Why We Drive Quotes

“Futurism is a genre of mythmaking that seeks to generate a feeling of inevitability around some desired outcome, a picture that is offered as though it were a prediction.”
― Matthew B. Crawford, Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road

“There was one day in particular, on the road to La Honda from Alice’s Restaurant, when everything came together exquisitely. It was a slalom through the redwoods, dappled sunlight playing on perfect black tarmac as I came hard out of a corner, front wheel lifting off the ground. On this stretch of road, there are several serpentine sections where you can see, in a single take, a series of three corners ahead in their entirety, with nowhere for surprises to hide. These chicanes have a bodily rhythm to them that is sublime, when taken at speed. I have never been a good athlete, and can only admire those who move with natural grace. But on a sport bike on a canyon road, for a brief spell I feel raised up from my God-given mediocrity. By a machine! What a miracle.”
― Matthew B. Crawford, Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road

“Social intelligence is hard to reproduce with machine-executable logic. Therefore, it is concluded, human beings must become more like machines, in order to make the world more hospitable to robots.”
― Matthew B. Crawford, Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road