---
author: "Robert Pearce"
authorTwitter: "@RobertWPearce"
desc: "People are amazing, so let's not let our over-machined society cause us to treat them like machines."
keywords: "people are not cogs, people are not machines, life lessons"
title: "People are so much more than cogs"
updated: "2023-07-21T16:14:00Z"
---

I'm re-reading the _Dune_ series for the nth time, and this time, I'm doing it
with a group via the excellent [Gom Jabbar
podcast](https://www.loreparty.com/show/gom-jabbar/). There are some seriously
problematic themes in <i>God Emperor of Dune</i>, but the quote below has stuck with me
for weeks and has illuminated life for me in a way I haven't experienced in
years.

<figure>
  <blockquote>
    "I point out to you […] a lesson learned from past over-machined societies
    which you appear not to have learned. The devices themselves condition the
    users to employ each other the way they employ machines."
  </blockquote>
  <figcaption>
    — Leto II, <cite>God Emperor of Dune</cite>
  </figcaption>
</figure>

This quote helped me wrap my head around ways we might inadvertantly dehumanize
one another by assigning those around us rigid roles in the context of our daily
lives and businesses. Like removing extra dough around a cookie cutter baking
shape, we may discard from others that wealth of life and creativity that makes
us human, leaving behind only the shapes we expect to see, and this limits and
devalues ourselves and everyone around us.

Machines are everywhere and, depending on where you live, are involved in nearly
everything we do. We give them commands, and they do something. When a part is
broken, we replace that part. When they no longer suit our needs or are broken
enough, we discard them. If we are exposed to this thinking every day for most
of our lives, how does that affect how we treat and interact with people around
us? Through force of habit, do we unintentionally treat others similarly to how
we treat machines? Have we always done this, but our current technology makes
this more ingrained since it is all-engrossing and demands our constant
attention?

The next time you find yourself about to eliminate someone's "role" at work and
lay them off, ignore someone bagging your groceries, grow impatient with your
music teacher's stories, or disregard someone's ideas because of their station,
try to stop and remember that the person before you is a vibrant, autonomous,
wonderful being that brings their entire lifetime of valuable experiences before
you and exists far outside the box you and/or society put them in.
