Freud had some great observations about how the technology of his day (wired telephones and railroads) were affecting his world. This quote summarizes his feelings:

“If there had been no railway to conquer distance, my child would never have left town and I should need no telephone to hear his voice.”

I love how Freud encapsulates one of today’s most fascinating phenomena: we create technology to help solve problems created by technology. This seems to beautifully capture the human condition.

(Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. New York: W. W. Norton, 1961, p. 38.)