--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't know nearly enough about the…" description: "\"We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices, i.e. c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png" --- # We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of… ![“We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices, i.e. clean air or water with fusion energy - we are kidding ourselves.” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png) > “We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices, i.e. clean air or water with fusion energy - we are kidding ourselves.” [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. Human attempts to replace natural ecosystems with technology underestimate nature's complexity and resilience **In simple terms:** Nature cannot be fully substituted by artificial means Key Takeaway Respect and protect natural ecosystems Themes environment conservation technology Mood concerned hopeful Type ethical environmental When to use this quote - policy making - environmental education - urban planning - climate mitigation Key Concepts ecosystem interdependence limits of engineering Questions to Reflect On - What natural processes are irreplaceable? - How can we balance tech advancement with ecosystem preservation? A Different Perspective Technological solutions may mitigate but not replace ecosystem services ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clean air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-air/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Deep ecology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-ecology/) [Ecology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecology/) [Ecosystems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecosystems/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Fusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fusion/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [The prospect of cheap fusion energy is the worst thing that could happen to the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/the-prospect-of-cheap-fusion-energy-is-the-worst-thing-that-could/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [My holy grail is fusion energy. Nuclear fusion has little to no radioactive waste. It's clean. It's very abundant. The fuels are everywhere. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-wilson/my-holy-grail-is-fusion-energy-nuclear-fusion-has-little-to-no/) [Taylor Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-wilson/) > [I really have become convinced that nuclear fusion is our energy future. It's so powerful. I mean, it is the power of the stars.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-wilson/i-really-have-become-convinced-that-nuclear-fusion-is-our-energy/) [Taylor Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-wilson/) > [Nature is all that we think we know plus all that we don't know whether or not we know that we don't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/nature-is-all-that-we-think-we-know-plus-all-that-we-don-t-know/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Rather than just mimic processes in nature, I think we can harness the powers of nature itself and allow it to help us create.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-larsson/rather-than-just-mimic-processes-in-nature-i-think-we-can-harness-the/) [Magnus Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-larsson/) > [“it's natural to die...the fact that we make a big hullabaloo over it, is all because we don't see ourselves as part of nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-s-natural-to-die-the-fact-that-we-make-a-big-hullabaloo-over-it-is/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [It’s natural to die. The fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we don’t see ourselves as part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/it-s-natural-to-die-the-fact-that-we-make-such-a-big-hullabaloo-over/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [I don't understand the notion that modern farming is anything do to with nature. It's a pretty gross interference with nature. I think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-don-t-understand-the-notion-that-modern-farming-is-anything-do-to-2/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [If you meditate on your ideal, you will acquire its nature. If you think of God day and night, you will acquire the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/if-you-meditate-on-your-ideal-you-will-acquire-its-nature-if-you/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [The mistake is to think that clever technology can solve everything, but it can't solve our relationship with nature, which is where I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/the-mistake-is-to-think-that-clever-technology-can-solve-everything/) [Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/) > [If you think along the lines of Nature then you think properly." from the video "Carl Jung speaks about death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-think-along-the-lines-of-nature-then-you-think-properly-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many environmentalists have failed to recognize that the preservation of quiet areas, places off-limits to noise pollution, should probably be a number-one environmental concern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hempton/many-environmentalists-have-failed-to-recognize-that-the-preservation/) [Gordon Hempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hempton/) > [I'm anxious by nature, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-m-anxious-by-nature-i-think/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [I appreciate nature and I do think we are all connected. What we do to each other and our planet affects us all. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/i-appreciate-nature-and-i-do-think-we-are-all-connected-what-we-do-to/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [Most of us still believe in the intrinsic value of nature, but I think the first century of the environmental/conservation movement demonstrated pretty clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/most-of-us-still-believe-in-the-intrinsic-value-of-nature-but-i-think/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) ## 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. 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