--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The difficulty in making sense of even…" description: "\"“The difficulty in making sense of even simple speech is well appreciated by computer scientists who struggle to create machines that can respond to na..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_communication_the-difficulty-in-making-sense-of-even-s_892210.jpg" --- # The difficulty in making sense of even simple speech is… ![“The difficulty in making sense of even simple speech is well appreciated by computer scientists who struggle to create machines that can respond to natural language. Their frustration is illustrated by a possibly apocryphal story of the early computer that was given the task of translating the…” quote by Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_communication_the-difficulty-in-making-sense-of-even-s_892210.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_communication_the-difficulty-in-making-sense-of-even-s_892210.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/leonard-mlodinow-7753_communication_the-difficulty-in-making-sense-of-even-s_892210.jpg) > ““The difficulty in making sense of even simple speech is well appreciated by computer scientists who struggle to create machines that can respond to natural language. Their frustration is illustrated by a possibly apocryphal story of the early computer that was given the task of translating the homily „The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.“ into Russian and then back to English. According to the story, it came out: „The vodka is strong but the meat is rotten.”” [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language translation is hard; subtle meaning often gets lost when machines process natural language. **In simple terms:** Machines misinterpret nuanced speech. Key Takeaway Beware of literal translations. Themes language translation technology communication Mood cautious thoughtful Type analytical informative When to use this quote - software development - international diplomacy - medical interpretation - literary translation Key Concepts semantics ambiguity machine learning Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve AI understanding of nuance? - What risks arise from mistranslations? A Different Perspective Machines lack human context, leading to errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Flesh Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh-weak-348289/) [Natural Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-language-377446/) [Russian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russian/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Weak Russian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-russian-1161055/) ## Related quotes > [“The flesh was weak, but it was not dumb. It had its own animal intelligence. In her husband's bed her body had felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-duran/the-flesh-was-weak-but-it-was-not-dumb-it-had-its-own-animal/) [Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-duran/) > [Flesh is weak, but love is strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jackson/flesh-is-weak-but-love-is-strong/) [Alan Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jackson/) > [“natural language will always remain the basic interpretation of, and reservoir for, the development of the artificial formalized languages of science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-bradbury/natural-language-will-always-remain-the-basic-interpretation-of-and/) [Doris Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-bradbury/) > [“Our flesh is weak. The Holy Spirit is strong. We can feed one nature or the other. The one we feed most will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-blight/our-flesh-is-weak-the-holy-spirit-is-strong-we-can-feed-one-nature-or/) [Wendy Blight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-blight/) > [“The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak… but it's willing too”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/the-spirit-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-weak-but-it-s-willing-too/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-spirit-was-willing-but-the-flesh-was-weak/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Although, the flesh is weak, the Spirit of God is always willing, and He makes us able.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/although-the-flesh-is-weak-the-spirit-of-god-is-always-willing-and-he/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [“Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-watching-and-praying-that-you-may-not-enter-into-temptation-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Flora was in that state where the spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak and wishes to go on holiday - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mavis-cheek/flora-was-in-that-state-where-the-spirit-may-be-willing-but-the-flesh/) [Mavis Cheek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mavis-cheek/) > [Oh, yes. I'd do it all again; the spirit is willing yet; I feel the same desire to do the work but the flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/oh-yes-i-d-do-it-all-again-the-spirit-is-willing-yet-i-feel-the-same/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [“But human flesh is weak. And the human spirit is weak as well — before curiosity, before desire, before doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruslana-pidsadiuk/but-human-flesh-is-weak-and-the-human-spirit-is-weak-as-well-before/) [Ruslana Pidsadiuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruslana-pidsadiuk/) > [Often the children of God cannot rise up to answer the Lord's call to service simply because, though their physical condition is good, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/often-the-children-of-god-cannot-rise-up-to-answer-the-lord-s-call-to/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/the-spirit-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-weak/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“An analogy to natural language illustrates the point. The letters A,C, and T convey very little meaning by themselves, but can be combined in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/an-analogy-to-natural-language-illustrates-the-point-the-letters-a-c/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [“You don’t need the Bible to tell you the flesh is weak. Just pinch it and find out for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/you-don-t-need-the-bible-to-tell-you-the-flesh-is-weak-just-pinch-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Leonard Mlodinow > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [I always liked movies, so I started writing for Hollywood, but my day job was physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/i-always-liked-movies-so-i-started-writing-for-hollywood-but-my-day/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [“At the University of Bologna, there was another bizarre twist on what is the norm today: students fined their professors for unexcused absence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/at-the-university-of-bologna-there-was-another-bizarre-twist-on-what/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [“The first step in battling the illusion of control is to be aware of if. 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The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. 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