Business Quote by Marshall McLuhan
“Invention is the mother of necessities.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Understanding Media, 1964
Inventions create new needs, shaping society’s demands.
In simple terms: Inventions generate new needs.
Key Takeaway
Anticipate emerging demands.
Themes
technology
culture
necessity
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
philosophical
media
When to use this quote
- product design
- marketing strategy
- policy planning
Key Concepts
media theory
innovation cycles
Questions to Reflect On
- What inventions have failed to create demand?
- How can we predict which technologies will become essential?
A Different Perspective
Not all inventions become necessities.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)