--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Darwin's dice have rolled badly for…" description: "\"Darwin's dice have rolled badly for Earth. The human species is, in a word, an environmental abnormality. Perhaps a law of evolution is that intelligen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/e-o-wilson-1348_abnormal_darwin-s-dice-have-rolled-badly-for-eart_3154084.jpg" --- # Darwin's dice have rolled badly for Earth. The human… ![“Darwin's dice have rolled badly for Earth. The human species is, in a word, an environmental abnormality. Perhaps a law of evolution is that intelligence usually extinguishes itself.” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/e-o-wilson-1348_abnormal_darwin-s-dice-have-rolled-badly-for-eart_3154084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/e-o-wilson-1348_abnormal_darwin-s-dice-have-rolled-badly-for-eart_3154084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/e-o-wilson-1348_abnormal_darwin-s-dice-have-rolled-badly-for-eart_3154084.jpg) > “Darwin's dice have rolled badly for Earth. The human species is, in a word, an environmental abnormality. Perhaps a law of evolution is that intelligence usually extinguishes itself.” [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence can become a self‑destructive force, making humanity an ecological outlier that may doom itself. **In simple terms:** Human intelligence may lead to its own downfall. Key Takeaway Recognize and mitigate harmful impacts of progress. Themes environment intelligence evolution self‑destruction Mood concerned reflective Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - environmental activism - education - technology development Key Concepts ecology anthropocentrism evolutionary theory Questions to Reflect On - How can we harness intelligence to protect the planet? - What safeguards can prevent self‑destruction? A Different Perspective Intelligence also creates solutions; not all outcomes are negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abnormality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnormality/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Dice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dice/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Human species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-species/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [“To compare the rate of progress of the biological evolution of intelligence to that of technological evolution, consider that the most advanced mammals have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/to-compare-the-rate-of-progress-of-the-biological-evolution-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The proposition that the meek (that is the adaptable and serviceable), inherit the earth is not merely a wishful sentiment of religion, but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-proposition-that-the-meek-that-is-the-adaptable-and-serviceable/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [The University of Cambridge, in accordance with that law of its evolution, by which, while maintaining the strictest continuity between the successive phases of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/the-university-of-cambridge-in-accordance-with-that-law-of-its/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [“Pity thwarts the whole law of evolution, which is the law of natural selection. It preserves whatever is ripe for destruction;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pity-thwarts-the-whole-law-of-evolution-which-is-the-law-of-natural/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Just as Darwin discovered the law of evolution in organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of evolution in human history; he discovered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/just-as-darwin-discovered-the-law-of-evolution-in-organic-nature-so/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“Instead of explaining everything by the supposed supremacy of a law of evolution, which compels collective phenomena to reproduce and repeat themselves indefinitely in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-explaining-everything-by-the-supposed-supremacy-of-a-law/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The law of evolution is that the strongest survives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-law-of-evolution-is-that-the-strongest-survives/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ Why are we even here \[on earth\], what's our human nature? It's precipitating a real philosophical crisis that I find quite fascinating. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/why-are-we-even-here-on-earth-what-s-our-human-nature-it-s/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-foch/the-most-powerful-weapon-on-earth-is-the-human-soul-on-fire/) [Ferdinand Foch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-foch/) > [Essentially, all life on the planet is coming from the earth. Whether it is a human being or an earthworm, it is the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/essentially-all-life-on-the-planet-is-coming-from-the-earth-whether/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [“Then to give the kids a historical perspective, Chacko told them about the earth woman. He made them imagine that the earth - 4600…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/then-to-give-the-kids-a-historical-perspective-chacko-told-them-about/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [You know, people always talk about how Jesus came down to Earth as a human being. He became a human being, But no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-javerbaum/you-know-people-always-talk-about-how-jesus-came-down-to-earth-as-a/) [David Javerbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-javerbaum/) > [There are many great minds on earth and not all are human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-many-great-minds-on-earth-and-not-all-are-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now that we have learned to fly the air like birds, swim under water like fish, we lack one thing - to learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/now-that-we-have-learned-to-fly-the-air-like-birds-swim-under-water/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“perhaps our purpose is, for the time being, to be human, to live on this earth and in this human community, to receive something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/perhaps-our-purpose-is-for-the-time-being-to-be-human-to-live-on-this/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) ## More by E. O. Wilson > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-is-not-marginal-like-art-it-is-a-universal-possession-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-many-environments-take-away-the-ants-and-there-would-be-partial/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-those-committed-to-the-quest-fail-they-will-be-forgiven-when-lost/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Because the living environment is what really sustains us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/because-the-living-environment-is-what-really-sustains-us/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-variety-of-genes-on-the-planet-in-viruses-exceeds-or-is-likely-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Explore all 253 E. O. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More Abnormal quotes > [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [“The abnormal ones stand out. Thankfully I'm abnormal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-bekoe/the-abnormal-ones-stand-out-thankfully-i-m-abnormal/) [Marion Bekoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-bekoe/) > [Power when wielded by abnormal energy is the most serious of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/power-when-wielded-by-abnormal-energy-is-the-most-serious-of-facts/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [I think the thing that music can do is be unsettling. It is abnormal - music that's perceived to be different in an unresolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/i-think-the-thing-that-music-can-do-is-be-unsettling-it-is-abnormal/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [You don't want to love - your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved. You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-to-love-your-eternal-and-abnormal-craving-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It may be an extreme example brought about by abnormal circumstances - but the criteria of human rights kick in, surely, precisely when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/it-may-be-an-extreme-example-brought-about-by-abnormal-circumstances/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) > [Depression is not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, and it is not cured by medication. Depression may not even be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-kirsch/depression-is-not-caused-by-a-chemical-imbalance-in-the-brain-and-it/) [Irving Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-kirsch/) > [“A ‘normal person’ is what is left after society has squeezed out all unconventional opinions and aspirations out of a human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-normal-person-is-what-is-left-after-society-has-squeezed-out-all/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [In the theory of gender I began from zero. There is no masculine power or privilege I did not covet. 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