Excerpt from the “Thinking about thinking” essay by Isaac Asimov

Awhile back, probably no one remembers it, I mentioned that if I ever came across this particular quote that I’d publish it. It was of particular importance to me when I worked hands-on and later when I worked as a manager of hands-on people.

Here it is:

“It seems an unavoidable conclusion to me that our notions of intelligence are a direct inheritance from the days of ancient Greece, when the mechanical arts were despised as fit for only artisans and slaves, while only the”liberal” arts (from the Latin word for free men) were respectable, because they had no practical purpose and were therefore fit for free men.” –Isaac Asimov