The only thing that was in my mind when we made that first phone call was, 'Is it going to work?' We had all these parts hand soldered together, engineers standing by with the soldering iron - just in case.
Martin CooperRead
Yes, I was the one people credit with inventing the cell phone. Now, whenever anyone gets a dropped call, they blame me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Martin Cooper humorously reflects on the responsibility and criticism that come with innovation.
In this quote, Martin Cooper, who is heralded as one of the inventors of the cell phone, uses humor to illustrate the paradox of invention. While he is celebrated for this groundbreaking achievement, he also faces the irony of being blamed for the shortcomings that arise from the technology, such as dropped calls, pointing out the often unreasonable expectations placed on inventors and innovators.
Themes
Cell PhoneInnovationResponsibilityHumorTechnology
In practice
Example use cases
During a tech conference discussing the impact of mobile technology.
More from Martin Cooper
All quotes βPeople are mobile. They move around, and anytime they want to communicate, if you tie them to the wall or the wires, you're restricting them, you're infringing on their freedom.
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As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call. Remember that in 1973, there weren't cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter - probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life.
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When you are doing one thing - talking on your phone, texting, whatever - you are automatically not doing something else. What is the greatest scarcity in the world today? It's not oil. It's time. Time is precious. Don't throw it away.
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Somehow in the last 100 years, every time there is a problem of getting more spectrum, there is a technology that comes along that solves that problem.
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It pleases me no end to have had some small impact on people's lives because these phones do make people's lives better. They promote productivity, they make people more comfortable, they make them feel safe and all of those things.
Martin CooperRead
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