i-was-17-and-working-with-him-is/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [Going to the Academy Awards is something I remember since I was six, when I went with my mom for the first time, 14…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/going-to-the-academy-awards-is-something-i-remember-since-i-was-six/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [I always wanted to do a 'Ms. Smith Goes to Washington.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/i-always-wanted-to-do-a-ms-smith-goes-to-washington/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [If you have a movie coming out, and people are talking about you, the amount of scripts will build.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/if-you-have-a-movie-coming-out-and-people-are-talking-about-you-the/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [I got picked for very unique and independent filmmaking experiences with auteurs. And I'm so lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/i-got-picked-for-very-unique-and-independent-filmmaking-experiences/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [Like anything else, acting can become boring - a chore, really - if there isn't any challenge. And I like taking challenges. Just when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/like-anything-else-acting-can-become-boring-a-chore-really-if-there/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [When man decides he can control nature, he's in deep trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/when-man-decides-he-can-control-nature-he-s-in-deep-trouble/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [I have a very wonderfully, bizarrely amazing relationship with my mother in that we've been through a myriad of emotions because we've acted together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/i-have-a-very-wonderfully-bizarrely-amazing-relationship-with-my/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [In Smooth Talk it was a much more intuitive search - I was only 17 at the time, and I wasn't aware, as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/in-smooth-talk-it-was-a-much-more-intuitive-search-i-was-only-17-at/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [I love comedy. David's Lynch the only person I've worked with more than once who sees me as a specific thing - he sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/i-love-comedy-david-s-lynch-the-only-person-i-ve-worked-with-more/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

> [When you're first reading the script and thinking about playing the part, it's slightly daunting. It's easy to question, 'Is an audience going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/when-you-re-first-reading-the-script-and-thinking-about-playing-the/)

[Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

[Explore all 189 Laura Dern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/)

## More Computer quotes

> [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/)

> [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 display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/)

Jen-Hsun Huang

> [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/)

[Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/)

> [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/)

[Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/)

> [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/)

[Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/)

> [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/)

[Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/)

> [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/)

[Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/)

> [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/)

[Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/)

> [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/)

[Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/)

> [Our brains are great at knowing what to forget. We actually have to teach computers to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/our-brains-are-great-at-knowing-what-to-forget-we-actually-have-to/)

[Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/)

> [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/)

[Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/)

> [Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress the way you dress?Why do you do what you do with your time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-conway/why-do-you-do-what-you-do-why-do-you-dress-the-way-you-dress-why-do/)

[Tim Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-conway/)

> [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/)

[Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/)

[Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You can hardly tell where the computer models finish and the real dinosaurs begin",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Laura Dern"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-models-finish-and-the-real/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Computer"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-models-finish-and-the-real/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/laura-dern-2048_computer_you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-m_2988368.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You can hardly tell where the computer models finish and the real dinosaurs begin” — Laura Dern",
                "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": "Laura Dern",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "You can hardly tell where the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-models-finish-and-the-real/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/you-can-hardly-tell-where-the-computer-models-finish-and-the-real/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
