--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was probably no accident that it was…" description: "\"“It was probably no accident that it was the cripple Hephaestus who made ingenious machines; a normal man didn't have to hoist or jack himself over hin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/385/saul-bellow-558_computers_it-was-probably-no-accident-that-it-was_2687630.png" --- # It was probably no accident that it was the cripple… ![“It was probably no accident that it was the cripple Hephaestus who made ingenious machines; a normal man didn't have to hoist or jack himself over hindrances by means of cranks, chains and metal parts. Then it was in the line of human advance that Einhorn could do so much.” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/385/saul-bellow-558_computers_it-was-probably-no-accident-that-it-was_2687630.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/385/saul-bellow-558_computers_it-was-probably-no-accident-that-it-was_2687630.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/385/saul-bellow-558_computers_it-was-probably-no-accident-that-it-was_2687630.png) > ““It was probably no accident that it was the cripple Hephaestus who made ingenious machines; a normal man didn't have to hoist or jack himself over hindrances by means of cranks, chains and metal parts. Then it was in the line of human advance that Einhorn could do so much.”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that physical limitations can inspire inventive solutions, and that such ingenuity propels human progress. **In simple terms:** Physical limits can spark creativity and drive advancement. Key Takeaway Embrace constraints as catalysts for innovation. Themes creativity innovation human progress limitations technology Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - product design - engineering challenges - disability advocacy - technology development Key Concepts mythology engineering problem solving adaptive design Questions to Reflect On - How can we harness personal challenges to foster creativity? - What societal structures support or hinder inventive problem solving? A Different Perspective Not all innovations stem from necessity; some arise from privilege or resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Disability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disability/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) ## Related quotes > [“A seemingly simple task like taking a bath or wearing a condom feels like multitasking to someone who suffers from hemiplegia or has only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-seemingly-simple-task-like-taking-a-bath-or-wearing-a-condom-feels/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [People talk about smart sanctions and crippling sanctions. I've never seen smart sanctions, and crippling sanctions cripple everyone, including innocent civilians, and make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/people-talk-about-smart-sanctions-and-crippling-sanctions-i-ve-never/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [“I have given him something neither of you can take. You can ask and he may allow because he loves this land and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/i-have-given-him-something-neither-of-you-can-take-you-can-ask-and-he/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [I was born a cripple, with two club feet, and mild polio in the left leg. I was in orthopaedic boots right through to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-born-a-cripple-with-two-club-feet-and-mild-polio-in-the-left/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Cynicism is the intellectual cripple's substitute for intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/cynicism-is-the-intellectual-cripple-s-substitute-for-intelligence/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Profanity is the crutch of a conversational cripple. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-sutter/profanity-is-the-crutch-of-a-conversational-cripple/) [Rick Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-sutter/) > [“The cripple here that you clothe and feed Is neither starved nor cold; He does not ask for your company, Not at the centre,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/the-cripple-here-that-you-clothe-and-feed-is-neither-starved-nor-cold/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [How comes it that a cripple does not offend us, but a fool does? Because a cripple recognizes that we walk straight, whereas a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/how-comes-it-that-a-cripple-does-not-offend-us-but-a-fool-does/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Because I'm no longer a pop star 24 hours a day, I'm no longer bogged down by the stupid stuff that used to cripple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/because-i-m-no-longer-a-pop-star-24-hours-a-day-i-m-no-longer-bogged/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [Think what evil creeps liberals would be if their plans to enfeeble the individual, exhaust the economy, impede the rule of law, and cripple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/think-what-evil-creeps-liberals-would-be-if-their-plans-to-enfeeble/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Cripple God, who always desires more than he's able to have, and doesn't always realize this to begin with. Who has built clocks, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cripple-god-who-always-desires-more-than-he-s-able-to-have-and-doesn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Practically everybody knows what it's like to feel anxious, worried, nervous, afraid, uptight, or panicky. Often, anxiety is just a nuisance, but sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/practically-everybody-knows-what-it-s-like-to-feel-anxious-worried/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [My older brother was born, who was a cripple, then I was born, and my sister was born, the only girl. So I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/my-older-brother-was-born-who-was-a-cripple-then-i-was-born-and-my/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [I am not a saint or a cripple, I am not a wound; now I will see whether I am a coward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-am-not-a-saint-or-a-cripple-i-am-not-a-wound-now-i-will-see-whether/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Emptiness will always cripple me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishwajeet-pradhan/emptiness-will-always-cripple-me/) [Vishwajeet Pradhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishwajeet-pradhan/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. 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No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was probably no accident that it was the cripple Hephaestus who made ingenious machines; a normal man didn't have to hoist or jack himself over hindrances by means of cranks, chains and metal parts. 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