--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And, you know, the fact is, if you…" description: "\"And, you know, the fact is, if you believe in evolution, we all have a common ancestor, and we all have a common ancestry with the plant in the lobby. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/jeff-hawkins-23542_ancestry_and-you-know-the-fact-is-if-you-believe_3118402.png" --- # And, you know, the fact is, if you believe in evolution… ![“And, you know, the fact is, if you believe in evolution, we all have a common ancestor, and we all have a common ancestry with the plant in the lobby. This is what evolution tells us. And, it's true. It's kind of unbelievable.” quote by Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/jeff-hawkins-23542_ancestry_and-you-know-the-fact-is-if-you-believe_3118402.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/jeff-hawkins-23542_ancestry_and-you-know-the-fact-is-if-you-believe_3118402.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9a/jeff-hawkins-23542_ancestry_and-you-know-the-fact-is-if-you-believe_3118402.png) > “And, you know, the fact is, if you believe in evolution, we all have a common ancestor, and we all have a common ancestry with the plant in the lobby. This is what evolution tells us. And, it's true. It's kind of unbelievable.” [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evolution links all life, including humans and plants, highlighting shared ancestry and the interconnectedness of all organisms. **In simple terms:** All life shares common ancestors. Key Takeaway Recognize our shared biological heritage. Themes interconnectedness common ancestry biology Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - biology class - environmental policy - personal worldview - science communication Key Concepts evolutionary theory shared genetics Questions to Reflect On - What implications does shared ancestry have for how we treat other species? - How does this perspective influence your view of humanity? A Different Perspective Complexity of genetic pathways can challenge simple narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) ## Related quotes > [What is sure is that the satellite view of our world and its evolution is now a common reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/what-is-sure-is-that-the-satellite-view-of-our-world-and-its/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [In talking of evolution, it is common to have in mind a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-stannard/in-talking-of-evolution-it-is-common-to-have-in-mind-a-tree/) Russell Stannard > [Evolution tells us where we came from, not where we can go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/evolution-tells-us-where-we-came-from-not-where-we-can-go/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [It is clear, then, that whatever genetic heritage we have, it is not a straitjacket that traps us forever in the "beastly" ways of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/it-is-clear-then-that-whatever-genetic-heritage-we-have-it-is-not-a/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [What evolution tells us is that we are part of a grand, dynamic, and ever-changing fabric of life that covers our planet. Even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/what-evolution-tells-us-is-that-we-are-part-of-a-grand-dynamic-and/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Evolution tells us how to survive; art tells us how it's possible still to live even while knowing that we and all we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/evolution-tells-us-how-to-survive-art-tells-us-how-it-s-possible/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [“Darwin’s theory, laid out in On the Origin of Species in 1859, suggested that people and apes shared a common ancestor, and, coupled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/darwin-s-theory-laid-out-in-on-the-origin-of-species-in-1859/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Every two species that evolved from a common ancestor, such as horses and donkeys, were at one time just two populations of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/every-two-species-that-evolved-from-a-common-ancestor-such-as-horses/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“and do not speak to me, please, of African Eve or LUCA, the three-and-a-half-billion-year-old blob of goo that was our Last Universal Common Ancestor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/and-do-not-speak-to-me-please-of-african-eve-or-luca-the-three-and-a/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“We are all a complete mixture;yet at the same time,we are all related.Each gene can trace its own journey to a different common ancestor.This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-sykes/we-are-all-a-complete-mixture-yet-at-the-same-time-we-are-all-related/) [Bryan Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-sykes/) > [If you share a common ancestor with somebody, you're related to them. It doesn't mean that you're going to invite them to the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/if-you-share-a-common-ancestor-with-somebody-you-re-related-to-them/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [Molecular evidense suggests that our common ancestor with the chimpanzees lived, in Africa, between 5 and 7 million years ago, say half a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/molecular-evidense-suggests-that-our-common-ancestor-with-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I find the idea of common descent (that all organisms share a common ancestor) fairly convincing, and have no particular reason to doubt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/i-find-the-idea-of-common-descent-that-all-organisms-share-a-common/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [As commonly understood, creationism involves belief in an earth formed only about ten thousand years ago, an interpretation of the Bible that is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/as-commonly-understood-creationism-involves-belief-in-an-earth-formed/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [A friend of ours has a hobby doing genealogy, and we found out that we were cousins in the ninth degree, that we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/a-friend-of-ours-has-a-hobby-doing-genealogy-and-we-found-out-that-we/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) ## More by Jeff Hawkins > [Your perception of the world is ... really a fabrication of your model of the world. You don't really see light or sound. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/your-perception-of-the-world-is-really-a-fabrication-of-your-model-of/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [I do two things. I design mobile computers and I study brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/i-do-two-things-i-design-mobile-computers-and-i-study-brains/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [At times in the past, the U.S. did not restrict the number of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/at-times-in-the-past-the-u-s-did-not-restrict-the-number-of-immigrants/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > ['Dream Act' kids are like all other American kids, with the exception that they have to work harder to excel in school, they live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/dream-act-kids-are-like-all-other-american-kids-with-the-exception/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [You can't imagine how much detail we know about brains. There were 28,000 people who went to the neuroscience conference this year, and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/you-can-t-imagine-how-much-detail-we-know-about-brains-there-were-28/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [You know what, we don't know diddley squat about brains and no one has a clue how these things work, so don't believe what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/you-know-what-we-don-t-know-diddley-squat-about-brains-and-no-one-has/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [The key to artificial intelligence has always been the representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/the-key-to-artificial-intelligence-has-always-been-the-representation/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [You and I are streaming data engines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/you-and-i-are-streaming-data-engines/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [Prediction is not just one of the things your brain does. It is the primary function of the neo-cortex, and the foundation of intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/prediction-is-not-just-one-of-the-things-your-brain-does-it-is-the/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [If you look at the history of big obstacles in understanding our world, there's usually an intuitive assumption underlying them that's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/if-you-look-at-the-history-of-big-obstacles-in-understanding-our/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [In grade school I was taught that the United States is a melting pot. People from all over the world come here for freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/in-grade-school-i-was-taught-that-the-united-states-is-a-melting-pot/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [Whatever the difference between brilliant and average brains, we are all creative. And through practice and study we can enhance our skills and talents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/whatever-the-difference-between-brilliant-and-average-brains-we-are/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [Complexity is not a cause of confusion. It is a result of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/complexity-is-not-a-cause-of-confusion-it-is-a-result-of-it/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [“The neocortex is not like a computer, parallel or otherwise. Instead of computing answers to problems the neocortex uses stored memories to solve problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/the-neocortex-is-not-like-a-computer-parallel-or-otherwise-instead-of/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [“the cortex uses the same computational tool to accomplish everything it does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/the-cortex-uses-the-same-computational-tool-to-accomplish-everything/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) [Explore all 25 Jeff Hawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) ## More Ancestry quotes > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Being a mixed-blood person of Ojibway and European ancestry, I always found that I only heard one side of the story - that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-boyden/being-a-mixed-blood-person-of-ojibway-and-european-ancestry-i-always/) [Joseph Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-boyden/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [I've got German, Cornish and Scottish ancestry. It might help explain my affinity for forests, the sea, and fatty foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/i-ve-got-german-cornish-and-scottish-ancestry-it-might-help-explain/) [Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/) > [“I have always found it difficult not to be moved by Jerusalem, even when I hated it—and God knows I have hated it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/i-have-always-found-it-difficult-not-to-be-moved-by-jerusalem-even/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [I've never felt grounded because of my ancestry or my gender. I think until women get away from that they're not going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-ve-never-felt-grounded-because-of-my-ancestry-or-my-gender-i-think/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I get anxious. That lovely Jewish guilt that comes with ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rudolph/i-get-anxious-that-lovely-jewish-guilt-that-comes-with-ancestry/) [Maya Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rudolph/) > [The function of the artist is to disturb. His duty is to arouse the sleeper, to shake the complacent pillars of the world. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-bethune/the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-disturb-his-duty-is-to-arouse-the/) Norman Bethune > [Both the ancestry and posterity of Grief go further than the ancestry and posterity of Joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/both-the-ancestry-and-posterity-of-grief-go-further-than-the-ancestry/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I wasn't trying to work out my own ancestry. I was trying to get people to feel slavery. I was trying to get across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasn-t-trying-to-work-out-my-own-ancestry-i-was-trying-to-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ancestry is not destiny,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/ancestry-is-not-destiny/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > […Even the idea of a city never entered his mind. It was as if he had walked under the millimeter of haze just above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/even-the-idea-of-a-city-never-entered-his-mind-it-was-as-if-he-had/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) [Browse all 256 Ancestry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And, you know, the fact is, if you believe in evolution, we all have a common ancestor, and we all have a common ancestry with the plant in the lobby. This is what evolution tells us. And, it's true. 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