Einstein Quote About Technology Making a Generation of Idiots

I wanted to overview a meme I see online all the time. It is of Albert Einstein quoting, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” I first wanted to look at two aspects of this.

First, the fact that Einstein said these words is eRumor, and then I want to overview the quote.

The Truth:

I couldn’t find any record of Einstein saying that technology would lead to a generation of idiots. This quote has been circulating the Internet for years, but and original source for it has never been identified, and there’s no record of Einstein having said despite Einstein’s quotes being archived in multiple searchable databases.

Some have noted that the quote is suspiciously close to a fictional Einstein quote that appeared in the 1995 movie “Powder.” The movie, written and directed by Victor Salva, is about an albino boy named Powder who has the ability to sense the thoughts of those around him. In the scene in question, Donald Ripley (played by Jeff Goldblum,” compares Powder to a fictional Einstein quote:

People think if something is posted on the Internet, then it must be true. It was sort of like that when I was a kid, yet all online back then was information like a huge encyclopedia. Now, people post random things every day, it’s life. Also, I do not believe it is technology causing these people to make these bad choices. For example, Pokomon Go was a fad that went wild, and my kids love to ask if people had on their phones. A lot of people got hurt while playing this app. This was from walking into trees, into traffic, and even off cliffs, just because they were focused on their phone or ipad. Yet, just the other day, a person in the St. Louis area was reading a book and blindly walk into the street. Luckily, her friend push her out of the way of a car. Literature has been around for thousands of years. It was not the book that may her walk into the street recklessly.

So, it’s not the technology, yet the focus of each individual person.  I personally use technology all the time, but my human interaction is more than before. I still socialize physically yet much online with others whom are on the other side of the world on platforms like beBee. But, I also know there are others who use these same platforms in a "zombie" manner. They have no interaction. Yes, they like, share, and comment. This is not for a relationship, yet for instant gratification of seeing others responding to what they just posted. Then their "high" is gone. This is the group I believe the quote above is describing. It describes those whom create an artificial relationship to replace real ones using technology.

I know Einstein didn't say it, but leave your comment below!