--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was really looking at computers as a…" description: "\"I was really looking at computers as a way to understand the mind. But at M.I.T., my mind was blown by having a whole computer to yourself as long as y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/seymour-papert-12175_access_i-was-really-looking-at-computers-as-a-w_2980893.jpg" --- # I was really looking at computers as a way to understand… ![“I was really looking at computers as a way to understand the mind. But at M.I.T., my mind was blown by having a whole computer to yourself as long as you liked.I felt a surge of intellectual power through access to this computer, and I started thinking about what this could mean for kids and the…” quote by Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/seymour-papert-12175_access_i-was-really-looking-at-computers-as-a-w_2980893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/seymour-papert-12175_access_i-was-really-looking-at-computers-as-a-w_2980893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/seymour-papert-12175_access_i-was-really-looking-at-computers-as-a-w_2980893.jpg) > “I was really looking at computers as a way to understand the mind. But at M.I.T., my mind was blown by having a whole computer to yourself as long as you liked.I felt a surge of intellectual power through access to this computer, and I started thinking about what this could mean for kids and the way they learn. That's when we developed the computer programming language for kids, Logo.” [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Access to personal computers empowers children to explore and learn creatively. **In simple terms:** Computers empower kids to learn. Key Takeaway Provide hands‑on tech experiences. Themes education technology empowerment Mood enthusiastic hopeful Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - classroom computing - programming for kids - STEM outreach Key Concepts constructionist learning digital literacy Questions to Reflect On - How to integrate computers meaningfully? - What supports sustained curiosity? A Different Perspective Access alone isn’t enough without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Access](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computer programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-programming/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Developed Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developed-computer-4635951/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Having Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-computer-803860/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Logos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logos/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Programming Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming-language/) [Programming languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming-languages/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [We often treat children as if they're not very competent to do anything on their own. So we make them stop learning in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-often-treat-children-as-if-they-re-not-very-competent-to-do/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [A programming language is like a natural, human language in that it favors certain methaphors, images, and ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/a-programming-language-is-like-a-natural-human-language-in-that-it/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [When someone says, "I want a programming language in which I need only say what I want done," give him a lollipop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/when-someone-says-i-want-a-programming-language-in-which-i-need-only/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [The only way to learn a new programming language is by writing programs in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-ritchie/the-only-way-to-learn-a-new-programming-language-is-by-writing/) [Dennis Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-ritchie/) > [A good programming language is a conceptual universe for thinking about programming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/a-good-programming-language-is-a-conceptual-universe-for-thinking/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [A most important, but also most elusive, aspect of any tool is its influence on the habits of those who train themselves in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/a-most-important-but-also-most-elusive-aspect-of-any-tool-is-its/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [A programming language is a tool that has profound influence on our thinking habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/a-programming-language-is-a-tool-that-has-profound-influence-on-our/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Early on, when software was developed by computer scientists, just people working with computers, people passed around software because that was how you got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/early-on-when-software-was-developed-by-computer-scientists-just/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [ I don't know how to stop it, there was never any intent to write a programming language \[...\] I have absolutely no idea how… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasmus-lerdorf/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-it-there-was-never-any-intent-to-write-a/) [Rasmus Lerdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasmus-lerdorf/) > [A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more like assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-simard/a-programming-language-that-is-sort-of-like-pascal-except-more-like/) [Raymond Simard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-simard/) > [Job Control Language is the worst programming language ever designed anywhere by anybody for any purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-brooks/job-control-language-is-the-worst-programming-language-ever-designed/) [Fred Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-brooks/) > [If there is ever a science of programming language design, it will probably consist largely of matching languages to the design methods they support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-floyd/if-there-is-ever-a-science-of-programming-language-design-it-will/) [Robert W. Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-floyd/) > [However, when Java is promoted as the sole programming language, its flaws and limitations become serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarne-stroustrup/however-when-java-is-promoted-as-the-sole-programming-language-its/) [Bjarne Stroustrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarne-stroustrup/) > [A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/a-programming-language-is-low-level-when-its-programs-require/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Any programming language is at its best before it is implemented and used. Anything is possible, anything can happen. On a flimsy ground of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/any-programming-language-is-at-its-best-before-it-is-implemented-and/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) ## More by Seymour Papert > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [It's not what you know about the computer that's important, but your ability to do things with it. 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