But when you are embodied in a location, in a physical plant, in a set of people, and in a common history, that constrains your evolution and your ability to evolve in certain directions.

Quote by Kevin Kelly

Topics: Kevin Kelly Quotes

Each system is trying to anticipate change in the environment.

Each system is trying to anticipate change in the environment.

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...

One of the functions of an organization, of any organism, is to anticipate the future,...

One of the functions of an organization, of any organism, is to anticipate the future,...

It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.

It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.

It's more along the lines of raising a child: we train the system to a...

It's more along the lines of raising a child: we train the system to a...

Complexity that works is built up out of modules that work perfectly, layered one over...

Complexity that works is built up out of modules that work perfectly, layered one over...

Everything that we are making, we are making more and more complex.

Everything that we are making, we are making more and more complex.

It has become evident that the primary lesson of the study of evolution is that...

It has become evident that the primary lesson of the study of evolution is that...

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...

Species go extinct because there are historical contraints built into a given body or a...

Species go extinct because there are historical contraints built into a given body or a...

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...

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...

The most certain thing you can say about the environment tomorrow is that it probably...

The most certain thing you can say about the environment tomorrow is that it probably...

All imaginable futures are not equally possible.

All imaginable futures are not equally possible.

Managers tend to treat organizations as if they are infinitely plastic. They hire and fire,...

Managers tend to treat organizations as if they are infinitely plastic. They hire and fire,...

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

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

Technological advances could allow us to see more clearly into our own lives.

Technological advances could allow us to see more clearly into our own lives.

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...

An organization is a set of relationships that are persistent over time.

An organization is a set of relationships that are persistent over time.

Managing bottom-up change is its own art.

Managing bottom-up change is its own art.