--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What Huxley teaches is that in the age of…" description: "\"“What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg" --- # What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced… ![“What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours…” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg) > ““What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; a culture-death is a clear possibility.”” [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advanced technology can erode culture when people become passive audiences distracted by trivial entertainment, allowing subtle control without overt oppression. **In simple terms:** Technology can harm culture when we stop thinking critically. Key Takeaway Stay critical and limit passive consumption. Themes media criticism technology culture politics Mood cautious critical Type analytical warning When to use this quote - education - news consumption - political discourse - entertainment industry - digital media Key Concepts media theory public sphere surveillance Questions to Reflect On - How does entertainment shape your worldview? - What can you do to foster serious public conversation? A Different Perspective It may overlook the role of active resistance and alternative media. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aldous-huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aldous-huxley-2/) [Brave new world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-new-world/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Smiling face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiling-face/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the-year-came-and-the-prophecy/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“What we are confronted with now is the problem posed by the economic and symbolic structure of television. Those who run television do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-we-are-confronted-with-now-is-the-problem-posed-by-the-economic/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Modern man is actually close to the picture Huxley describes in his Brave New World : well fed, well clad, satisfied sexually, yet without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/modern-man-is-actually-close-to-the-picture-huxley-describes-in-his/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“We can always be sure of one thing—that the messengers of discomfort and sacrifice will be stoned and pelted by those who wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-can-always-be-sure-of-one-thing-that-the-messengers-of-discomfort/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“But wouldn’t you like to be free to be happy in some other way, Lenina? In your own way, for example; not in everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-wouldn-t-you-like-to-be-free-to-be-happy-in-some-other-way-lenina/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“It would be pleasant to believe that the age of pessimism is now coming to a close, and that its end is marked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-gabor/it-would-be-pleasant-to-believe-that-the-age-of-pessimism-is-now/) [Dennis Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-gabor/) > [“We are all, as Huxley says someplace, Great Abbreviators, meaning that none of us has the wit to know the whole truth, the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-are-all-as-huxley-says-someplace-great-abbreviators-meaning-that/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Technopoly eliminates alternatives to itself in precisely the way that Aldous Huxley outlined in Brave New World. It does not make them illegal. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/technopoly-eliminates-alternatives-to-itself-in-precisely-the-way-2/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [For in the end, he was trying to tell us what afflicted the people in 'Brave New World' was not that they were laughing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/for-in-the-end-he-was-trying-to-tell-us-what-afflicted-the-people-in/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“With the rise of Technopoly, one of those thought-worlds disappears. Technopoly eliminates alternatives to itself in precisely the way Aldous Huxley outlined in Brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/with-the-rise-of-technopoly-one-of-those-thought-worlds-disappears/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“You and Aldous Huxley", she said, "both have the same superior hate for the rest of the human race and wouldn't go one inch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-hennessy/you-and-aldous-huxley-she-said-both-have-the-same-superior-hate-for/) Kate Hennessy > [I know LSD; I don't need to take it anymore. Maybe when I die, like Aldous Huxley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/i-know-lsd-i-don-t-need-to-take-it-anymore-maybe-when-i-die-like/) [Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/) > [“He acted as if he could detect in her face nothing but its external beauties of form and texture. Whereas, of course, flesh is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/he-acted-as-if-he-could-detect-in-her-face-nothing-but-its-external/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The quality of moral behaviour varies in inverse ratio to the number of human beings involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-quality-of-moral-behaviour-varies-in-inverse-ratio-to-the-number/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Neil Postman > [“to whom will the technology give greater power and freedom? And whose power and freedom will be reduced by it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/to-whom-will-the-technology-give-greater-power-and-freedom-and-whose/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Textbooks, it seems to me, are enemies of education, instruments for promoting dogmatism and trivial learning. 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It is about the character of the consumers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-television-commercial-is-not-at-all-about-the-character-of/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Many decisions about the form and content of news programs are made on the basis of information about the viewer, the purpose of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/many-decisions-about-the-form-and-content-of-news-programs-are-made/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“the world we live in is very nearly incomprehensible to most of us. There is almost no fact, whether actual or imagined, that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-world-we-live-in-is-very-nearly-incomprehensible-to-most-of-us/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Tüketici psikodramalarla yatıştırılan bir hastadır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/t-ketici-psikodramalarla-yat-t-r-lan-bir-hastad-r/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The written word is assumed to have been reflected upon and revised by its author,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-written-word-is-assumed-to-have-been-reflected-upon-and-revised/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-do-not-measure-a-culture-by-its-output-of-undisguised-trivialities/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“In America, the least amusing people are its professional entertainers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/in-america-the-least-amusing-people-are-its-professional-entertainers/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“We were keeping our eye on 1984. 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In your own way, for example; not in everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-wouldn-t-you-like-to-be-free-to-be-happy-in-some-other-way-lenina/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What we are confronted with now is the problem posed by the economic and symbolic structure of television. Those who run television do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-we-are-confronted-with-now-is-the-problem-posed-by-the-economic/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“He acted as if he could detect in her face nothing but its external beauties of form and texture. 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In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; a culture-death is a clear possibility.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Postman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-of-advanced-technology/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aldous-huxley" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-of-advanced-technology/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/neil-postman-1598_aldous-huxley_what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-o_2312194.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come…” — Neil Postman", "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": "Neil Postman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What Huxley teaches is that in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-of-advanced-technology/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/what-huxley-teaches-is-that-in-the-age-of-advanced-technology/#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 } } ] } ```