--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The last time somebody said, 'I find I…" description: "\"The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor', I replied, 'They used to say the same thing about drugs'.\" — Roy B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png" --- # The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much… ![“The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor', I replied, 'They used to say the same thing about drugs'.” quote by Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png) > “The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor', I replied, 'They used to say the same thing about drugs'.” [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A comparison that new technology (word processors) is blamed for declining skill, similar to past drug concerns. **In simple terms:** It likens criticism of word processors to past drug fears. Key Takeaway Beware of repeating past misconceptions about new tools. Themes technology skepticism historical patterns Mood reflective analytical Type observational commentary When to use this quote - office work - education - writing practice Key Concepts innovation cultural resistance Questions to Reflect On - Do we overreact to every new technology? - What lessons can we learn from past overreactions? A Different Perspective Critics may overlook genuine benefits of technology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor.', I replied, 'They used to say the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr-2/the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can-write-much-better-with-a/) [Roy Blount Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr-2/) > [“It was apparent...that, all over America, thousands of people threw down a book or got up from a television show and said, 'I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/it-was-apparent-that-all-over-america-thousands-of-people-threw-down/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [I don't own a computer. I've never seen anything online at all - nothing. I don't own a word processor. I have none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-don-t-own-a-computer-i-ve-never-seen-anything-online-at-all-nothing/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [My big dream back then was to buy an IBM Selectric. I still have that dream. I really ought to buy a word-processor. Half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/my-big-dream-back-then-was-to-buy-an-ibm-selectric-i-still-have-that/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [No one needs a word processor if he has an efficient secretary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/no-one-needs-a-word-processor-if-he-has-an-efficient-secretary/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-more-you-read-the-less-apt-you-are-to-make-a-fool-of-yourself/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The only prerequisites for a writer are a word processor and thick skin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bell/the-only-prerequisites-for-a-writer-are-a-word-processor-and-thick/) Mark Bell > [“The exact same text was slightly different to read when viewed on the printed pages rather than on the word processor's screen. 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I'm planning the next novel, two screenplays and a couple of short stories with it and it's amazing how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/scrivener-is-where-i-live-i-m-planning-the-next-novel-two-screenplays/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [“You do not need to worry about me, as the only thing I am armed with is a word processor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/you-do-not-need-to-worry-about-me-as-the-only-thing-i-am-armed-with/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The beauty of word processing, God bless my word processor, is that it keeps the plotting very fluid. The prose becomes like a liquid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/the-beauty-of-word-processing-god-bless-my-word-processor-is-that-it/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“To this day I have a profound mistrust of the word processor. I have to type it or write it first, screen it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/to-this-day-i-have-a-profound-mistrust-of-the-word-processor-i-have/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [The word processor is a better tool than a quill pen because you can do so much more with it, but on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/the-word-processor-is-a-better-tool-than-a-quill-pen-because-you-can/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) ## More by Roy Blount, Jr > [I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-think-writer-s-block-is-simply-the-dread-that-you-are-going-to/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Doctors and lawyers must go to school for years and years, often with little sleep and with great sacrifice to their first wives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/doctors-and-lawyers-must-go-to-school-for-years-and-years-often-with/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Lots of people have expressed consternation that I haven't gotten rid of Southern accent, but I just never saw any reason to lose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/lots-of-people-have-expressed-consternation-that-i-haven-t-gotten-rid/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [New York walking isn't exercise: it's a continually showing make-your-own movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/new-york-walking-isn-t-exercise-it-s-a-continually-showing-make-your/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Going to Vanderbilt did a lot of things for me, and one of the things it cured me of was the need to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/going-to-vanderbilt-did-a-lot-of-things-for-me-and-one-of-the-things/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I've never thought it was necessary to make fun of people - you can find fun in people without necessarily mocking them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-ve-never-thought-it-was-necessary-to-make-fun-of-people-you-can/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Many a person has been saved from summer alcoholism, not to mention hypertoxicity, by Dostoyevsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/many-a-person-has-been-saved-from-summer-alcoholism-not-to-mention/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Studying literature at Harvard is like learning about women at the Mayo Clinic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/studying-literature-at-harvard-is-like-learning-about-women-at-the/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Being president of too many well-meaning organizations put my father into an early grave. The lesson in this was not lost on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/being-president-of-too-many-well-meaning-organizations-put-my-father/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Twiddle-twiddle away at my softly clicky keyboard for a while, making twiddly adjustments all along- and then print what I have twiddled. Glare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/twiddle-twiddle-away-at-my-softly-clicky-keyboard-for-a-while-making/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [That's American English for you: more roots than a mangrove swamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/that-s-american-english-for-you-more-roots-than-a-mangrove-swamp/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I do some eccentric dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-do-some-eccentric-dancing/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [“When mannequins have nipples, it's a cold-hearted world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/when-mannequins-have-nipples-it-s-a-cold-hearted-world/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I just think lots of words have physicality. How about the word 'wobble?' You think that's arbitrary? When you say the word 'wince,' you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-just-think-lots-of-words-have-physicality-how-about-the-word-wobble/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [English is an outrageous tangle of those derivations and other multifarious linguistic influences, from Yiddish to Shoshone, which has grown up around a gnarly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/english-is-an-outrageous-tangle-of-those-derivations-and-other/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) [Explore all 67 Roy Blount, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) ## More I can 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/) > [My team mates are fundamental for my characteristics, if they send in crosses I can play inside the area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filippo-inzaghi/my-team-mates-are-fundamental-for-my-characteristics-if-they-send-in/) [Filippo Inzaghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filippo-inzaghi/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. 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Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) Browse all 24,836 I can quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor', I replied, 'They used to say the same thing about drugs'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roy Blount, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can-write-much-better-with-a-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I can" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can-write-much-better-with-a-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/roy-blount-jr-10266_i-can_the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can_2053245.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The last time somebody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor', I replied, 'They used…” — Roy Blount, Jr", "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": "Roy Blount, Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The last time somebody said, 'I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can-write-much-better-with-a-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/the-last-time-somebody-said-i-find-i-can-write-much-better-with-a-2/#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 } } ] } ```