--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The real agent of change is not computers…" description: "\"“The real agent of change is not computers per se but rather the computation that we are installing into even the most mundane constituents of our ever..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/peter-lucas-32970_change_the-real-agent-of-change-is-not-computer_1145979.jpg" --- # The real agent of change is not computers per se but… ![“The real agent of change is not computers per se but rather the computation that we are installing into even the most mundane constituents of our everyday surroundings. As we have seen, we are at the point that it is now often cheaper to manufacture digital information processing into an object…” quote by Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/peter-lucas-32970_change_the-real-agent-of-change-is-not-computer_1145979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/peter-lucas-32970_change_the-real-agent-of-change-is-not-computer_1145979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/peter-lucas-32970_change_the-real-agent-of-change-is-not-computer_1145979.jpg) > ““The real agent of change is not computers per se but rather the computation that we are installing into even the most mundane constituents of our everyday surroundings. As we have seen, we are at the point that it is now often cheaper to manufacture digital information processing into an object than it to leave it out. Microelectronics permit even trivial products to be deeply complex and connectible—and that is both the promise and the problem. That”” [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embedding computation into everyday objects transforms mundane items into complex, connected systems, driving both opportunity and risk. **In simple terms:** Computers in daily things change how we live, for better and worse. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage the impact of smart objects. Themes technology change complexity risk opportunity Mood cautious optimistic Type analytical forward‑looking When to use this quote - smart home devices - wearable health monitors - industrial IoT sensors - consumer electronics Key Concepts digital integration ubiquitous computing systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance convenience with privacy? - What safeguards are needed for pervasive computing? A Different Perspective The benefits may be offset by privacy concerns and over‑reliance on technology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Computation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computation/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Leave Microelectronics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-microelectronics-3215693/) [Manufacture Digital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manufacture-digital-3215694/) [Microelectronics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microelectronics-3215692/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [Fantastic truths perish slower... Sappho's moon will survive the moon of Armstrong. 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Computations using the science of probability on just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-ridenour/the-old-testament-contains-over-300-references-to-the-messiah-that/) [Fritz Ridenour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-ridenour/) > [I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous computations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/i-have-tried-to-avoid-long-numerical-computations-thereby-following/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [To me quantum computation is a new and deeper and better way to understand the laws of physics, and hence understanding physical reality as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/to-me-quantum-computation-is-a-new-and-deeper-and-better-way-to/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-is-something-going-on-in-time-and-space-and-beyond-time-and/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Some things, like the orbits of the planets, can be calculated far into the future. 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So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-roll-dice-you-know-that-the-odds-are-one-in-six-that-the-dice/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Can you make fancy patterns of water that actually have some computation power? I'm betting that fluids are complex enough to do this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-tao/can-you-make-fancy-patterns-of-water-that-actually-have-some/) [Terence Tao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-tao/) > [ALGEBRA is a general Method of Computation by certain Signs and Symbols which have been contrived for this Purpose, and found convenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-maclaurin/algebra-is-a-general-method-of-computation-by-certain-signs-and/) [Colin Maclaurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-maclaurin/) > [Calculators can only calculate - they cannot do mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-van-de-walle/calculators-can-only-calculate-they-cannot-do-mathematics/) [John A. Van de Walle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-van-de-walle/) > [People know, or dimly feel, that if thinking is not kept pure and keen, and if respect for the world of mind is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/people-know-or-dimly-feel-that-if-thinking-is-not-kept-pure-and-keen/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More by Peter Lucas > [“Designs belong to individual designers; Architecture belongs to communities of practice. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/designs-belong-to-individual-designers-architecture-belongs-to/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“If “ship early, ship often” is interpreted as the willingness to expose not-quite-feature-complete but well-tested products to the healthy pressures of real users, everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/if-ship-early-ship-often-is-interpreted-as-the-willingness-to-expose/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“The designer who aspires to build on the scale of an ecology must abandon the conceit of absolute control of her medium and instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/the-designer-who-aspires-to-build-on-the-scale-of-an-ecology-must/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/f-scott-fitzgerald-said-the-test-of-a-first-rate-intelligence-is-the/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“Open source is characteristically about herd behavior and local hill climbing. 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In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/abstraction-can-be-a-powerful-tool-but-it-can-also-lead-to-heads/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“Today’s so-called cloud isn’t really a cloud at all. It’s a bunch of corporate dirigibles painted to look like clouds. You can tell they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/today-s-so-called-cloud-isn-t-really-a-cloud-at-all-it-s-a-bunch-of/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“The only simplicity for which I would give a straw is that which is on the other side of the complex—not that which never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/the-only-simplicity-for-which-i-would-give-a-straw-is-that-which-is/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/at-any-given-moment-there-is-an-orthodoxy-a-body-of-ideas-which-it-is-2/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“We have already said that many devices will have no need to be on the Internet. But, perhaps certain devices won’t be allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/we-have-already-said-that-many-devices-will-have-no-need-to-be-on-the/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“There are three kinds of companies: companies that try to lead customers where they don’t want to go (these find the idea of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/there-are-three-kinds-of-companies-companies-that-try-to-lead/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) > [“Getting past the client-server model will be a long, slow slog. Technological inertia and backward-looking economic interests will conspire to ensure this. But slowly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lucas/getting-past-the-client-server-model-will-be-a-long-slow-slog/) [Peter Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) [Explore all 15 Peter Lucas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lucas/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The real agent of change is not computers per se but rather the computation that we are installing into even the most mundane constituents of our everyday surroundings. 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