--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're dealing with an assembly of…" description: "\"If you're dealing with an assembly of biological systems, you can bring the things together, but you can't connect them.\" — Bill Mollison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png" --- # If you're dealing with an assembly of biological systems… ![“If you're dealing with an assembly of biological systems, you can bring the things together, but you can't connect them.” quote by Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png) > “If you're dealing with an assembly of biological systems, you can bring the things together, but you can't connect them.” [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biological components can be assembled but their integration is limited by inherent complexity. **In simple terms:** Systems can be built but not fully connected. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of integration in complex systems. Themes complexity systems integration Mood analytical cautious Type technical philosophical When to use this quote - urban planning - agriculture - software architecture - team projects Key Concepts ecology design theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve system integration? - What are the hidden connections? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on assembly may ignore emergent behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [My background is putting in large systems that change lives... 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-e-johnson/) > [“Hierarchical organization in biological systems thus is characterized by an exquisite array of delicately and intricately interlocked order, steadily increasing in level and complexity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-grobstein/hierarchical-organization-in-biological-systems-thus-is-characterized/) Clifford Grobstein > [“Thanks to our growing understanding of human biology, medicine can keep us alive long enough for our minds and ‘authentic selves’ to disintegrate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/thanks-to-our-growing-understanding-of-human-biology-medicine-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Few scientists acquainted with the chemistry of biological systems at the molecular level can avoid being inspired. Evolution has produced chemical compounds exquisitely organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/few-scientists-acquainted-with-the-chemistry-of-biological-systems-at-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’m not really an epidemiologist, if that’s what you mean. It’s outside my area. I build mathematical models based on biological systems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mayne/i-m-not-really-an-epidemiologist-if-that-s-what-you-mean-it-s-outside/) [Andrew Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mayne/) > [Biological engineering is not necessarily understanding systems but rather, I want to be able to design and build biological systems to perform particular applications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-endy/biological-engineering-is-not-necessarily-understanding-systems-but/) Drew Endy > [I had been impressed by the fact that biological systems were based on molecular machines and that we were learning to design and build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/i-had-been-impressed-by-the-fact-that-biological-systems-were-based/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Few scientists acquainted with the chemistry of biological systems at the molecular level can avoid being inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-cram/few-scientists-acquainted-with-the-chemistry-of-biological-systems-at/) [Donald Cram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-cram/) > [“I think that the people that say we will never develop computer intelligence — they merely prove that some biological systems don't have much intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-think-that-the-people-that-say-we-will-never-develop-computer/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I think that anybody who thinks science is going to explain everything in biological systems, or in physical cosmology, et cetera, is actually mistaken,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-coyne/i-think-that-anybody-who-thinks-science-is-going-to-explain/) [George Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-coyne/) ## More by Bill Mollison > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women spend the money of society on its goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-spend-the-money-of-society-on-its-goods/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Wealth is a deep understanding of the natural world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/wealth-is-a-deep-understanding-of-the-natural-world/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [That we don't design agriculture to be sustainable is totally eerie. We design it to be a disaster, and of course, we get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/that-we-don-t-design-agriculture-to-be-sustainable-is-totally-eerie/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Why is it that we don't build human settlements that will feed themselves, and fuel themselves, and catch their own water, when any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/why-is-it-that-we-don-t-build-human-settlements-that-will-feed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Anything that's left that's remotely like wilderness should be left strictly alone. We have no business there any more. It's not going to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anything-that-s-left-that-s-remotely-like-wilderness-should-be-left/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The important thing is not to do any agriculture whatsoever, and particularly to make the modern agricultural sciences a forbidden area - they're worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-important-thing-is-not-to-do-any-agriculture-whatsoever-and/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-tragic-reality-is-that-very-few-sustainable-systems-are-designed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/we-are-surrounded-by-insurmountable-opportunities/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/though-the-problems-of-the-world-are-increasingly-complex-the/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I can easily teach people to be gardeners, and from them, once they know how to garden, you'll get a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-can-easily-teach-people-to-be-gardeners-and-from-them-once-they/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [If you get someone who looks after himself and those around him, that's a deep ecologist. He can talk philosophy that I understand. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-get-someone-who-looks-after-himself-and-those-around-him-that/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [You can't cooperate by knocking something about or bossing it or forcing it to do things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-can-t-cooperate-by-knocking-something-about-or-bossing-it-or/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women are the holders of all knowledge, everything a man knows he stole from a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-are-the-holders-of-all-knowledge-everything-a-man-knows-he/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Another thing I find extremely eerie is that when people build a house, they almost exactly get it wrong. They don't just get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/another-thing-i-find-extremely-eerie-is-that-when-people-build-a/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Explore all 114 Bill Mollison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More Assembly quotes > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [ Mac \[Barnett\] and I prank each other during our presentation. We show baby pictures of each other looking completely ridiculous. I can't believe the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jory-john/mac-barnett-and-i-prank-each-other-during-our-presentation-we-show/) [Jory John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jory-john/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-stand-today-at-the-threshold-of-a-great-event-both-in-the-life-of/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Club: An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/club-an-assembly-of-good-fellows-meeting-under-certain-conditions/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Yet if anyone cares to read over the now crumbling minutes giving an account of the meetings at which the Italian Fasci di Combattimento…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/yet-if-anyone-cares-to-read-over-the-now-crumbling-minutes-giving-an/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/to-that-world-assembly-of-sovereign-states-the-united-nations-our/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Liberalism is a creation of the seventeenth century, fathered by British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). For Locke, liberalism means limited government, the rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/liberalism-is-a-creation-of-the-seventeenth-century-fathered-by/) [Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/) > [Well I'm not dancing," Will said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how." Oh yes you are," Alyss told him. "Let's hope you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-i-m-not-dancing-will-said-through-gritted-teeth-i-don-t-know-how/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [For you deal here above all with human life, and human life is sacred; no one may dare make an attempt upon it. Respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/for-you-deal-here-above-all-with-human-life-and-human-life-is-sacred/) [Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/) > [I was a star campaigner for the Aruvikkara byelection and the assembly elections. They were very valuable experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-a-star-campaigner-for-the-aruvikkara-byelection-and-the/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect assembly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-wait-for-a-perfect-church-you-must-wait-until-you-get-to/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [No harm will come to me. The Assembly is prepared to treat us leniently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoinette/no-harm-will-come-to-me-the-assembly-is-prepared-to-treat-us-leniently/) [Marie Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoinette/) > [Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled 'Peaceful resolution of the Palestine conflict.' Every year, the vote is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/every-year-the-united-nations-general-assembly-votes-on-a-resolution/) [Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/) Browse all 409 Assembly quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're dealing with an assembly of biological systems, you can bring the things together, but you can't connect them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Mollison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-biological-systems-you-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assembly" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-biological-systems-you-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/bill-mollison-4213_assembly_if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-bi_1687875.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're dealing with an assembly of biological systems, you can bring the things together, but you can't…” — Bill Mollison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Mollison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you're dealing with an assembly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-biological-systems-you-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-re-dealing-with-an-assembly-of-biological-systems-you-can/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```