Steve Jobs, "Computers are like a bicycle for our minds." - Michael Lawrence Films

Michael Lawrence
7 HN recommenders · recommended in 6 months, 2008–2025
YouTube
676K views · 20 years ago · interview · historical

A short clip of Steve Jobs in an interview explaining why he thinks computers are like a bicycle for our minds. He draws on a comparison of how efficiently different species travel to argue that tools can greatly amplify human ability.

HN people share it as the source of a favorite metaphor for computers as tools that amplify human thought.

“used it for one of my favourite metaphors: A computer is a bicycle for our minds.”
Design philosophy & principlesTools for thought & programming UX
#stevejobs#bicycleforthemind#toolsforthought#metaphor#interviewclip

19 comments from Hacker News

j
@joshstrange2025 · in “Apples, Trees, and Quasimodes”
> the Bay Area tradition that treated computers not as office appliances but as tools for thought, instruments of liberation Missed a great chance to use the "bicycle for our minds" Steve Jobs quote (one of my favorite since it resonates so clearly with me) ▶ this video
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t
@ttepasse2023 · in “Bicycle”
Back in the 80s Steve Jobs cited this fact in an interview and used it for one of my favourite metaphors: A computer is a bicycle for our minds. ▶ this video
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n
@nntwozz2023 · in “Bicycle”
Immediately made me think of Steve Jobs and this great clip: "Computers are like a bicycle for our minds." ▶ this video
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t
@tim3332015 · in “Apple's New Market”
The Steve Jobs quote mentioned about bicycles for the mind is cool ▶ this video . I know it's old but I hadn't seen it before. The rest of the article is kind of intellectual mush starting from saying "litigated against" in the first sentence when he hasn't and continuing in a similar vein.
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c
@csl2011 · in “Steve Jobs: Computers are like bicycles for our minds”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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j
@jey2010 · in “"Like a bicycle for our minds"”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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h
@henning2008 · in “Video: Steve Jobs on why computers are like bicycles for the mind”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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s
@scrlk2025 · in “LLM-powered tools amplify developer capabilities rather than replacing them”
> The developers who thrive in this new environment won’t be those who fear or resist AI tools, but those who master them—who understand both their extraordinary potential and their very real limitations. They’ll recognise that the goal isn’t to remove humans from the equation but to enhance what humans can accomplish. I feel like LLMs are just the next step on the Jobs analogy of "computers are bicycles for the mind" [0]. And if these tools are powerful bicycles available to everyone, what happens competitively? It reminds me of a Substack post I read recently: > If everyone has AI, then competitively no one has AI, because that means you are what drives the differences. What happens if you and LeBron start juicing? Do you both get as strong? Can you inject your way to Steph’s jumpshot? What’s the differentiator? This answer is inescapable in any contested domain. The unconventionally gifted will always be ascendant, and any device that’s available to everyone manifests in pronounced power laws in their favor. The strong get stronger. The fast get faster. Disproportionately so. [1] [0] ▶ this video [1] link
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m
@mnky9800n2024 · in “Nvidia CEO predicts the death of coding”
This is a really ridiculous take that is created from sound bites. What he's says is not that coding will no longer exist, but that the purpose of computing is not coding but to solve interesting problems. We will only find interesting problems by having deep domain knowledge. Huang only argues the same as Steve Jobs, a computer is a bicycle for the mind: ▶ this video
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0
@0wis2023 · in “Electric bike, stupid love of my life”
Remember that bicycle are the most efficient way to move a human, that’s where the Steve Job’s quote « Computers are bicycles for the mind » comes from [1]. This efficiency never stops to amaze me. And an electric bicycle makes it way more convenient while still being quite efficient. I share the love of electric bikes with the author and I am sure that huge progresses in UX and efficiency are it to come in the field. Would love to work on it one day ! (But hardware is hard…) I am happy to see the subject on HN frontpage. If anyone know any quirky projects on the subject, I would love to know more ! [1] : ▶ this video
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b
@bluefirex2020 · in “Are we losing our ability to remember?”
"[...] it's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds." - Steve Jobs ▶ this video
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m
@mgaw2020 · in “Andean condor can fly for 100 miles without flapping wings”
Here is a recording showing Jobs telling the story: ▶ this video
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