--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think, and I've thought this for a long…" description: "\"I think, and I've thought this for a long time, that we live, roughly speaking, in the last generation of human beings.\" — Whitfield Diffie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png" --- # I think, and I've thought this for a long time, that we… ![“I think, and I've thought this for a long time, that we live, roughly speaking, in the last generation of human beings.” quote by Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png) > “I think, and I've thought this for a long time, that we live, roughly speaking, in the last generation of human beings.” [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) ## 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 suggests humanity is approaching the final era of its current form before transformative change. **In simple terms:** We may be near the end of our current human era. Key Takeaway Prepare for profound societal shifts. Themes future change humanity technology evolution Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical speculative cautionary When to use this quote - policy planning - education reform - ethical AI development - global cooperation - long‑term thinking Key Concepts Existential risk technological singularity cultural transition Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate we are in a final generation? - How can we shape the next era responsibly? A Different Perspective It may underestimate humanity's capacity to adapt or reinvent itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generation Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-human-363634/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Roughly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roughly/) [Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-long-656335/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We never thought the show would last this long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shanks/we-never-thought-the-show-would-last-this-long/) [Michael Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shanks/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can-3/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are the climactic generation of human cultural evolution, and in the microcosm of our lives the macrocosm of the evolution of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/we-are-the-climactic-generation-of-human-cultural-evolution-and-in/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [We stand on a great threshold in the human history of space exploration. If life is prevalent in our neighborhood of the galaxy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-seager/we-stand-on-a-great-threshold-in-the-human-history-of-space/) [Sara Seager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-seager/) > [Through every generation of the human race there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/through-every-generation-of-the-human-race-there-has-been-a-constant/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jones/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can-2/) [William Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jones/) > [The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-any-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-being-can-alter/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“We in the West are the first generation in human history in which the mass of the population has to deliberately exercise to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-agus/we-in-the-west-are-the-first-generation-in-human-history-in-which-the/) [David B. Agus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-agus/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can change his life by changing his attitude of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are the first generation of human beings to have substantial insights into the origin of our cosmos and of human life in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-peacocke/we-are-the-first-generation-of-human-beings-to-have-substantial/) [Arthur Peacocke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-peacocke/) > [“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-any-generation-is-that-a-human-can-alter/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/the-greatest-discovery-of-any-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.-WILLIAM JAMES”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can-4/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Whitfield Diffie > [We have experienced an utter explosion in investigative techniques. Walk the streets, look at the cameras! They are now recognising people automatically from photos;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/we-have-experienced-an-utter-explosion-in-investigative-techniques/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [I thought cryptography was a technique that did not require your trusting other people-that if you encrypted your files, you would have the control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/i-thought-cryptography-was-a-technique-that-did-not-require-your/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [People are leaving trails everywhere they go; automated web crawlers tell you an awful lot about their social activities. The flow of information in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/people-are-leaving-trails-everywhere-they-go-automated-web-crawlers/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [Lots of people working in cryptography have no deep concern with real application issues. They are trying to discover things clever enough to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/lots-of-people-working-in-cryptography-have-no-deep-concern-with-real/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [No right of private conversation was enumerated in the Constitution. I suppose it never occurred to anyone at the time that it could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/no-right-of-private-conversation-was-enumerated-in-the-constitution-i/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [One of the things that characterizes good intellectual work is a certain self-importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/one-of-the-things-that-characterizes-good-intellectual-work-is-a/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [The most important impact of technology on communications security is that it draws better and better traffic into vulnerable channels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/the-most-important-impact-of-technology-on-communications-security-is/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [It isn't that secrets are never needed in security. It's that they are never desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/it-isn-t-that-secrets-are-never-needed-in-security-it-s-that-they-are/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [Cloud computing is a challenge to security, but one that can be overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/cloud-computing-is-a-challenge-to-security-but-one-that-can-be/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [I understood the importance in principle of public key cryptography but it's all moved much faster than I expected. I did not expect it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/i-understood-the-importance-in-principle-of-public-key-cryptography/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [In a sense, communications networks can be defined entirely by who has cryptographic keys, and I think a lot of networks will work that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/in-a-sense-communications-networks-can-be-defined-entirely-by-who-has/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [People constantly face problems they've never seen before, and they have to solve them somehow. So a million people come up with a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/people-constantly-face-problems-they-ve-never-seen-before-and-they/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [Cloud computing means you are doing your computing on somebody else's computer. Looking ahead a little, I firmly believe cloud - previously called grid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/cloud-computing-means-you-are-doing-your-computing-on-somebody-else-s/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [Some people make sharp distinctions sort of between their recreational musings and their professional work. I don't make that distinction very much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/some-people-make-sharp-distinctions-sort-of-between-their/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [It's simply unrealistic to depend on secrecy for security in computer software. You may be able to keep the exact workings of the program…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/it-s-simply-unrealistic-to-depend-on-secrecy-for-security-in-computer/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) [Explore all 38 Whitfield Diffie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) ## More Beings quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-m-a-humanist-at-heart-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-all-human-beings/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [My intended audience was everybody. I just want to make cartoons for human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kricfalusi/my-intended-audience-was-everybody-i-just-want-to-make-cartoons-for/) [John Kricfalusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kricfalusi/) > [Everyone else on the planet, from the lowest amoebae to the great blue whale, expresses all their component elements in a perfect dance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/everyone-else-on-the-planet-from-the-lowest-amoebae-to-the-great-blue/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [We cannot deal with people like human beings, we cannot deal with them on the high level of true humanity, unless we really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-cannot-deal-with-people-like-human-beings-we-cannot-deal-with-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spiritual beings, either from the beginning or soon thereafter, become what they are to be for ever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/spiritual-beings-either-from-the-beginning-or-soon-thereafter-become/) [Giovanni Pico della Mirandola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/) > [We're human beings trying to love each other. There are constant revelations and room for growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamman-rucker/we-re-human-beings-trying-to-love-each-other-there-are-constant/) [Lamman Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamman-rucker/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for he sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/although-we-might-settle-for-less-heavenly-father-won-t-for-he-sees/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) [Browse all 979 Beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think, and I've thought this for a long time, that we live, roughly speaking, in the last generation of human beings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Whitfield Diffie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long-time-that-we-live-roughly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long-time-that-we-live-roughly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/whitfield-diffie-17059_beings_i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long_1569712.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think, and I've thought this for a long time, that we live, roughly speaking, in the last generation of…” — Whitfield Diffie", "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": "Whitfield Diffie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think, and I've thought this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long-time-that-we-live-roughly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/i-think-and-i-ve-thought-this-for-a-long-time-that-we-live-roughly/#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 } } ] } ```