--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If computers are the wave of the future…" description: "\"If computers are the wave of the future, displays are the surfboards.\" — Ted Nelson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/ted-nelson-13662_computer_if-computers-are-the-wave-of-the-future_2296291.png" --- # If computers are the wave of the future, displays are the… ![“If computers are the wave of the future, displays are the surfboards.” quote by Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/ted-nelson-13662_computer_if-computers-are-the-wave-of-the-future_2296291.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/ted-nelson-13662_computer_if-computers-are-the-wave-of-the-future_2296291.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/ted-nelson-13662_computer_if-computers-are-the-wave-of-the-future_2296291.png) > “If computers are the wave of the future, displays are the surfboards.” [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technology evolves in layers; hardware follows the conceptual wave of software. **In simple terms:** Computers are the wave, displays the surfboards. Key Takeaway Embrace emerging tech, stay adaptable. Themes technology innovation future Mood optimistic forwardlooking Type technological visionary When to use this quote - product design - software development - education Key Concepts digital media human-computer interaction Questions to Reflect On - How will new interfaces change daily life? - What risks arise from rapid tech adoption? A Different Perspective May overlook practical constraints of hardware. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Computers Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers-wave-5414544/) [Display](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/display/) [Displays Surfboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/displays-surfboards-5414543/) [Future Displays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-displays-5414545/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Surfboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surfboards-1933750/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave/) ## Related quotes > [I do have a few surfboards, but my passion outweighs my ability by some way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-williamson/i-do-have-a-few-surfboards-but-my-passion-outweighs-my-ability-by/) [Kane Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-williamson/) > [Surfboards were everywhere. 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She was, in her own way,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-abbott/i-think-gypsy-rose-lee-would-be-appalled-at-today-s-rawer-more/) [Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-abbott/) > [So far as female beauty is concerned, the Circassian women have no superiors. They have preserved in their mountain home the purity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/so-far-as-female-beauty-is-concerned-the-circassian-women-have-no/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) ## More by Ted Nelson > [The problem is not software 'friendliness'. It is conceptual clarity. A globe does not say, 'good morning'. 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Both raise your blood pressure and give you a tightening sensation around your forehead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/how-is-ms-dos-like-msg-both-raise-your-blood-pressure-and-give-you-a/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [You can and must understand computers NOW.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/you-can-and-must-understand-computers-now/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Power corrupts, and obsolete power corrupts obsoletely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/power-corrupts-and-obsolete-power-corrupts-obsoletely/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [I am looking at it from the point of view of a harried user, which I am, and I believe that I am much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/i-am-looking-at-it-from-the-point-of-view-of-a-harried-user-which-i/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [The Web is trivially simple - massively successful and its like Karaoke - anybody can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-web-is-trivially-simple-massively-successful-and-its-like-karaoke/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [So, I was always frustrated having to write and having to cut things. 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And the space is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-ideas-keep-going-you-have-the-material-you-cut-because-there-s-a/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [In my second year in graduate school, I took a computer course and that was like lightening striking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/in-my-second-year-in-graduate-school-i-took-a-computer-course-and/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [The technicalities matter a lot, but the unifying vision matters more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-technicalities-matter-a-lot-but-the-unifying-vision-matters-more/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Making things easy is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/making-things-easy-is-hard/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Project Xanadu is essentially my trademark. 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As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... 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