As with our colleges, so with a hundred ‘modern improvements;’ there is an illusion about them; there is not always a positive advance. The devil goes on exacting compound interest to the last for his early share and numerous succeeding investments in them. Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at.. . Henry David Thoreau
About This Quote

The above quote by Jeremy Bentham is an insightful statement on the validity of inventions. Though these inventions are supposed to be “pretty toys,” the fact that they are “but improved means to an unimproved end” means that they are not something that can be relied on for progress. Instead, what will come out of the inventions is more of an improvement in our living standards but not necessarily progress. This is because it is easier to improve our living standards than it is to bring about true progress in society.

Source: A Week On The Concord And Merrimack Rivers / Walden / The Maine Woods / Cape Cod

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