--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The people who invented the twenty-first…" description: "\"The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/walter-isaacson-384_1960s_the-people-who-invented-the-twenty-first_1381098.jpg" --- # The people who invented the twenty-first century were… ![“The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. "The hierarchical systems of the East Coast, England, Germany, and Japan do not encourage this different thinking. The sixties produced…” quote by Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/walter-isaacson-384_1960s_the-people-who-invented-the-twenty-first_1381098.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/walter-isaacson-384_1960s_the-people-who-invented-the-twenty-first_1381098.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/walter-isaacson-384_1960s_the-people-who-invented-the-twenty-first_1381098.jpg) > “The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. "The hierarchical systems of the East Coast, England, Germany, and Japan do not encourage this different thinking. The sixties produced an anarchic mind-set that is great for imagining a world not yet in existence.” [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. West Coast counterculture fostered unconventional thinking that shaped modern tech. **In simple terms:** Hippie ideas sparked the digital age. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse perspectives for innovation. Themes culture innovation history Mood inspirational reflective Type historical motivational When to use this quote - startup culture - education reform - creative industries Key Concepts counterculture technology creativity Questions to Reflect On - What modern subcultures could drive future breakthroughs? - How to balance radical ideas with practical implementation? A Different Perspective Countercultural ideas can clash with traditional structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Different Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-thinking/) [East coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-coast/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/germany/) [Hippie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hippie/) [Hippies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hippies/) [Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japan/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-set/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sandals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sandals/) [Sixties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixties/) [Smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) [West coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-coast/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-people-who-invented-the-twenty-first-century-were-pot-smoking-2/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Because I was an idiot for thinking things could be different. For thinking you were a fluke. For thinking my life could ever be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/because-i-was-an-idiot-for-thinking-things-could-be-different-for/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [I don't care what people say about me and what they think about me. I care about my team and I care about myself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-ovechkin/i-don-t-care-what-people-say-about-me-and-what-they-think-about-me-i/) [Alexander Ovechkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-ovechkin/) > [Why settle for so little in life when you can have so much just by daring to be different in your thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/why-settle-for-so-little-in-life-when-you-can-have-so-much-just-by/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [Being different and thinking different makes a person unforgettable. History does not remember the forgettable. It honors the unique minority the majority cannot forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/being-different-and-thinking-different-makes-a-person-unforgettable/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [It's always about being yourself and not being ashamed of being different or thinking different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/it-s-always-about-being-yourself-and-not-being-ashamed-of-being/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“managers who do not understand people’s different thinking styles cannot understand how the people working for them will handle different situations, which is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/managers-who-do-not-understand-people-s-different-thinking-styles-2/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Gaming in general is a male thing. It isn't that gaming is designed to exclude women. Everybody who's tried to design a game to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gygax/gaming-in-general-is-a-male-thing-it-isn-t-that-gaming-is-designed-to/) [Gary Gygax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gygax/) > [People should understand that we all are different. We have different thinking, different minds. Some people get broken easily while others just build themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-should-understand-that-we-all-are-different-we-have-different/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Being different and thinking differently make a person unforgettable. History does not remember the forgettable. It honors the unique minority the majority cannot forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/being-different-and-thinking-differently-make-a-person-unforgettable/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Hegel seems to me to be always wanting to say that things which look different are really the same. Whereas my interest is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/hegel-seems-to-me-to-be-always-wanting-to-say-that-things-which-look/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [It's like there's a filter set up in my brain, except instead of making things better, it twists everything around so what comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-s-like-there-s-a-filter-set-up-in-my-brain-except-instead-of/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Managers who do not understand people's different thinking styles cannot understand how the people working for them will handle different situations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/managers-who-do-not-understand-people-s-different-thinking-styles/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [The way I think we were living is an invention. The truth is nobody can own anything. That was an unheard-of concept among indigenous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/the-way-i-think-we-were-living-is-an-invention-the-truth-is-nobody/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [The truth is nobody can own anything. That was an unheard-of concept among indigenous people. We invented that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/the-truth-is-nobody-can-own-anything-that-was-an-unheard-of-concept/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) ## More by Walter Isaacson > [“he never finished any of the works he began because, so sublime was his idea of art, he saw faults even in the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-never-finished-any-of-the-works-he-began-because-so-sublime-was/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. So that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-had-the-attitude-that-he-could-do-anything-and-therefore-so-can/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/but-the-point-is-to-get-a-whole-new-generation-of-people-and-people/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was never a good knife made of bad steel ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-never-a-good-knife-made-of-bad-steel/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Jobs's intensity was also evident in his ability to focus. He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Atop the brochure McKenna put a maxim, often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that would become the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: “Simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/atop-the-brochure-mckenna-put-a-maxim-often-attributed-to-leonardo-da/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The company began attracting influential new investors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-company-began-attracting-influential-new-investors/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“You have to remain critically vigilant.” Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom, and never accept the truth of something merely because everyone else views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/you-have-to-remain-critically-vigilant-question-every-premise/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“in 1996, bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back. BILL ATKINSON. Early Apple employee, developed graphics for the Macintosh. CHRISANN BRENNAN. Jobs’s girlfriend at Homestead High,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-1996-bought-next-bringing-jobs-back-bill-atkinson-early-apple/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-last-time-there-was-this-much-excitement-about-a-tablet-it-had/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/if-you-want-to-live-your-life-in-a-creative-way-as-an-artist-you-have/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was a key lesson for innovation: Understand which industries are symbiotic so that you can capitalize on how they will spur each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-a-key-lesson-for-innovation-understand-which-industries-are/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“CEO Gil Amelio stumbled. Ellison may have been baffled when Jobs insisted that he was not motivated by money, but it was partly true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/ceo-gil-amelio-stumbled-ellison-may-have-been-baffled-when-jobs/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Once a year Jobs took his most valuable employees on a retreat, which he called " The Top 100." They were picked based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/once-a-year-jobs-took-his-most-valuable-employees-on-a-retreat-which/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade when it is seen in the strongest light. . . . But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/an-object-will-display-the-greatest-difference-of-light-and-shade/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Explore all 593 Walter Isaacson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) Browse all 486 1960s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. \"The hierarchical systems of the East Coast, England, Germany, and Japan do not encourage this different thinking. 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