And they discovered something very interesting: when it comes to walking, most of the ant's thinking and decision-making is not in its brain at all. It's distributed. It's in its legs.

Quote by Kevin Kelly

Topics: Kevin Kelly Quotes

Organisms by their design are not made to adapt too far.

Organisms by their design are not made to adapt too far.

Basins of attraction, of self organization, show up as well in our complex social environment,...

Basins of attraction, of self organization, show up as well in our complex social environment,...

A brain is a society of very small, simple modules that cannot be said to...

A brain is a society of very small, simple modules that cannot be said to...

Managing bottom-up change is its own art.

Managing bottom-up change is its own art.

But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread that it just routes around...

But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread that it just routes around...

The system continually has to make this choice: it can either continue to exploit a...

The system continually has to make this choice: it can either continue to exploit a...

The nature of an innovation is that it will arise at a fringe where it...

The nature of an innovation is that it will arise at a fringe where it...

When a system is in turbulence, the turbulence is not just out there in the...

When a system is in turbulence, the turbulence is not just out there in the...

The great advance of personal computers was not the computing power per se but the...

The great advance of personal computers was not the computing power per se but the...

An organization's reason for being, like that of any organism, is to help the parts...

An organization's reason for being, like that of any organism, is to help the parts...

But when you are embodied in a location, in a physical plant, in a set...

But when you are embodied in a location, in a physical plant, in a set...

Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.

Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.

Each system is trying to anticipate change in the environment.

Each system is trying to anticipate change in the environment.

But in fact, when you try to model that on a computer you find that...

But in fact, when you try to model that on a computer you find that...

The current understanding was that it was impossible to predict how something would evolve because...

The current understanding was that it was impossible to predict how something would evolve because...

An organization's intelligence is distributed to the point of being ubiquitous.

An organization's intelligence is distributed to the point of being ubiquitous.

Organizations get invested into a particular product. And sometimes the best thing is to stop...

Organizations get invested into a particular product. And sometimes the best thing is to stop...

We are infected by our own misunderstanding of how our own minds work.

We are infected by our own misunderstanding of how our own minds work.

This is actually a very important principle that science is learning about large systems like...

This is actually a very important principle that science is learning about large systems like...

The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very...

The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very...