--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To keep every cog and wheel is the first…" description: "\"To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.\" — Aldo Leopold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/aldo-leopold-1278_intelligent_to-keep-every-cog-and-wheel-is-the-first_2581089.png" --- # To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of… ![“To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” quote by Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/aldo-leopold-1278_intelligent_to-keep-every-cog-and-wheel-is-the-first_2581089.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/aldo-leopold-1278_intelligent_to-keep-every-cog-and-wheel-is-the-first_2581089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/aldo-leopold-1278_intelligent_to-keep-every-cog-and-wheel-is-the-first_2581089.png) > “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preserving every component of a system is essential for intelligent, sustainable tinkering and ecological balance. **In simple terms:** Maintain all parts of a system. Key Takeaway Value every element in design. Themes sustainability systems thinking ecology Mood analytical concerned Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - engineering projects - urban planning - conservation - product development Key Concepts holistic design environmental ethics Questions to Reflect On - Which parts are truly essential? - How can we balance preservation with progress? A Different Perspective May limit innovation by preserving everything. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Precaution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precaution/) [Tinkering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tinkering/) ## Related quotes > [The first law of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-first-law-of-intelligent-tinkering-is-to-save-all-the-parts/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/the-first-rule-of-intelligent-tinkering-is-to-save-all-the-parts/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, "What good is it?" If the land mechanism as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-last-word-in-ignorance-is-the-man-who-says-of-an-animal-or-plant-2/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [If the land mechanism as a whole is good then every part is good, whether we understand it or not...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/if-the-land-mechanism-as-a-whole-is-good-then-every-part-is-good/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [“In our age where the average person is a cog wheel who gets pushed in the subways, elevators, department stores, cafeterias, lives in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ingrassia/in-our-age-where-the-average-person-is-a-cog-wheel-who-gets-pushed-in/) Paul Ingrassia > [“Violence begets violence, and if I want to be a cog in that wheel, I have to accept when it stops on me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-mcginnis/violence-begets-violence-and-if-i-want-to-be-a-cog-in-that-wheel-i/) [Mindy McGinnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-mcginnis/) > [In picture-making the writer is the most important cog in the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/in-picture-making-the-writer-is-the-most-important-cog-in-the-wheel/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [At the end of the day, an actor is only a cog in the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randeep-hooda/at-the-end-of-the-day-an-actor-is-only-a-cog-in-the-wheel/) [Randeep Hooda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randeep-hooda/) > [It stems from my Australianisms and belief that everyone is a fundamental cog in the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-holmes-a-court/it-stems-from-my-australianisms-and-belief-that-everyone-is-a/) [Janet Holmes a Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-holmes-a-court/) > [I like being a cog in a wheel. 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I'm a cog in the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/what-the-heck-is-a-king-i-m-a-cog-in-the-wheel/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [The less you know, the more you fall into place, a cog in the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kansas/the-less-you-know-the-more-you-fall-into-place-a-cog-in-the-wheel/) [Kansas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kansas/) > [You can go as far back as fifth grade, and you will find me tinkering with media and computers, making things that are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/you-can-go-as-far-back-as-fifth-grade-and-you-will-find-me-tinkering/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [I was always tinkering around with stuff but nothing serious at the time. I was doing animations and drawing like crazy, but I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-vangaalen/i-was-always-tinkering-around-with-stuff-but-nothing-serious-at-the/) Chad VanGaalen ## More by Aldo Leopold > [The worthiness of any cause is not measured by its clean record, but by its readiness to see the blots when they are pointed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-worthiness-of-any-cause-is-not-measured-by-its-clean-record-but/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Is it possible to preserve the element of Unknown Places in our national life? Is it practicable to do so, without undue loss in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/is-it-possible-to-preserve-the-element-of-unknown-places-in-our/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Teach the student to see the land, understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/teach-the-student-to-see-the-land-understand-what-he-sees-and-enjoy/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Wildflower corners are easy to maintain, but once gone, they are hard to rebuild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/wildflower-corners-are-easy-to-maintain-but-once-gone-they-are-hard/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [In our attempt to make conservation easy, we have made it trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/in-our-attempt-to-make-conservation-easy-we-have-made-it-trivial/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [He who searches for spring with his knees in the mud finds it, in abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/he-who-searches-for-spring-with-his-knees-in-the-mud-finds-it-in/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Nonconformity is the highest evolutionary attainment of social animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/nonconformity-is-the-highest-evolutionary-attainment-of-social-animals/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [If education really educates, there will, in time, be more and more citizens who understand that relics of the old West add meaning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/if-education-really-educates-there-will-in-time-be-more-and-more/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [This song of the waters is audible to every ear, but there is other music in these hills, by no means audible to all……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/this-song-of-the-waters-is-audible-to-every-ear-but-there-is-other/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [To those who know the speech of hills and rivers straightening a stream is like shipping vagrants—a very successful method of passing trouble from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/to-those-who-know-the-speech-of-hills-and-rivers-straightening-a/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Wilderness is a resource which can shrink but not grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/wilderness-is-a-resource-which-can-shrink-but-not-grow/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [We shall never achieve harmony with land, any more than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/we-shall-never-achieve-harmony-with-land-any-more-than-we-shall/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Wilderness is the very stuff America is made of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/wilderness-is-the-very-stuff-america-is-made-of/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [The landscape of any farm is the owner's portrait of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-landscape-of-any-farm-is-the-owner-s-portrait-of-himself/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [If we lose our wilderness, we have nothing left, in my opinion, worth fighting for; or to be more exact, a completely industrialized United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/if-we-lose-our-wilderness-we-have-nothing-left-in-my-opinion-worth/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) [Explore all 254 Aldo Leopold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) ## More Intelligent quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) 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