--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm one of those people that think Thomas…" description: "\"I'm one of those people that think Thomas Edison and the light bulb changed the world more than Karl Marx ever did.\" — Steve Jobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg" --- # I'm one of those people that think Thomas Edison and the… ![“I'm one of those people that think Thomas Edison and the light bulb changed the world more than Karl Marx ever did.” quote by Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg) > “I'm one of those people that think Thomas Edison and the light bulb changed the world more than Karl Marx ever did.” [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jobs suggests that transformative inventions can have more lasting impact than political theories. **In simple terms:** Inventions often outlast ideas. Key Takeaway Value tangible breakthroughs. Themes innovation impact technology Mood inspired reflective Type motivational historical When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - product design - historical analysis Key Concepts disruption progress legacy Questions to Reflect On - What invention changed your life most? - How do we balance ideas and inventions? A Different Perspective Ideas can be abstract and hard to measure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bulbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulbs/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Changed World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed-world/) [Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edison/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/karl-marx/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light bulb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-bulb/) [Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marx/) [Marx Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marx-did-655948/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thomas edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-edison/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Fall forward. Here's what I mean: Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times in his career - the most in the history of baseball. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/fall-forward-here-s-what-i-mean-reggie-jackson-struck-out-2-600-times/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [It's a failure only if you don't get anything out of it, Thomas Edison said he knew 999 ways that a light bulb did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/it-s-a-failure-only-if-you-don-t-get-anything-out-of-it-thomas-edison/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Karl Marx did not call for an opposition to the forces of history. On the contrary he accepted all of them, the drive of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/karl-marx-did-not-call-for-an-opposition-to-the-forces-of-history-on/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [If Thomas Edison invented electric light today, Dan Rather would report it on CBS News as, 'Candle-making industry threatened'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/if-thomas-edison-invented-electric-light-today-dan-rather-would/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [My principal professional objective is to introduce intelligence as the ubiquitous utility. I'd like to be the Thomas Edison of intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-saylor/my-principal-professional-objective-is-to-introduce-intelligence-as/) [Michael J. Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-saylor/) > [We owe a lot to Thomas Edison - if it wasn't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-berle/we-owe-a-lot-to-thomas-edison-if-it-wasn-t-for-him-we-d-be-watching/) [Milton Berle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-berle/) > [Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by electricity, began where he stood to put his dream into action, and despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/thomas-edison-dreamed-of-a-lamp-that-could-be-operated-by-electricity/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Thomas Edisons Mother: Of course Im proud that you invented the electric light bulb. Now turn it off and get to bed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/thomas-edisons-mother-of-course-im-proud-that-you-invented-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Thomas Edison had great visions (for lights, music players, movies, etc.) but he knew they didn't count until he could make them work. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/thomas-edison-had-great-visions-for-lights-music-players-movies-etc/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [“My first hero was Thomas Edison, whose adult life had consisted entirely of free time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/my-first-hero-was-thomas-edison-whose-adult-life-had-consisted/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Yes, my grandfather worked with Thomas Edison on the electric car, and he sold electric cars at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jardine/yes-my-grandfather-worked-with-thomas-edison-on-the-electric-car-and/) [Al Jardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jardine/) > [When Edison first started out with his "crazy" idea for the light bulb, skeptics were unmoved. They called Thomas Edison a con man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-rottenberg/when-edison-first-started-out-with-his-crazy-idea-for-the-light-bulb/) [Linda Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-rottenberg/) > [“I have not failed,” said Thomas Edison. “I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-moore/i-have-not-failed-said-thomas-edison-i-ve-just-found-ten-thousand/) [Margaret Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-moore/) > [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Without doubt, Thomas Edison is my greatest contemporary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/without-doubt-thomas-edison-is-my-greatest-contemporary/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) ## More by Steve Jobs > [Who wants a stylus. You have to get em and put em away, and you lose em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/who-wants-a-stylus-you-have-to-get-em-and-put-em-away-and-you-lose-em/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I admire Mark Zuckerberg... for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-admire-mark-zuckerberg-for-not-selling-out-for-wanting-to-make-a/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [If you want to hire great people and have them stay, you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-you-want-to-hire-great-people-and-have-them-stay-you-have-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/everything-around-you-that-you-call-life-was-made-up-by-people-that/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/innovation-is-not-about-saying-yes-to-everything-it-s-about-saying-no/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-have-always-said-if-there-ever-came-a-day-when-i-could-no-longer/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I'm not dismissing the value of higher education; I'm simply saying it comes at the expense of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-not-dismissing-the-value-of-higher-education-i-m-simply-saying-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“To YoYo Ma: "You playing is the best argument I've ever heard for the existence of God, because I don't really believe a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/to-yoyo-ma-you-playing-is-the-best-argument-i-ve-ever-heard-for-the/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The most important thing is a person. A person who incites your curiosity and feeds your curiosity; and machines cannot do that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-most-important-thing-is-a-person-a-person-who-incites-your/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The tragedy is that Dell didn't win it - we lost it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-tragedy-is-that-dell-didn-t-win-it-we-lost-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“I think great artists and great engineers are similar, in that they both have a desire to express themselves. In fact some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-think-great-artists-and-great-engineers-are-similar-in-that-they/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-rare-that-you-see-an-artist-in-his-30s-or-40s-able-to-really/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [We're going to be able to ask our computers to monitor things for us, and when certain conditions happen, are triggered, the computers will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-re-going-to-be-able-to-ask-our-computers-to-monitor-things-for-us/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) [Explore all 695 Steve Jobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## More Bulbs quotes > [Greece is a sort of American vassal; the Netherlands is the country of American bases that grow like tulip bulbs; Cuba is the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greece-is-a-sort-of-american-vassal-the-netherlands-is-the-country-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My parents are actors as well, so I grew up around that world. It was always a very romantic, mythical world. They did a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-fox/my-parents-are-actors-as-well-so-i-grew-up-around-that-world-it-was/) [Phoebe Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-fox/) > [We can never be like lillies in the garden unless we have spent time as bulbs in the dark, totally ignored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-can-never-be-like-lillies-in-the-garden-unless-we-have-spent-time/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [A hotel is a place that keeps the manufacturers of 25-watt bulbs in business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-berman/a-hotel-is-a-place-that-keeps-the-manufacturers-of-25-watt-bulbs-in/) [Shelley Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-berman/) > [Mostly, I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/mostly-i-straddle-reality-and-the-imagination-my-reality-needs/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [We live technologically, with man as the master of nature, man as the engineer, and let anyone who raises his voice against it stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/we-live-technologically-with-man-as-the-master-of-nature-man-as-the/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [We talked death with burned-up intensity, both of us drawn to it like moths to an electric light bulb. Sucking on it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/we-talked-death-with-burned-up-intensity-both-of-us-drawn-to-it-like/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [My co-pastor is Randy Frazee. Randy is the brightest bulb in this box. He really has a feeling for what a church needs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/my-co-pastor-is-randy-frazee-randy-is-the-brightest-bulb-in-this-box/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [He spent more time on the road to Damascus than a Syrian camel driver. And we thought nobody could fill John Kerry's flip-flops! ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/he-spent-more-time-on-the-road-to-damascus-than-a-syrian-camel-driver/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [I plant daffodil bulbs about eight inches deep. As I mentioned before, I don't use a ruler. As a married woman, I know perfectly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-danz/i-plant-daffodil-bulbs-about-eight-inches-deep-as-i-mentioned-before/) [Cassandra Danz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-danz/) > [I went to a doctor and told him I felt normal on acid, that I was a light bulb in a world of moths.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-went-to-a-doctor-and-told-him-i-felt-normal-on-acid-that-i-was-a/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/people-are-mostly-layers-of-violence-and-tenderness-wrapped-like/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Groucho Marx, in his later days, gave me the best review I've ever had and probably will ever have. I changed a light bulb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-gould/groucho-marx-in-his-later-days-gave-me-the-best-review-i-ve-ever-had/) [Elliott Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-gould/) > [How many people does it take to change a searchlight bulb?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/how-many-people-does-it-take-to-change-a-searchlight-bulb/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) [Browse all 170 Bulbs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulbs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm one of those people that think Thomas Edison and the light bulb changed the world more than Karl Marx ever did.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Jobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thomas-edison-and-the-light-bulb/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bulbs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thomas-edison-and-the-light-bulb/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/steve-jobs-307_bulbs_i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thoma_713818.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm one of those people that think Thomas Edison and the light bulb changed the world more than Karl Marx…” — Steve Jobs", "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": "Steve Jobs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm one of those people that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thomas-edison-and-the-light-bulb/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-one-of-those-people-that-think-thomas-edison-and-the-light-bulb/#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 } } ] } ```