--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only in a place where the rules of the…" description: "\"“Only in a place where the rules of the game remain fixed is there time for butterflies to evolve to feed on the shit of birds that evolved to follow a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg" --- # Only in a place where the rules of the game remain fixed… ![“Only in a place where the rules of the game remain fixed is there time for butterflies to evolve to feed on the shit of birds that evolved to follow ants.” quote by Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg) > ““Only in a place where the rules of the game remain fixed is there time for butterflies to evolve to feed on the shit of birds that evolved to follow ants.”” [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fixed rules hinder adaptation, allowing parasites to thrive on larger systems that follow rigid hierarchies. **In simple terms:** Rigid systems let parasites exploit them. Key Takeaway Adapt rules to changing environments. Themes evolution systems hierarchies Mood thoughtful analytical Type opinion environmental When to use this quote - business strategy - environmental policy - organizational change Key Concepts ecology complex systems Questions to Reflect On - What rules need updating? - How can flexibility be encouraged? A Different Perspective Change can be resisted by entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ants/) [Birds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birds/) [Birds Evolved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birds-evolved-3699752/) [Butterflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies/) [Butterflies Evolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies-evolve-2221915/) [Follow Ants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-ants-5806009/) [Rules of the game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-of-the-game/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Butterflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-butterflies-1409550/) ## Related quotes > [The only time I had any butterflies was when I stood up and backed toward the open door and looked down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/the-only-time-i-had-any-butterflies-was-when-i-stood-up-and-backed/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [“With words we begin to leave traces behind us like breadcrumbs: memories in symbols for others to follow. Ants deploy their pheromones, trails of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/with-words-we-begin-to-leave-traces-behind-us-like-breadcrumbs/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Like butterflies, we evolve; but as Beings of Light we continuously evolve when we are fully present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/like-butterflies-we-evolve-but-as-beings-of-light-we-continuously/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Birds evolved from a small raptor like theropod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-bakker/birds-evolved-from-a-small-raptor-like-theropod/) [Robert T. Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-bakker/) > [The rapidly spinning blades of wind turbines act like an apex predator that big birds never evolved to deal with. And because big birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shellenberger/the-rapidly-spinning-blades-of-wind-turbines-act-like-an-apex/) [Michael Shellenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shellenberger/) > [“Right now there is a prime opportunity for all of us to change the rules of the game through e-commerce and shift the balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/right-now-there-is-a-prime-opportunity-for-all-of-us-to-change-the/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [We do not know what the rules of the game are; all we are allowed to do is to watch the playing. Of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/we-do-not-know-what-the-rules-of-the-game-are-all-we-are-allowed-to/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [A good businessman sees where others don’t see. What I see, you may not see. You cannot see because that is the secret of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orji-uzor-kalu/a-good-businessman-sees-where-others-don-t-see-what-i-see-you-may-not/) [Orji Uzor Kalu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orji-uzor-kalu/) > [Skateboarding, like graffiti, will never be tamed. No matter how much they monetize it, no matter how big it gets, no matter how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-deitch/skateboarding-like-graffiti-will-never-be-tamed-no-matter-how-much/) [Jeffrey Deitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-deitch/) > [I know the rules of the game, you hit it once, then break away clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-parker-jr/i-know-the-rules-of-the-game-you-hit-it-once-then-break-away-clean/) [Ray Parker, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-parker-jr/) > [If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/if-you-must-play-decide-on-three-things-at-the-start-the-rules-of-the/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [You have to know the Rules of the Game, Then you have to Play better than anyone else!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/you-have-to-know-the-rules-of-the-game-then-you-have-to-play-better/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [In business, standards establish the rules of the game, creating path dependencies as investments are made and corresponding designs are set in stone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/in-business-standards-establish-the-rules-of-the-game-creating-path/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [An enemy, Ender Wiggin," whispered the old man. "I am your enemy, the first one you've ever had who was smarter than you. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/an-enemy-ender-wiggin-whispered-the-old-man-i-am-your-enemy-the-first/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [All lovers unconsciously establish their own rules of the game, which from the outset admit of no transgression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/all-lovers-unconsciously-establish-their-own-rules-of-the-game-which/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Elizabeth Kolbert > [“The size of the greenhouse forcing is estimated, at this point, to be 2.5 w/m2. A miniature Christmas light gives off about four tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-size-of-the-greenhouse-forcing-is-estimated-at-this-point-to-be-2/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [You've got to do everything, everything's got to be pointing in the same direction and you've got to really turn this whole economic engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/you-ve-got-to-do-everything-everything-s-got-to-be-pointing-in-the/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Well in the scientific there is virtually no debate over certain things. For example, that we are changing the world. Humans are changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/well-in-the-scientific-there-is-virtually-no-debate-over-certain/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Humans will eventually become extinct. People treat that as a radical thing to say. But the fossil record shows us that everything eventually becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/humans-will-eventually-become-extinct-people-treat-that-as-a-radical/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/a-sign-in-the-hall-of-biodiversity-offers-a-quote-from-the-stanford/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [We have all this Paleolithic art that suggests that our ancestors really venerated animals and that they depended on wild animals to survive -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/we-have-all-this-paleolithic-art-that-suggests-that-our-ancestors/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Crutzen wrote up his idea in a short essay, “Geology of Mankind,” that ran in Nature. “It seems appropriate to assign the term ‘Anthropocene’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/crutzen-wrote-up-his-idea-in-a-short-essay-geology-of-mankind-that/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Modern humans arrived in Europe around forty thousand years ago, and again and again, the archaeological record shows, as soon as they made their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/modern-humans-arrived-in-europe-around-forty-thousand-years-ago-and/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [It seems that the Neanderthal DNA that modern Europeans and Asians (and also Native Americans and basically all non-African people) are carrying around is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/it-seems-that-the-neanderthal-dna-that-modern-europeans-and-asians/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [What are the Chinese doing, what are we doing, what are - so we need, both the developed world and the developing world, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/what-are-the-chinese-doing-what-are-we-doing-what-are-so-we-need-both/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“As the effects of global warming become more and more difficult to ignore, will we react by finally fashioning a global response? Or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-the-effects-of-global-warming-become-more-and-more-difficult-to/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than it has been at any point in the last two millennia, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-is-now-warmer-than-it-has-been/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [I traveled really to amazing places. I went to the Great Barrier Reef, I went to the Amazon, I went to the Andes, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/i-traveled-really-to-amazing-places-i-went-to-the-great-barrier-reef/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“At the Biesbosch nature center, I met up with a water-ministry official named Eelke Turkstra. Turkstra runs a program called Ruimte voor de Rivier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/at-the-biesbosch-nature-center-i-met-up-with-a-water-ministry/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Darwin’s familiarity with human-caused extinction is also clear from On the Origin of Species. In one of the many passages in which he heaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/darwin-s-familiarity-with-human-caused-extinction-is-also-clear-from/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) [Explore all 90 Elizabeth Kolbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## More Ants quotes > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [There's a good case to be made that having fun is a key evolutionary advantage right next to opposable thumbs in terms of importance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raph-koster/there-s-a-good-case-to-be-made-that-having-fun-is-a-key-evolutionary/) [Raph Koster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raph-koster/) > [“THE FIGHTERS ARE TINY. INSECTS, REALLY. BUT ANTS CAN SLAY AN ELEPHANT, IF THERE ARE ENOUGH OF THEM. ESPECIALLY ANTS ARMED WITH HIGH-YIELD EXPLOSIVES…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amie-kaufman/the-fighters-are-tiny-insects-really-but-ants-can-slay-an-elephant-if/) [Amie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amie-kaufman/) > [We know of no behavior in ants or any other social insects that can be construed as play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-holldobler/we-know-of-no-behavior-in-ants-or-any-other-social-insects-that-can/) [Bert Holldobler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-holldobler/) > [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-someone-criticizes-or-disagrees-with-you-a-small-ant-of-hatred/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Lies are like ants; there's never just one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ash/lies-are-like-ants-there-s-never-just-one/) [Julia Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-ash/) > [There's a scientific hypothesis that every person's name is a primary suggestive command that contains the entire script of their life in highly concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-s-a-scientific-hypothesis-that-every-person-s-name-is-a-primary/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [When I was little, I would burn ants with a magnifying glass. But now that I'm older, I'm more of a cat guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/when-i-was-little-i-would-burn-ants-with-a-magnifying-glass-but-now/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [If ants were the size of humans, they would be able to run twice as fast as a Lamborghini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-ants-were-the-size-of-humans-they-would-be-able-to-run-twice-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 499 Ants quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ants/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Only in a place where the rules of the game remain fixed is there time for butterflies to evolve to feed on the shit of birds that evolved to follow ants.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Kolbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-game-remain-fixed-is-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ants" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-game-remain-fixed-is-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_ants_only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-g_1554395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only in a place where the rules of the game remain fixed is there time for butterflies to evolve to feed on…” — Elizabeth Kolbert", "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": "Elizabeth Kolbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Only in a place where the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-game-remain-fixed-is-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/only-in-a-place-where-the-rules-of-the-game-remain-fixed-is-there/#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 } } ] } ```