--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every living thing is an elaboration of a…" description: "\"Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original plan. As humans we are mere increments - each of us a musty archive of adjustments, adaptatio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/bill-bryson-340_adaptation_every-living-thing-is-an-elaboration-of_2872533.jpg" --- # Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original… ![“Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original plan. As humans we are mere increments - each of us a musty archive of adjustments, adaptations, modifications and providential tinkerings stretching back to 3,8 billion years. Remarkably we are even quite closely related to fruit and…” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/bill-bryson-340_adaptation_every-living-thing-is-an-elaboration-of_2872533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/bill-bryson-340_adaptation_every-living-thing-is-an-elaboration-of_2872533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/bill-bryson-340_adaptation_every-living-thing-is-an-elaboration-of_2872533.jpg) > “Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original plan. As humans we are mere increments - each of us a musty archive of adjustments, adaptations, modifications and providential tinkerings stretching back to 3,8 billion years. Remarkably we are even quite closely related to fruit and vegetables. About half the chemical functions that take place in a banana are fundamentally the same as the chemical functions that place in you. It cannot be said too often: all life is one. That is, and I suspect will ever prove to be, the most profound true statement there is.” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All life shares a common origin; humans are tiny modifications of a vast evolutionary experiment. **In simple terms:** All life is connected, sharing a common plan. Key Takeaway Recognize our shared biological heritage. Themes science connectedness humility Mood wonder humble Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - education - environmental policy - personal health Key Concepts evolution common ancestry Questions to Reflect On - How does this perspective affect your view of other species? - What responsibilities arise from our shared biology? A Different Perspective Complex scientific details can overwhelm lay audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adaptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) [Archives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archives/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Fruits and vegetables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruits-and-vegetables/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Stretching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stretching/) [Tinkering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tinkering/) ## Related quotes > [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 > [Tinkering is a way of understanding difficult problems, of wrapping our heads around them and quantifying the unknowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gever-tulley/tinkering-is-a-way-of-understanding-difficult-problems-of-wrapping/) [Gever Tulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gever-tulley/) > [Mastery in poetry consists largely in the instinct for not ruining or smothering or tinkering with moments of vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-blunden/mastery-in-poetry-consists-largely-in-the-instinct-for-not-ruining-or/) [Edmund Blunden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-blunden/) > [Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-problems-are-both-acute-and-chronic-yet-all-we-hear-from-those-in/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [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/) > [“he connected the mechanism for the clock to a mechanical ballerina,and the toy danced uninterruptedly to the rhythm of her own music for three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-connected-the-mechanism-for-the-clock-to-a-mechanical-ballerina/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [At this young age I am already sold on the idea of the dog. One of God's absolutely greatest inventions and one that needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-springfield/at-this-young-age-i-am-already-sold-on-the-idea-of-the-dog-one-of-god/) [Rick Springfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-springfield/) > [Tinkering is something we need to know how to do in order to keep something like the space station running. 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The challenge for Conservatives is how to not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/i-think-the-federal-liberals-micro-tinkering-is-not-causing-any-kind/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) > [We cannot restore traditional American freedom unless we limit the government's power to tax. No tinkering with this, that, or the other law will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-chodorov/we-cannot-restore-traditional-american-freedom-unless-we-limit-the/) [Frank Chodorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-chodorov/) > [Let us face reality. The framers (of the Constitution) have simply been too shrewd for us. They have outwitted us. They designed separate institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/let-us-face-reality-the-framers-of-the-constitution-have-simply-been/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [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/) > [“Like most visionary utopias, though. IDN (Integrated Data Network) was never to be. Perhaps it was simply too ambitious a project: infrastructures seldom respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-pardo-guerra/like-most-visionary-utopias-though-idn-integrated-data-network-was/) Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. 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For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. 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The fittest are those endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-the-ageless-law-of-nature-but-the/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-facts-of-variability-of-the-struggle-for-existence-of-adaptation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. 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In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/working-on-an-adaptation-is-not-as-satisfying-because-it-s-not-your/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) [Browse all 476 Adaptation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original plan. As humans we are mere increments - each of us a musty archive of adjustments, adaptations, modifications and providential tinkerings stretching back to 3,8 billion years. Remarkably we are even quite closely related to fruit and vegetables. About half the chemical functions that take place in a banana are fundamentally the same as the chemical functions that place in you. It cannot be said too often: all life is one. 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