--- title: "4 Cell phone Quotes By Geoffrey West" description: "4 Cell phone quotes by Geoffrey West. Plus more from Geoffrey West and more Cell phone sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/geoffrey-west-7474_cell-phone_the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-re_353848.jpg" --- > [“The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new widgets and gadgets, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-relies-on-people-continually/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/geoffrey-west-7474_cell-phone_the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-re_353848.jpg) > [“Furthermore, it is not at all clear that the “official” organizational charts of companies represents the actuality of what the real operational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/furthermore-it-is-not-at-all-clear-that-the-official-organizational/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/geoffrey-west-7474_business_furthermore-it-is-not-at-all-clear-that_974065.jpg) > [“With the invention of the city and its powerful combination of economies of scale coupled to innovation and wealth creation came the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/with-the-invention-of-the-city-and-its-powerful-combination-of/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/geoffrey-west-7474_cell-phone_with-the-invention-of-the-city-and-its-p_1223627.jpg) > [“None of these systems, whether “natural” or man-made, can operate without a continuous supply of energy and resources that have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/none-of-these-systems-whether-natural-or-man-made-can-operate-without/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/geoffrey-west-7474_biology_none-of-these-systems-whether-natural-or_2673642.jpg) ## Other authors on Cell phone - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-martin-cooper-64681.jpg) Martin Cooper 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/martin-cooper/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-maggie-stiefvater-62633.jpg) Maggie Stiefvater 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/maggie-stiefvater/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b014/author-julie-james-54346.jpg) Julie James 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/julie-james/) - [Steven Magee 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/steven-magee/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-andrew-strauss-13078.jpg) Alex Low 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/alex-low/) - [Jarod Kintz 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/jarod-kintz/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-j-t-ellison-1281.jpg) J.T. Ellison 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/j-t-ellison/) ## More by Geoffrey West > [I spent most of my career doing high-energy physics, quarks, dark matter, string theory and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/i-spent-most-of-my-career-doing-high-energy-physics-quarks-dark/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [Your cells are not working as hard as your dog's but harder than your horse's. The bigger the animal, the less energy needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/your-cells-are-not-working-as-hard-as-your-dog-s-but-harder-than-your/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“While exponential growth is a remarkable manifestation of our extraordinary accomplishments as a species, built into it are the potential seeds of our demise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/while-exponential-growth-is-a-remarkable-manifestation-of-our/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [One of the remarkable things about slums is that they do develop their own social organization and economy and even culture that is, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/one-of-the-remarkable-things-about-slums-is-that-they-do-develop/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new widgets and gadgets, new clothes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-relies-on-people-continually/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“Cities are sustained by similar network systems such as roads, railways, and electrical lines that transport people, energy, and resources and whose flow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/cities-are-sustained-by-similar-network-systems-such-as-roads/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [When you look at a city, you know, it looks so unique. You feel this kind of uniqueness, you know, and especially if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/when-you-look-at-a-city-you-know-it-looks-so-unique-you-feel-this/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“It’s extremely difficult to kill a city! On”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/it-s-extremely-difficult-to-kill-a-city-on/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“Perhaps, then, the most surprising consequence of a visionary Theory of Everything is that it implies that on the grand scale the universe, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/perhaps-then-the-most-surprising-consequence-of-a-visionary-theory-of/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“It is all too often forgotten that the whole point of a city is to bring people together, to facilitate interaction, and thereby to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/it-is-all-too-often-forgotten-that-the-whole-point-of-a-city-is-to/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“The integration of these two kinds of networks, namely, the requirement that socioeconomic interaction represented by space-filling fractal-like social networks must be anchored to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-integration-of-these-two-kinds-of-networks-namely-the-requirement/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“So why do almost all cities remain viable, whereas the vast majority of companies and organisms die?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/so-why-do-almost-all-cities-remain-viable-whereas-the-vast-majority/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“The existence of these remarkable regularities strongly suggests that there is a common conceptual framework underlying all of these very different highly complex phenomena…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-existence-of-these-remarkable-regularities-strongly-suggests-that/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“Unfortunately, however, there is another serious catch. Theory dictates that such discoveries must occur at an increasingly accelerating pace; the time between successive innovations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/unfortunately-however-there-is-another-serious-catch-theory-dictates/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [Exciting cities stay exciting, and boring cities stay boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/exciting-cities-stay-exciting-and-boring-cities-stay-boring/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/geoffrey-west/#itemlist", "name": "4 Cell phone Quotes By Geoffrey West", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new widgets and gadgets, new clothes and new washing machines, new thrills, new entertainment, and pretty much new everything, even when they already have enough of “everything.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Geoffrey West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-relies-on-people-continually/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/geoffrey-west-7474_cell-phone_the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-re_353848.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/geoffrey-west-7474_cell-phone_the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-re_353848.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/geoffrey-west-7474_cell-phone_the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-re_353848.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new…” — Geoffrey West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Furthermore, it is not at all clear that the “official” organizational charts of companies represents the actuality of what the real operational network structures are. Who is really communicating with whom, how often are they doing it, how much do they exchange, and so on? What is really needed is access to all of the company’s communication channels, such as the phone calls, the e-mails, the meetings, et cetera, quantified analogously to the cell phone data we used for helping to develop a science of cities.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Geoffrey West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/furthermore-it-is-not-at-all-clear-that-the-official-organizational/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/geoffrey-west-7474_business_furthermore-it-is-not-at-all-clear-that_974065.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/geoffrey-west-7474_business_furthermore-it-is-not-at-all-clear-that_974065.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/geoffrey-west-7474_business_furthermore-it-is-not-at-all-clear-that_974065.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Furthermore, it is not at all clear that the “official” organizational charts of companies represents the…” — Geoffrey West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With the invention of the city and its powerful combination of economies of scale coupled to innovation and wealth creation came the great divisions of society. Our present social network structures barely existed in their present form until urban communities evolved. Hunter-gatherers were significantly less hierarchical, more egalitarian and community oriented than we are. The struggle and tension between unbridled individual self-enhancement and the care and concern for the less fortunate has been a major thread running throughout human history, especially over the past two hundred years. Nevertheless, it seems that without the motive of self-interest our entrepreneurial free market economy would collapse. The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new widgets and gadgets, new clothes and new washing machines, new thrills, new entertainment, and pretty much new everything, even when they already have enough of “everything.” It may not be a pretty picture and it doesn’t work for everyone, but so far, it’s worked remarkably well for most of us, and apparently most of us seem to want it to continue. 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Depending on the sophistication of the system, these outputs of useful energy are allocated between doing physical work and fueling maintenance, growth, and reproduction. As social human beings and in marked contrast to all other creatures, the major portion of our metabolic energy has been devoted to forming communities and institutions such as cities, villages, companies, and collectives, to the manufacture of an extraordinary array of artifacts, and to the creation of an astonishing litany of ideas ranging from airplanes, cell phones, and cathedrals to symphonies, mathematics, and literature, and much, much more. However, it’s not often appreciated that without a continuous supply of energy and resources, not only can there be no manufacturing of any of these things but, perhaps more important, there can be no ideas, no innovation, no growth, and no evolution. Energy is primary. It underlies everything that we do and everything that happens around us. 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