--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is the future, and it is probably…" description: "\"That is the future, and it is probably nearer than we think. But our primary problem as universities is not engineering that future. We must rise above..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/vartan-gregorian-33143_ability_that-is-the-future-and-it-is-probably-ne_1372117.jpg" --- # That is the future, and it is probably nearer than we… ![“That is the future, and it is probably nearer than we think. But our primary problem as universities is not engineering that future. We must rise above the obsession with quantity of information and speed of transmission, and recognize that the key issue for us is our ability to organize this…” quote by Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/vartan-gregorian-33143_ability_that-is-the-future-and-it-is-probably-ne_1372117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/vartan-gregorian-33143_ability_that-is-the-future-and-it-is-probably-ne_1372117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/vartan-gregorian-33143_ability_that-is-the-future-and-it-is-probably-ne_1372117.jpg) > “That is the future, and it is probably nearer than we think. But our primary problem as universities is not engineering that future. We must rise above the obsession with quantity of information and speed of transmission, and recognize that the key issue for us is our ability to organize this information once it has been amassed - to assimilate it, find meaning in it, and assure its survival for use by generations to come.” [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Universities must focus on organizing and preserving knowledge, not just gathering it quickly. **In simple terms:** Organize and preserve knowledge, not just collect it. Key Takeaway Prioritize curation over speed. Themes education knowledge management future planning Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - curriculum design - library systems - digital archiving - policy making Key Concepts information architecture knowledge preservation intergenerational stewardship Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions balance rapid information flow with deep understanding? - What structures ensure knowledge endures? A Different Perspective Speed of data collection can outpace meaningful synthesis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Engineering Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering-future-4727921/) [Find me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find-me/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-speed-4727924/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Organize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organize/) [Primaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primaries/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Universities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-universities-4727922/) [Quantity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantity/) [Rise above](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-above/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transmission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transmission/) [Universities Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universities-engineering-4727923/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [We believe widespread adoption of home solar will significantly improve life in cities by phasing out polluting coal plants, eliminating miles of ugly new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-jurich/we-believe-widespread-adoption-of-home-solar-will-significantly/) [Lynn Jurich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-jurich/) > [The master maker of the human body did not create you and then run off and leave you masterless. 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Its transmission today is still in part oral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [When Marconi suggested the possibility of wireless transmission of sound (the radio),he was committed to a mental institution. But people like Lincoln, Edison, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-marconi-suggested-the-possibility-of-wireless-transmission-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I consider high-speed data transmission an invention that became a major innovation. It changed the way we all communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-kamen/i-consider-high-speed-data-transmission-an-invention-that-became-a/) [Dean Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-kamen/) > [If you wish to become a divine immortal angel, then restore the angelic qualities of your being through virtue and service. This is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-you-wish-to-become-a-divine-immortal-angel-then-restore-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) [Russell Targ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-targ/) > [For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual's total development lags behind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/for-what-is-the-use-of-transmitting-knowledge-if-the-individual-s/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Electricity transmission operates on a frequency between 49.7 Hertz and 50.2 Hertz. What I have done is petitioned the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyotiraditya-madhavrao-scindia/electricity-transmission-operates-on-a-frequency-between-49-7-hertz/) [Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyotiraditya-madhavrao-scindia/) > [I've been an advocate against the view of the writer as a partitioned genius hanging in conceptual space, or up on a mountain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-been-an-advocate-against-the-view-of-the-writer-as-a-partitioned/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I'm not a particularly religious person, but that feeling of getting transmissions from someplace else, even if it's from your own consciousness, is very,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-m-not-a-particularly-religious-person-but-that-feeling-of-getting/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) ## More by Vartan Gregorian > [Everybody is somebody, so you don't have to introduce anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/everybody-is-somebody-so-you-don-t-have-to-introduce-anybody/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [Libraries keep the records on behalf of all humanity. the unique and the absurd, the wise and the fragments of stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/libraries-keep-the-records-on-behalf-of-all-humanity-the-unique-and/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [The library is central to our free society. It is a critical element in the free exchange of information at the heart of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/the-library-is-central-to-our-free-society-it-is-a-critical-element/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [The book is here to stay. 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Dignity is the honor of the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/dignity-is-not-negotiable-dignity-is-the-honor-of-the-family/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [Libraries and museums are the DNA of our culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/libraries-and-museums-are-the-dna-of-our-culture/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [It is very important that, no matter what happens, you keep your feeling of self worth and value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/it-is-very-important-that-no-matter-what-happens-you-keep-your/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [The library is our house of intellect, our transcendental university, with one exception: no one graduates from a library. No one possibly can, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/the-library-is-our-house-of-intellect-our-transcendental-university/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [One of my greatest sources of pride as president of the New York Public Library is the continuance of the library's open, free, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/one-of-my-greatest-sources-of-pride-as-president-of-the-new-york/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) > [The only condition a library asks its users to honor is to do justice to their own imagination, their own curiosity and their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vartan-gregorian/the-only-condition-a-library-asks-its-users-to-honor-is-to-do-justice/) [Vartan Gregorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) [Explore all 15 Vartan Gregorian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vartan-gregorian/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. 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