--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let's stick to the practical and the…" description: "\"Let's stick to the practical and the concrete: Would you like it if people lived in a virtual world? If machines were smarter than people? If, in the f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/theodore-kaczynski-15742_animal_let-s-stick-to-the-practical-and-the-con_2588504.jpg" --- # Let's stick to the practical and the concrete: Would you… ![“Let's stick to the practical and the concrete: Would you like it if people lived in a virtual world? If machines were smarter than people? If, in the future, people, animals and plants were products of technology? If you don't like these ideas, then for you the computer and biological sciences…” quote by Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/theodore-kaczynski-15742_animal_let-s-stick-to-the-practical-and-the-con_2588504.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/theodore-kaczynski-15742_animal_let-s-stick-to-the-practical-and-the-con_2588504.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e0/theodore-kaczynski-15742_animal_let-s-stick-to-the-practical-and-the-con_2588504.jpg) > “Let's stick to the practical and the concrete: Would you like it if people lived in a virtual world? If machines were smarter than people? If, in the future, people, animals and plants were products of technology? If you don't like these ideas, then for you the computer and biological sciences clearly are dangerous.” [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) ## 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 warns that advancing technology could erase human labor and inequality, but also become dangerous if misused. **In simple terms:** Technology may remove work but also pose risks. Key Takeaway Question technology’s impact on freedom. Themes technology freedom risk future ethics Mood cautious critical Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - policy making - education - personal choices - technology adoption Key Concepts automation inequality human agency Questions to Reflect On - Will technology truly liberate humanity? - How can we guard against its misuse? A Different Perspective It assumes technology alone can solve deep social issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Biological science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biological-science/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Virtual world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtual-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [If I had to define life in a single phrase, I should clearly express my thought of throwing into relief one characteristic which, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/if-i-had-to-define-life-in-a-single-phrase-i-should-clearly-express/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Beyond natural history Other biological sciences take up the study at other levels of organization: dissecting the individual into organs and tissues and seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marston-bates/beyond-natural-history-other-biological-sciences-take-up-the-study-at/) [Marston Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marston-bates/) > [“Very high altitude astronomy only works by ignoring established biological science”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/very-high-altitude-astronomy-only-works-by-ignoring-established/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The next major explosion is going to be when genetics and computers come together. 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I just got mad seeing the machines ripping up the woods and so forth...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/but-what-first-motivated-me-wasn-t-anything-i-read-i-just-got-mad/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. 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I was once an assistant professor of mathematics. Since then, I have spent time living in the woods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/my-occupation-is-an-open-question-i-was-once-an-assistant-professor/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [It is important not to confuse freedom with mere permissiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/it-is-important-not-to-confuse-freedom-with-mere-permissiveness/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [Some people have low susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques. These are the people who aren't interested in money. Material acquisition does not serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/some-people-have-low-susceptibility-to-advertising-and-marketing/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [We are not supposed to hate anyone, yet almost everyone hates somebody at some time or other, whether he admits it to himself or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/we-are-not-supposed-to-hate-anyone-yet-almost-everyone-hates-somebody/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [Crowding, rapid change and the breakdown of communities have been widely recognized as sources of social problems. But we do not believe they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/crowding-rapid-change-and-the-breakdown-of-communities-have-been/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [ Art forms that appeal to \[leftists\] tend to focus on ... defeat and despair ... as if there were no hope of accomplishing anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/art-forms-that-appeal-to-leftists-tend-to-focus-on-defeat-and-despair/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [The industrial-technological system may survive or it may break down. If it survives, it MAY eventually achieve a low level of physical and psychological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/the-industrial-technological-system-may-survive-or-it-may-break-down/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [The concept of "mental health" in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual behaves in accord with the needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/the-concept-of-mental-health-in-our-society-is-defined-largely-by-the/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) [Explore all 42 Theodore Kaczynski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let's stick to the practical and the concrete: Would you like it if people lived in a virtual world? If machines were smarter than people? If, in the future, people, animals and plants were products of technology? 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