--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And that is why people think that…" description: "\"“And that is why people think that computers don’t have minds, and why people think that their brains are special, and different from computers. Becaus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/mark-haddon-1056_big-screen_and-that-is-why-people-think-that-comput_2477483.png" --- # And that is why people think that computers don’t have… ![“And that is why people think that computers don’t have minds, and why people think that their brains are special, and different from computers. Because people can see the screen inside their head and they think there is someone in their head sitting there looking at the screen, like Captain…” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/mark-haddon-1056_big-screen_and-that-is-why-people-think-that-comput_2477483.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/mark-haddon-1056_big-screen_and-that-is-why-people-think-that-comput_2477483.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/mark-haddon-1056_big-screen_and-that-is-why-people-think-that-comput_2477483.png) > ““And that is why people think that computers don’t have minds, and why people think that their brains are special, and different from computers. Because people can see the screen inside their head and they think there is someone in their head sitting there looking at the screen, like Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation sitting in his captain’s seat looking at a big screen. And they think that this person is their special human mind, which is called a homunculus, which means a little man. And they think that computers don’t have this homunculus. But this homunculus is just another picture on the screen in their heads. And when the homunculus is on the screen in their heads (because the person is thinking about the homunculus) there is another bit of the brain watching the screen. And when the person thinks about this part of the brain (the bit that is watching the homunculus on the screen) they put this bit of the brain on the screen and there is another bit of the brain watching the screen. But the brain doesn’t see this happen because it is like the eye flicking from one place to another and people are blind inside their heads when they do the changing from thinking about one thing to thinking about another.”” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The brain creates a self‑observer illusion, making us think a separate mind watches our thoughts. **In simple terms:** We imagine a tiny mind inside us watching thoughts. Key Takeaway Recognize thoughts as brain processes, not a separate observer. Themes cognition self consciousness philosophy neuroscience Mood analytical curious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - cognitive therapy - educational lectures - philosophical debate Key Concepts homunculus illusion meta‑cognition attention loops Questions to Reflect On - Can we ever fully understand self‑awareness? - How does this view affect mental health treatment? A Different Perspective The model may oversimplify complex neural dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big screen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-screen/) [Brain Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-doesn-826758/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Little man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-man/) [Next generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-generation/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Think Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-brains-652350/) [Thinking Homunculus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-homunculus-826757/) [Thinks Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-brain-826756/) ## Related quotes > [ The person who thinks with \[their\] own brain is to be preferred to the one who blindly approves everything… Better an error consciously committed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/the-person-who-thinks-with-their-own-brain-is-to-be-preferred-to-the/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [I like to think our brains are a bit like algorithms. Whatever you give it and feed it, you get out the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/i-like-to-think-our-brains-are-a-bit-like-algorithms-whatever-you/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [Kids think with their brains cracked wide open; becoming an adult, I've decided, is only a slow sewing shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/kids-think-with-their-brains-cracked-wide-open-becoming-an-adult-i-ve/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [If we think of our brains as a map, those early roads are like grooves, tram tracks, easy to fall into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-perry/if-we-think-of-our-brains-as-a-map-those-early-roads-are-like-grooves/) [Philippa Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-perry/) > [Recently, the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke talked about the ways the lives of human beings will be changed in the next century.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/recently-the-science-fiction-writer-arthur-c-clarke-talked-about-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“I think brains might be machines that turn information into feelings and feelings back into decisions and I've discovered that my machine has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-think-brains-might-be-machines-that-turn-information-into-feelings/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [Personally, I like to think I'm like my old man. I like to think I have the brains he did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-funk/personally-i-like-to-think-i-m-like-my-old-man-i-like-to-think-i-have/) [Terry Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-funk/) > [I think our brains does have a tendency to be true to its own ideas and statements. 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It doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/when-something-horrible-happens-your-brain-doesn-t-process-the/) [Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/) ## More by Mark Haddon > [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Big screen quotes > [Innumerable lovers of Hindi cinema have lit up the big screen. But on screen, they are just two beautiful bodies. They have no caste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravish-kumar/innumerable-lovers-of-hindi-cinema-have-lit-up-the-big-screen-but-on/) [Ravish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravish-kumar/) > [I would love to do a love story or a socially relevant drama. Something on the lines of Netflix originals. I would love to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roop-durgapal/i-would-love-to-do-a-love-story-or-a-socially-relevant-drama/) [Roop Durgapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roop-durgapal/) > [“The important thing is that another medium—stage, film, music—doesn’t obliterate a book. The movie is here now, on a big screen, with stars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/the-important-thing-is-that-another-medium-stage-film-music-doesn-t/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I think it's the source material. 27 Dresses was a famous book, and Devil Wears Prada was also a wonderful book, so it's coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bruckheimer/i-think-it-s-the-source-material-27-dresses-was-a-famous-book-and/) [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bruckheimer/) > [No one had ever made it big from my town until I was able to make it to the NFL and now the big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jones/no-one-had-ever-made-it-big-from-my-town-until-i-was-able-to-make-it/) [Thomas Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jones/) > [I think that Spider-Man is a part of our culture. He's a perennial character. He's something that's constantly reexamined and there are so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-webb/i-think-that-spider-man-is-a-part-of-our-culture-he-s-a-perennial/) [Marc Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-webb/) > [The magic of film isn't just because of the big screen, or the acoustics, but the ineffable shared experience of going to the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-perez/the-magic-of-film-isn-t-just-because-of-the-big-screen-or-the/) [Fernando Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-perez/) > [When you're a regular gal, you look in the rearview mirror, and in the bright daylight you see that line around your mouth, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/when-you-re-a-regular-gal-you-look-in-the-rearview-mirror-and-in-the/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [My car's my best friend. My office. My home. My location. 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Because people can see the screen inside their head and they think there is someone in their head sitting there looking at the screen, like Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation sitting in his captain’s seat looking at a big screen. And they think that this person is their special human mind, which is called a homunculus, which means a little man. And they think that computers don’t have this homunculus. But this homunculus is just another picture on the screen in their heads. And when the homunculus is on the screen in their heads (because the person is thinking about the homunculus) there is another bit of the brain watching the screen. And when the person thinks about this part of the brain (the bit that is watching the homunculus on the screen) they put this bit of the brain on the screen and there is another bit of the brain watching the screen. 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