[Language is] really a pretty amazing invention if you think about it. Here I have a very complicated, messy, confused idea in my head. I'm sitting here making grunting sounds and hopefully constructing a similar messy, confused idea in your head that bears some analogy to it.

Source: "Back to the Future (of 1994)." TED1994. Feb. 1994. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote is from scientist and inventor Danny Hillis' 1994 TED Talk about the acceleration of technology. In this quote, Hillis is marveling at the creation of language, an invention in which abstract, complicated ideas are expressed through various grunting sounds. Following this quote, Hillis goes on to relate human evolution to the evolution of technology. Watch the full TED Talk here: Danny Hillis - Back to the Future (of 1994)

“Back to the Future (of 1994).” TED1994. Feb. 1994. Conference Presentation.