"Indeed, as the above calculation indicates, to take full advantage of the memory space available, the ultimate laptop must turn all its matter into energy"
About this Quote
The subtext is a corrective to Silicon Valley intuition. We talk about progress as if it’s just cleverness plus miniaturization. Lloyd, a quantum information theorist, reminds you that the ceiling isn’t set by imagination; it’s set by the Bekenstein bound, Landauer’s principle, and the uncomfortable fact that computation is physical. "As the above calculation indicates" matters because it claims the authority of derivation over hype. The sentence performs what it argues: a tidy, rational chain that lands somewhere absurd.
Contextually, this comes out of the early-2000s moment when quantum computing and information theory were remapping physics into something like a theory of limits. Lloyd isn't advocating a doomsday laptop; he’s using a deliberately over-literal "ultimate" to expose how consumer metaphors break under fundamental laws. The punchline is that maximal memory isn’t a gadget; it’s a boundary condition of the cosmos.
Quote Details
| Topic | Science |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lloyd, Seth. (2026, January 16). Indeed, as the above calculation indicates, to take full advantage of the memory space available, the ultimate laptop must turn all its matter into energy. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/indeed-as-the-above-calculation-indicates-to-take-102953/
Chicago Style
Lloyd, Seth. "Indeed, as the above calculation indicates, to take full advantage of the memory space available, the ultimate laptop must turn all its matter into energy." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/indeed-as-the-above-calculation-indicates-to-take-102953/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Indeed, as the above calculation indicates, to take full advantage of the memory space available, the ultimate laptop must turn all its matter into energy." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/indeed-as-the-above-calculation-indicates-to-take-102953/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.


