Steve Jobs recalls reading a Scientific American article about the efficiency of locomotion across species. He highlights that while humans ranked lower in efficiency, a human riding a bicycle surpassed even the top-ranked condor. This realization impressed upon him that humans are exceptional tool builders. He equates computers to 'bicycles of the mind,' amplifying human abilities significantly. Jobs believes we are at the beginning of this technological journey, with enormous changes already seen and more to come in the next century.