--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The one obvious thing is that the devices…" description: "\"The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now that you can also see their limitations extremely well.\" — Tod Machover" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg" --- # The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now… ![“The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now that you can also see their limitations extremely well.” quote by Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg) > “The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now that you can also see their limitations extremely well.” [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern devices are so advanced that their flaws become clearly visible, revealing both strengths and weaknesses. **In simple terms:** Great tech shows its limits. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden flaws. Themes technology selfawareness design innovation Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - product development - quality testing - user experience design - tech journalism Key Concepts human‑computer interaction limitations feedback loops Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance admiration for tech with critical evaluation? - What hidden limitations might we overlook? A Different Perspective Advanced devices can mask deeper systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) [Devices Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices-good-2326499/) [Good Limitations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-limitations-4441500/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Limitations Extremely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitations-extremely-4441501/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Obvious things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious-things/) [Thing Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-devices-2920649/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [MP3 players and flash memory devices are good for data storage and playback of music and digital talking books, but they offer little or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/mp3-players-and-flash-memory-devices-are-good-for-data-storage-and/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Forget what you may have heard about a digital divide or worries that the world is splintering into 'info haves' and 'info have-nots.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/forget-what-you-may-have-heard-about-a-digital-divide-or-worries-that/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Fashion is becoming the same thing as our devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/fashion-is-becoming-the-same-thing-as-our-devices/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [I'm not good with limitations. I tend to like to find my own. It hurts sometimes, but it's good. I'm little extreme in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/i-m-not-good-with-limitations-i-tend-to-like-to-find-my-own-it-hurts/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [I'm not good with limitations. I tend to like to find my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/i-m-not-good-with-limitations-i-tend-to-like-to-find-my-own/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [Be nice to each other. Not a lot, but seems like the most obvious thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-jacobson/be-nice-to-each-other-not-a-lot-but-seems-like-the-most-obvious-thing/) [Lenny Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-jacobson/) > [Obvious things like The Deer Hunter. After that happened, the scripts got better. Opportunities happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/obvious-things-like-the-deer-hunter-after-that-happened-the-scripts/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I guess it's kind of the obvious thing for me to do 'cuz it's what I grew up listening to. The songs growing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ezra/i-guess-it-s-kind-of-the-obvious-thing-for-me-to-do-cuz-it-s-what-i/) [George Ezra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ezra/) > [The most important lesson I received from Conceptual art consisted in the recording of simple and obvious things, and viewing them under a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-ghirri/the-most-important-lesson-i-received-from-conceptual-art-consisted-in/) [Luigi Ghirri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-ghirri/) > [There are a few obvious consequences and perhaps one subtle possibility. One obvious thing is that, to stimulate the economy, President Obama has committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/there-are-a-few-obvious-consequences-and-perhaps-one-subtle/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [I had a life experience that most of my - that none of my friends had. I remember I became everybody's rabbi. Everybody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ross/i-had-a-life-experience-that-most-of-my-that-none-of-my-friends-had-i/) [Jeff Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-ross/) > [“Are you prepared to have quite obvious things explained to you, to ask futile questions, to give me chances of scoring off you, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne-2/are-you-prepared-to-have-quite-obvious-things-explained-to-you-to-ask/) [A.A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne-2/) > [It's the obvious thing to say but artists want to be able to tell all kinds of stories and tear down every kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/it-s-the-obvious-thing-to-say-but-artists-want-to-be-able-to-tell-all/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-is-full-of-obvious-things-which-nobody-by-any-chance-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a movie makes it really big, they do the obvious thing, right? They make an amusement park ride out of it. ... The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/if-a-movie-makes-it-really-big-they-do-the-obvious-thing-right-they/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) ## More by Tod Machover > [Music seems to stimulate more parts of our mind than almost every other activity. It combines more parts of our minds. It synchronizes our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/music-seems-to-stimulate-more-parts-of-our-mind-than-almost-every/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I love the cello, I love the physical sense of an instrument that's about the size of your body that vibrates enough that even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-love-the-cello-i-love-the-physical-sense-of-an-instrument-that-s/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [You have to train your mind and your ears, but they're more like athletic skills. So, part of music you just have to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/you-have-to-train-your-mind-and-your-ears-but-they-re-more-like/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I went to the University of California, Santa Cruz for a year, which turned out to be a really vibrant, very intensive intellectual atmosphere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-went-to-the-university-of-california-santa-cruz-for-a-year-which/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [The basic idea of a hyper instrument is where the technology is built right into the instrument so that the instrument knows how it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/the-basic-idea-of-a-hyper-instrument-is-where-the-technology-is-built/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [Perhaps 25 to 50 years from now, I can design a piece of music, no so that it appeals to something common in millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/perhaps-25-to-50-years-from-now-i-can-design-a-piece-of-music-no-so/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I never liked opera growing up. I always liked chamber music or solo music even more than orchestral music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-never-liked-opera-growing-up-i-always-liked-chamber-music-or-solo/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I like the idea of imagining a sound and feeling a sound and then having it come out through your body, through an instrument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-like-the-idea-of-imagining-a-sound-and-feeling-a-sound-and-then/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [There were a lot of things happen in the mid-'80's that all of a sudden made it possible to do a lot of very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/there-were-a-lot-of-things-happen-in-the-mid-80-s-that-all-of-a/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [One of my interests in music has always been what it means, why it affects us the way it does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/one-of-my-interests-in-music-has-always-been-what-it-means-why-it/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [The Beatles realized that what they were making in the studio could never be performed. And they had already given up on performing because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/the-beatles-realized-that-what-they-were-making-in-the-studio-could/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I love Bach, I love Beethoven, I love Mozart, I love the Beatles, I love you know, Stockhausen, I love many things. But for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-love-bach-i-love-beethoven-i-love-mozart-i-love-the-beatles-i-love/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [My message is to forget about dichotomies. The 'Brain Opera' is an opera, even if it does not tell a story in the usual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/my-message-is-to-forget-about-dichotomies-the-brain-opera-is-an-opera/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I almost never these days sit down with a CD or my laptop and just listen to a piece with a score. I probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-almost-never-these-days-sit-down-with-a-cd-or-my-laptop-and-just/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I listen to a lot of music that teenagers are listening to because I'm around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-listen-to-a-lot-of-music-that-teenagers-are-listening-to-because-i/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) [Explore all 55 Tod Machover quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) ## More Devices quotes > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Televisions are devices with screens that things appear on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/televisions-are-devices-with-screens-that-things-appear-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [I would warn against holsters with devices for quick-draw. Devices always fail when you need them most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/i-would-warn-against-holsters-with-devices-for-quick-draw-devices/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [As we go through this transition where a lot more people will be reading on devices, nobody is paying enough attention to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/as-we-go-through-this-transition-where-a-lot-more-people-will-be/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [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/) > [Truth is, people like buying things for $0.99 and $1.99 for their digital devices. We know that from iTunes. We know that from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lee/truth-is-people-like-buying-things-for-0-99-and-1-99-for-their/) [Jennifer Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lee/) > [I think we're probably only about halfway through the number of revelations. I'm pretty certain there will be quite detailed stuff on other uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-a-watson/i-think-we-re-probably-only-about-halfway-through-the-number-of/) [Tom A. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-a-watson/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [The sense of tragedy - according to Aristotle - comes, ironically enough, not from the protagonist's weak points but from his good qualities. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sense-of-tragedy-according-to-aristotle-comes-ironically-enough/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-watson/all-the-problems-of-the-world-could-be-settled-easily-if-men-were/) [Thomas J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-watson/) > [Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/prayer-is-not-a-convenient-device-for-imposing-our-will-upon-god-or/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [The Hope, Love & Healing necklace is the perfect embodiment of what we are trying to bring to Haiti through safe and sustainable housing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/the-hope-love-healing-necklace-is-the-perfect-embodiment-of-what-we/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/reading-is-sometimes-an-ingenious-device-for-avoiding-thought/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) [Browse all 1,075 Devices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now that you can also see their limitations extremely well.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tod Machover" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-devices-are-so-good-now-that-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Devices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-devices-are-so-good-now-that-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebd/tod-machover-12406_devices_the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-device_1327155.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now that you can also see their limitations extremely…” — Tod Machover", "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": "Tod Machover", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The one obvious thing is that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-devices-are-so-good-now-that-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/the-one-obvious-thing-is-that-the-devices-are-so-good-now-that-you/#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 } } ] } ```