--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But if they're so successful, why haven't…" description: "\"But if they're so successful, why haven't parasites taken over the world? The answer is simple: they have. We just haven't noticed. That's because succ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/daniel-suarez-8637_alive_but-if-they-re-so-successful-why-haven-t_2579604.png" --- # But if they're so successful, why haven't parasites taken… ![“But if they're so successful, why haven't parasites taken over the world? The answer is simple: they have. We just haven't noticed. That's because successful parasites don't kill us; they become part of us, making us perform all the work to keep them alive and help them reproduce...” quote by Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/daniel-suarez-8637_alive_but-if-they-re-so-successful-why-haven-t_2579604.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/daniel-suarez-8637_alive_but-if-they-re-so-successful-why-haven-t_2579604.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/daniel-suarez-8637_alive_but-if-they-re-so-successful-why-haven-t_2579604.png) > “But if they're so successful, why haven't parasites taken over the world? The answer is simple: they have. We just haven't noticed. That's because successful parasites don't kill us; they become part of us, making us perform all the work to keep them alive and help them reproduce...” [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parasites thrive by integrating into hosts, making us do their work unnoticed. **In simple terms:** Parasites succeed by becoming part of us. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden dependencies. Themes co‑dependence invisibility systems Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - technology adoption - social media influence - environmental impact Key Concepts biology systems theory Questions to Reflect On - What hidden parasites exist in your life? - How can you expose them? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex ecological dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Haven Parasites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haven-parasites-1766660/) [Havens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/havens/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Parasites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites/) [Parasites Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites-don-1766659/) [Parasites Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites-taken-1766658/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Parasites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-parasites-1766657/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Perfect replication is the enemy of any robust system... Lacking a central nervous system much less a brain the parasite is a simple system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/perfect-replication-is-the-enemy-of-any-robust-system-lacking-a/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [Sexual reproduction exists solely as a means to defeat parasites. By mixing male and female genes, sex produces offspring not exactly like either the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/sexual-reproduction-exists-solely-as-a-means-to-defeat-parasites-by/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [We need to take a leaf out of natures book. Any species that clones itself will eventually be attacked by a parasite, leading to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/we-need-to-take-a-leaf-out-of-natures-book-any-species-that-clones/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [So-called 'higher education' is a veritable magnet for second-raters and actively destructive parasites bent on promoting unsound ideas to the inexperienced and gullible. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-casey/so-called-higher-education-is-a-veritable-magnet-for-second-raters/) [Doug Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-casey/) > [The text moves like a small crustacean with compound eye and complex nervous system; throbbing, involuted, it becomes a parasite on a different body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-brossard/the-text-moves-like-a-small-crustacean-with-compound-eye-and-complex/) [Nicole Brossard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-brossard/) > [If I come back as an animal in my next lifetime, I hope it's some type of parasite, because this is the part where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/if-i-come-back-as-an-animal-in-my-next-lifetime-i-hope-it-s-some-type/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [ To say that poverty explains terror is to slander those caught in poverty who choose to lead worthy lives. \[Terrorists\] are not the oppressed,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-wilentz/to-say-that-poverty-explains-terror-is-to-slander-those-caught-in/) [Sean Wilentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-wilentz/) > [ A lawyer’s either a social engineer or … a parasite on society … A social engineer \[is\] a highly skilled, perceptive, sensitive lawyer who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hamilton-houston/a-lawyer-s-either-a-social-engineer-or-a-parasite-on-society-a-social/) [Charles Hamilton Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hamilton-houston/) > [Every club has three types: fans, parasites and people who work their bollocks off, even ladies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/every-club-has-three-types-fans-parasites-and-people-who-work-their/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [Lacking its own ingenuity, the parasite fears the visionary. What it cannot plagiarize, it seeks to censor. What it cannot regulate, it seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ryan/lacking-its-own-ingenuity-the-parasite-fears-the-visionary-what-it/) [Andrew Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ryan/) > [“Lankester’s mistake didn’t stem simply from a loathing for all parasites;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lankester-s-mistake-didn-t-stem-simply-from-a-loathing-for-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I get a great laugh from artists who ridicule the critics as parasites and artists manqués — sucha horrible joke. I can’t imagine a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-farber/i-get-a-great-laugh-from-artists-who-ridicule-the-critics-as/) [Manny Farber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-farber/) > [ If \[people\] place such things as friendship and family ties above their own productive work, yes, then they are immoral. Friendship, family life and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-people-place-such-things-as-friendship-and-family-ties-above-their/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The word relationship best refers to the connection between parasite and host, or shark and remora. It's a biological term. I'd rather be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-shoales/the-word-relationship-best-refers-to-the-connection-between-parasite/) [Ian Shoales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-shoales/) > [I have a real low tolerance for parasites, and you're so close to the limit that I'm already reaching for the flea powder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/i-have-a-real-low-tolerance-for-parasites-and-you-re-so-close-to-the/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) ## More by Daniel Suarez > [I'm against unanswerable concentrations of power, whether that be government or private industry or religious figures - anybody who is not accountable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-m-against-unanswerable-concentrations-of-power-whether-that-be/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“when privacy is criminalized, only criminals will have privacy.” Durand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/when-privacy-is-criminalized-only-criminals-will-have-privacy-durand/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [We need to take a leaf out of natures book. Any species that clones itself will eventually be attacked by a parasite, leading to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/we-need-to-take-a-leaf-out-of-natures-book-any-species-that-clones/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [I don't have a Facebook page. I don't use Twitter. I don't give anyone a lot to grab onto. Sometimes, I even take out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-don-t-have-a-facebook-page-i-don-t-use-twitter-i-don-t-give-anyone/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [When the survival strategy of a civilization is invalidated, in all of human history none have ever turned back from the brink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/when-the-survival-strategy-of-a-civilization-is-invalidated-in-all-of/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“A thing can't exist in people's minds until it has a name. 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Maybe that's why the world was such a mystery to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/you-never-understood-games-maybe-that-s-why-the-world-was-such-a/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“Mankind was on the moon in the 1960s, Jon. That was half a century ago. Nuclear power. The transistor. The laser. All existed even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/mankind-was-on-the-moon-in-the-1960s-jon-that-was-half-a-century-ago/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [I think that for all of the dangers of technology spreading, I think it is more dangerous in some ways that it doesn't. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-think-that-for-all-of-the-dangers-of-technology-spreading-i-think/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [We need to build change in to our systems and let these systems evolve as circumstances change. 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One strove to get in and to maintain grades once there, and to do that, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/one-did-not-accidentally-graduate-from-top-tier-schools-one-strove-to/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [I've read one too many thrillers that had really horrible technology in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-ve-read-one-too-many-thrillers-that-had-really-horrible-technology/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“How can you expect to handle the future if you can’t even handle the present?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/how-can-you-expect-to-handle-the-future-if-you-can-t-even-handle-the/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) [Explore all 79 Daniel Suarez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. 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