--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Computers and rocket ships are examples…" description: "\"Computers and rocket ships are examples of invention, not of understanding. ... All that is needed to build machines is the knowledge that when one thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/scott-adams-666_accumulation_computers-and-rocket-ships-are-examples_3138566.jpg" --- # Computers and rocket ships are examples of invention, not… ![“Computers and rocket ships are examples of invention, not of understanding. ... All that is needed to build machines is the knowledge that when one thing happens, another thing happens as a result. It's an accumulation of simple patterns. A dog can learn patterns. There is no "why&rdqo"; in those…” quote by Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/scott-adams-666_accumulation_computers-and-rocket-ships-are-examples_3138566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/scott-adams-666_accumulation_computers-and-rocket-ships-are-examples_3138566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/scott-adams-666_accumulation_computers-and-rocket-ships-are-examples_3138566.jpg) > “Computers and rocket ships are examples of invention, not of understanding. ... All that is needed to build machines is the knowledge that when one thing happens, another thing happens as a result. It's an accumulation of simple patterns. A dog can learn patterns. There is no "why&rdqo"; in those examples. We don't understand why electricity travels. We don't know why light travels at a constant speed forever. All we can do is observe and record patterns.” [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Invention relies on recognizing patterns, not grasping underlying reasons; we build machines by linking cause and effect without true comprehension. **In simple terms:** Invention is pattern matching, not deep understanding. Key Takeaway Focus on observable patterns when creating technology. Themes technology invention knowledge patterns Mood analytical curious Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - engineering design - education - research anddevelopment - product development Key Concepts causality empiricism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How can we move beyond pattern matching to deeper understanding? - What are the risks of building without knowing why? A Different Perspective Pattern recognition may miss deeper causal insights, limiting innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Build Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-machines-448369/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Electricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electricity/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Examples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/examples/) [Examples Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/examples-invention-5582412/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Invention Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention-understanding-5582411/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Machines Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines-knowledge-5582413/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Rockets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rockets/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [If we are machines, then in principle at least, we should be able to build machines out of other stuff, which are just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/if-we-are-machines-then-in-principle-at-least-we-should-be-able-to/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [They build machines they can't control, and bury the waste in a great big hole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/they-build-machines-they-can-t-control-and-bury-the-waste-in-a-great/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [“The nations that build machines will own the nations that kneel for miracles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-success-md/the-nations-that-build-machines-will-own-the-nations-that-kneel-for/) [‘Yemi Success, MD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-success-md/) > [“These bizarre examples attempt to prove one conceptual point or another by deliberately reducing all but one underappreciated feature of some phenomenon to zero,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/these-bizarre-examples-attempt-to-prove-one-conceptual-point-or/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [God love Neil Patrick Harris - how great is that. People grew up with him; they go, 'Oh it's him, it's that little boy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/god-love-neil-patrick-harris-how-great-is-that-people-grew-up-with/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [Some examples can't change an opinion into a fact…but few samples do..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka/some-examples-can-t-change-an-opinion-into-a-fact-but-few-samples-do/) [Priyanka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka/) > [To lead by example is to offer your life as a living diarry for others to read. Never make your life pages blank; make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-lead-by-example-is-to-offer-your-life-as-a-living-diarry-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life is like defusing a bomb, once you cut the wrong wire your whole life is ruined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-zahy-hussain/life-is-like-defusing-a-bomb-once-you-cut-the-wrong-wire-your-whole/) [Mohamed Zahy Hussain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-zahy-hussain/) > [The writers who reject tendentiousness and purpose in their work are the very ones who display it in every word they write. I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjornstjerne-bjornson/the-writers-who-reject-tendentiousness-and-purpose-in-their-work-are/) [Bjornstjerne Bjornson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjornstjerne-bjornson/) > [The best way to understanding is a few good examples.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-best-way-to-understanding-is-a-few-good-examples/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [Other places are also generators of far-flung violence beyond their own borders - Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are obvious examples - but none has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/other-places-are-also-generators-of-far-flung-violence-beyond-their/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Teachers don't tell us the truth about historical people. If we knew the truth, parents couldn't hold their lives up as examples.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hulce/teachers-don-t-tell-us-the-truth-about-historical-people-if-we-knew/) [Tom Hulce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hulce/) > [We create in people through our actions and example. In this way people around us become reflections of our own behavioral patterns and internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-create-in-people-through-our-actions-and-example-in-this-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amy Winehouse and Paul Weller are examples of poets, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/amy-winehouse-and-paul-weller-are-examples-of-poets-i-think/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [I hate the stereotype of the pitfalls of the child actor. There are so many amazing examples - Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jodie Foster,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-hate-the-stereotype-of-the-pitfalls-of-the-child-actor-there-are-so/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) ## More by Scott Adams > [The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-creator-of-the-universe-works-in-mysterious-ways-but-he-uses-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“If you think your odds of solving your problem are bad, don’t rule out the possibility that what is really happening is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-think-your-odds-of-solving-your-problem-are-bad-don-t-rule-out/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Frankly, I’m suspicious of anyone who has a strong opinion on a complicated issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/frankly-i-m-suspicious-of-anyone-who-has-a-strong-opinion-on-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“If you want success, figure out the price, then pay it. It sounds trivial and obvious, but if you unpack the idea it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-success-figure-out-the-price-then-pay-it-it-sounds/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Ideas are worthless, execution is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/ideas-are-worthless-execution-is-everything/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Failure always brings something valuable with it. I don’t let it leave until I extract that value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/failure-always-brings-something-valuable-with-it-i-don-t-let-it-leave/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The longer you verk here, diverse it gets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-longer-you-verk-here-diverse-it-gets/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“On all the important stuff, we are emotional creatures who make decisions first and rationalize them after the fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/on-all-the-important-stuff-we-are-emotional-creatures-who-make/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“What you rarely see is a stillborn failure that transmogrifies into a stellar success. Small successes can grow into big ones, but failures rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/what-you-rarely-see-is-a-stillborn-failure-that-transmogrifies-into-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Because everything you perceive is a metaphor for something your brain is not equipped to fully understand. God is as real as the clothes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/because-everything-you-perceive-is-a-metaphor-for-something-your/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Capitalism is rotten at every level, and yet it adds up to something extraordinarily useful for society over time. The paradox of capitalism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/capitalism-is-rotten-at-every-level-and-yet-it-adds-up-to-something/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The best part about being my age is in knowing how my life worked out. Sure, there's a lot more living to go, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-best-part-about-being-my-age-is-in-knowing-how-my-life-worked-out/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [If you see voters as rational, you'll be a terrible politician. People are not wired to be rational. Our brains simply evolved to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-see-voters-as-rational-you-ll-be-a-terrible-politician-people/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) [Explore all 418 Scott Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## More Accumulation quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/) [Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/) > [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Computers and rocket ships are examples of invention, not of understanding. ... All that is needed to build machines is the knowledge that when one thing happens, another thing happens as a result. It's an accumulation of simple patterns. A dog can learn patterns. 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