--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you can dump a load of bricks on a…" description: "\"When you can dump a load of bricks on a corner lot, and let me watch them arrange themselves into a house - when you can empty a handful of springs and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png" --- # When you can dump a load of bricks on a corner lot, and… ![“When you can dump a load of bricks on a corner lot, and let me watch them arrange themselves into a house - when you can empty a handful of springs and wheels and screws on my desk, and let me see them gather themselves together into a watch - it will be easier for me to believe that all these…” quote by Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png) > “When you can dump a load of bricks on a corner lot, and let me watch them arrange themselves into a house - when you can empty a handful of springs and wheels and screws on my desk, and let me see them gather themselves together into a watch - it will be easier for me to believe that all these thousands of worlds could have been created, balanced, and set to moving in their separate orbits, all without any directing intelligence at all.” [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex structures can arise spontaneously from simple components, suggesting that order may not need a guiding intelligence. **In simple terms:** Complexity can emerge without a designer. Key Takeaway Observe self‑organizing processes. Themes complexity emergence self‑organization Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - engineering - biology - economics Key Concepts systems theory physics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What examples of emergent order do you see? - How do we harness self‑organization? A Different Perspective Spontaneous order may still be fragile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Balanced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balanced/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) [Corners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corners/) [Could have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could-have-been/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Directing Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directing-intelligence-2552305/) [Dump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dump/) [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Easier Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-believe/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Handful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handful/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Let me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-me/) [Load](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/load/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Moving in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-in/) [Orbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orbit/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Screws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screws/) [Separate Orbits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-orbits-2552306/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Watches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watches/) [Wheels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Worlds Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worlds-created-1278511/) ## Related quotes > [When a load of bricks, dumped on a corner lot, can arrange themselves into a house; when a handful of springs and screws and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-a-load-of-bricks-dumped-on-a-corner-lot-can-arrange-themselves/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [And it came to me then. That we were wonderful traveling companions but in the end no more than lonely lumps of metal in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/and-it-came-to-me-then-that-we-were-wonderful-traveling-companions/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I've always been a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, 'Pan's Labryinth' blew me away. The stories and the worlds that he's created, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-atkin-downes/i-ve-always-been-a-big-fan-of-guillermo-del-toro-pan-s-labryinth-blew/) [Robin Atkin Downes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-atkin-downes/) > [“Someday they would discover that the stars were not sacred, but made from the same material as their bodies. They would learn it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-vander-ark/someday-they-would-discover-that-the-stars-were-not-sacred-but-made/) [Jake Vander Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-vander-ark/) > [“Imaginary worlds can be created and abandoned because we choose to make it happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-barnicke-belleghem/imaginary-worlds-can-be-created-and-abandoned-because-we-choose-to/) [Marilyn Barnicke Belleghem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-barnicke-belleghem/) > [I am Ubik. Before the universe was, I am. I made the suns. I made the worlds. I created the lives and the places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-am-ubik-before-the-universe-was-i-am-i-made-the-suns-i-made-the/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/that-by-him-and-through-him-and-of-him-the-worlds-are-and-were/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [“Stories. Character. Dialouge. Entire worlds created on the page. Worlds that could sweep you away or frighten you, make you laugh or cry. Worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-michaels/stories-character-dialouge-entire-worlds-created-on-the-page-worlds/) [Jamie Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-michaels/) > [The fictitious worlds created for kids are nearly bereft of female presence. It's sending a very clear message from the beginning that women and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/the-fictitious-worlds-created-for-kids-are-nearly-bereft-of-female/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [It is easier to believe that there was nothing before there was something than that there was something before there was nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/it-is-easier-to-believe-that-there-was-nothing-before-there-was/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [It makes everything so much easier when you believe in yourself, what you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauri-markkanen/it-makes-everything-so-much-easier-when-you-believe-in-yourself-what/) [Lauri Markkanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauri-markkanen/) > [“It’s easier to believe in aliens than in gods,” said Sam. “Maybe Mister Town and Mister Whatever were Men in Black, only the alien…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-s-easier-to-believe-in-aliens-than-in-gods-said-sam-maybe-mister/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“It is always easier to believe if you are opposed to something, or actually suffering for your beliefs. Without perceived or real oppression rebellion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-grey/it-is-always-easier-to-believe-if-you-are-opposed-to-something-or/) [Peter Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-grey/) > [Part of history is facts. The other part is what we find easier to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/part-of-history-is-facts-the-other-part-is-what-we-find-easier-to/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [It's easier to believe in yourself after someone else has believed in you first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle/it-s-easier-to-believe-in-yourself-after-someone-else-has-believed-in/) [Gabrielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle/) ## More by Bruce Barton > [My program is to leave the fools to nature. She has diseases with which to deal with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/my-program-is-to-leave-the-fools-to-nature-she-has-diseases-with/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [The Bible rose to the place it now occupies because it deserved to rise to that place, and not because God sent anybody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/the-bible-rose-to-the-place-it-now-occupies-because-it-deserved-to/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [What a curious phenomenon it is that you can get men to die for the liberty of the world who will not make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/what-a-curious-phenomenon-it-is-that-you-can-get-men-to-die-for-the/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Christ would be a national advertiser today, I am sure, as He was a great advertiser in His own day. He thought of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/christ-would-be-a-national-advertiser-today-i-am-sure-as-he-was-a/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Surely no one will consider us lacking in reverence if we say that every one of the "principles of modern salesmanship" on which business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/surely-no-one-will-consider-us-lacking-in-reverence-if-we-say-that/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/nothing-splendid-has-ever-been-achieved-except-by-those-who-dared/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [It takes a real storm in the average persons life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/it-takes-a-real-storm-in-the-average-persons-life-to-make-him-realize/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Get money - but stop once in a while to figure what it is costing you to get it. No man gets it without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/get-money-but-stop-once-in-a-while-to-figure-what-it-is-costing-you/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [An election goes on every minute of the business day across the counters of hundreds of thousands of stores and shops where the customers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/an-election-goes-on-every-minute-of-the-business-day-across-the/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [I had never thought of advertising as a life work, though I had on the side, written some very successful copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/i-had-never-thought-of-advertising-as-a-life-work-though-i-had-on-the/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Talkers have always ruled. They will continue to rule. The smart thing is to join them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/talkers-have-always-ruled-they-will-continue-to-rule-the-smart-thing/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/we-pay-just-as-dearly-for-our-triumphs-as-we-do-for-our-defeats-go/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Learn their lesson, that if you would teach people you first must capture their interest with news; that your service rather than your sermons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/learn-their-lesson-that-if-you-would-teach-people-you-first-must/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [When a load of bricks, dumped on a corner lot, can arrange themselves into a house; when a handful of springs and screws and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-a-load-of-bricks-dumped-on-a-corner-lot-can-arrange-themselves/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity that was at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/most-successful-men-have-not-achieved-their-distinction-by-having-2/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) [Explore all 64 Bruce Barton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you can dump a load of bricks on a corner lot, and let me watch them arrange themselves into a house - when you can empty a handful of springs and wheels and screws on my desk, and let me see them gather themselves together into a watch - it will be easier for me to believe that all these thousands of worlds could have been created, balanced, and set to moving in their separate orbits, all without any directing intelligence at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Barton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a-corner-lot-and-let-me-watch/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a-corner-lot-and-let-me-watch/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/bruce-barton-10676_balance_when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a_2677356.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you can dump a load of bricks on a corner lot, and let me watch them arrange themselves into a house…” — Bruce Barton", "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": "Bruce Barton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you can dump a load...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a-corner-lot-and-let-me-watch/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-you-can-dump-a-load-of-bricks-on-a-corner-lot-and-let-me-watch/#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 } } ] } ```