Mary Lou Jepsen Quotes

Powerful Mary Lou Jepsen for Daily Growth

About Mary Lou Jepsen

Mary Lou Jepsen is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and technological visionary, recognized for her groundbreaking work in the field of holographic and display technologies. Born on March 14, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois, she was raised by two professors at the University of Chicago, cultivating a love for science from an early age. Jepsen earned her Bachelor's degree in Physics from Brown University in 1987 and went on to complete her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1991. Her thesis focused on holographic data storage, a topic she had become fascinated with during her time at IBM's Almaden Research Center. In the early 1990s, Jepsen joined the Media Lab at MIT where she developed a pioneering holographic eyeglass display that could project 3D images directly onto a user's retina. In 2002, she co-founded MicroDisplay Inc., a company focused on creating miniature high-resolution displays for mobile devices and military applications. In 2004, Jepsen left MicroDisplay to found the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project at MIT Media Lab. The aim of OLPC was to design and manufacture low-cost, robust laptops for children in developing countries. Despite challenges and criticism, the project resulted in the development of the XO laptop, which has been distributed worldwide to millions of students. Leaving OLPC in 2010, Jepsen co-founded the display technology company, Iridium Technologies, which aimed to create ultra-thin, lightweight displays for mobile devices. In 2014, she joined Google[x] and worked on several secret projects before founding Open Water Commune in 2017, a venture that aims to make virtual reality accessible and affordable to the masses. Throughout her career, Mary Lou Jepsen's work has been driven by a commitment to using technology for social good and a passion for pushing the boundaries of what is possible in display technology. Her inventions and innovations continue to shape the future of digital displays and virtual reality.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The world is an emulsion; light and dark, seen and unseen, always mixed together."

This quote by Mary Lou Jepsen suggests that the universe is a blend of contrasting elements, such as light and dark, visible and invisible, constantly intertwined. It encourages us to recognize the inherent duality in our world and appreciate the coexistence of opposites, recognizing that understanding one often requires acknowledging the other.


"The universe is not a machine, it's an organism, and we are part of it."

This quote emphasizes that the universe is not a collection of mechanical parts but rather a living entity with which we are interconnected. It suggests that instead of viewing the universe as something separate and predictable, we should see it as a complex, adaptive organism in which our actions have an impact. This perspective encourages a more symbiotic relationship between humanity and the cosmos, emphasizing the importance of understanding and respecting our place within the larger whole.


"Everything is connected to everything else. The whole universe is one big web."

This quote by Mary Lou Jepsen emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. It suggests that every element, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, is intrinsically linked within a vast, complex network. This perspective underscores the idea that our actions, decisions, and choices can have far-reaching effects, as they ripple through this interconnected web of existence. The universe, in its entirety, is one cohesive whole where everything influences everything else, reminding us of the importance of understanding and respecting our relationships with all aspects of life.


"We need to think differently about what 'communication' means."

This quote suggests that we should reconsider our traditional understanding of communication, implying a need for innovative approaches to how we exchange information and ideas. In today's rapidly evolving digital age, it may be essential to move beyond text, voice, and video to encompass new forms of expression, incorporating emerging technologies, non-verbal cues, and emotional intelligence in our communication methods. This forward-thinking perspective could lead to more effective, inclusive, and meaningful interactions among people and machines.


"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

This quote suggests that instead of trying to forecast or guess what the future will bring, it's more productive to actively shape and build the future we want. In essence, the quote encourages proactivity and innovation - if we have a vision for a better tomorrow, we should work towards creating it today. It emphasizes that we have the power to make changes and influence our own destiny by taking action in the present moment.


There's no more silicon in Silicon Valley. It's all iPhone apps.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

More, Valley, Silicon Valley, Silicon

Our brains are way, way more complex than any computer we know how to make. They're way more creative. The input's pretty good, but the output is constrained by our tongues and jaws moving and us typing.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Good, Output, Our, Jaws

If we could communicate at the speed of thought, we can augment our creativity with the low-level stuff that AI and robots and 3-D printers and fab labs and all that do.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Communicate, Could, Printers, AI

Elon Musk is talking about silicon nanoparticles pulsing through our veins to make us sort of semi-cyborg computers. But why not take a noninvasive approach? I've been working and trying to think and invent a way to do this for a number of years and finally happened upon it and left Facebook to do it.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Through, Been, About, Why Not

My central thesis is that combining increased temporal and spatial resolution in MRI techniques with increasingly powerful data correlation techniques will allow the derivation of interpreted meanings from neural signals. I observed, further, that the techniques that exist already allow some correlations.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Some, Allow, Increasingly, Observed

These days, the manufacturing is controlled by a small number of countries, primarily Taiwan and South Korea.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Small, Number, Controlled, Manufacturing

Philiosophers like Hume and Descartes and Hobbes saw things similarly. They thought that mental images and ideas were actually the same thing. There are those today that dispute that, and lots of debates about how the mind works, but for me it's simple: Mental images, for most of us, are central in inventive and creative thinking.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Thought, Same Thing, Works, Debates

I never stopped dreaming of how to create a wearable to communicate with our thoughts, how to do this at consumer electronics pricing.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Thoughts, Dreaming, Stopped, Consumer

I feel in love with holography, which is that you don't have to wear anything or carry anything. It is augmented reality, if you will.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Love, Will, Which, Augmented

In my early 30s, for a few months, I altered my body chemistry and hormones so that I was closer to a man in his early 20s. I was blown away by how dramatically my thoughts changed.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Thoughts, Chemistry, Months, Dramatically

One of the technology lessons was to work inside the cost envelope of the developing world to lower costs overall. What's even more important and useful is dramatically lowering power consumption. Everyone wants batteries that can last 10 times longer.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Inside, Developing, Times, Dramatically

It's exciting to be able to be part of the block and tackle of building a company from a smaller base.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Able, Exciting, Smaller, Base

All devices should just sip power and be charged like a calculator is, with a small solar cell. No power adaptors. It's easy to put a solar cell into a device, but it's not powerful enough to drive today's cell phones or laptops. They need too much power to run.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Small, Solar, Cell Phones, Device

I designed a system to project video on the moon for all of humanity to see. I did this sort of as therapy as I was doing my Ph.D. in device physics.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Project, Doing, Therapy, Device

The future of reading is screens. Books are toast.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Future, Toast, Books, Screens

You can get really great reflective screens that rival e-paper at really amazing price points and with fantastic ultra-low-power capabilities.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Great, Capabilities, Really, Screens

Screens can work wirelessly and run on the amount of power supplied from a small solar panel and room light.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Small, Amount, Supplied, Screens

The future of screens isn't about the iPad. It's much, much bigger.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Future, Bigger, About, Screens

More of us may be affected by variant hormone levels than we realize.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

More, May, Than, Levels

I took on the math-intensive art form of holography and, in my early 20s, traveled the world, living on university fellowships to pursue this esoteric craft. I didn't date much, really - perhaps because I didn't have many hormones, though I didn't know that at the time.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Date, University, Hormones, Traveled

I worked as an artist, played in a band, met Andy Warhol, Christo, Lou Reed, and David Byrne. I had fun.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Artist, Warhol, Reed, None

I started a company called Pixel Qi and the principal of as we're going, smartphones were happening, but as we go forward, the predictions were five devices per person. Do you want to charge each one of those every night to try to get them on a full charge when you're walking around? Smartphones don't even last a day without a recharge now.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Without, Around, Each One, Every Night

I have decided to leave Facebook and Oculus to work on curing diseases using some new imaging technologies I've been incubating for awhile.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

New, Some, Using, Curing

As the OLPC laptop was getting ready to go into mass production in 2007, many executives approached me wanting the screen that I invented, and the laptop architecture that I co-invented, for their new laptops, cell phones, and other devices.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Other, Production, Wanting, Invented

I left Google X. All the senior women have left Google X. I was the last to make it - I was, to be fair, the last there. Megan Smith left, Claire Hughes Johnson, vice presidents at Google left.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Last, Vice, Smith, Claire

After my neurosurgery, part of my brain was missing, and I had to deal with that. It wasn't the grey matter, but it was the gooey part dead center that makes key hormones and neurotransmitters.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Deal, Part, Hormones, Missing

Could you imagine if we could leapfrog language and communicate directly with human thought? What would we be capable of then? And how will we learn to deal with the truths of unfiltered human thought? You think the Internet was big. These are huge questions.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Big, Communicate, Deal, Directly

For the devices we use... the funding models are completely screwed up. Angel funding isn't sufficient for hardware.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Screwed, Funding, Models, Sufficient

I didn't want to be an electrical engineer. But I did want to go to college. And they said they'd help me pay for it if I'd major in electrical engineering.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

College, Want, Go, Electrical

My system uses the speed of components in cameras and cell phones to get four inches of depth through the brain.

- Mary Lou Jepsen

Through, Phones, Components, Uses

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.