--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can always back up and pick a new fork." description: "\"“You can always back up and pick a new fork.”\" — Kary Mullis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png" --- # You can always back up and pick a new fork. ![“You can always back up and pick a new fork.” quote by Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png) > ““You can always back up and pick a new fork.”” [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. You can always reverse a decision and pursue a different direction. **In simple terms:** You can always change direction after a mistake. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility and be willing to pivot when needed. Themes adaptability resilience innovation problem solving Mood encouraging pragmatic Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career changes - research projects - personal setbacks - business pivots Key Concepts growth mindset strategic planning creativity Questions to Reflect On - When should you stick with a path versus pivot? - What signs indicate a fork is needed? A Different Perspective Frequent changes may cause instability or loss of focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fork/) [New Fork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-fork-5595743/) [Pick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pick/) [Pick New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pick-new-1678086/) ## Related quotes > [Why not pick up the new full-length motion picture at the corner drugstore and then run it through one's home TV receiver?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gould/why-not-pick-up-the-new-full-length-motion-picture-at-the-corner/) [Jack Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gould/) > [Fork: An instrument used chiefly for the purpose of putting dead animals into the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/fork-an-instrument-used-chiefly-for-the-purpose-of-putting-dead/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Violence begins with the fork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/violence-begins-with-the-fork/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is quite amazing how hard the subconscious works when it is made to understand that this life is not a rehearsal, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burdett/it-is-quite-amazing-how-hard-the-subconscious-works-when-it-is-made/) [John Burdett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burdett/) > [“Whenever you come upon a fork in the road DON'T put it in your mouth! You don't know where it's been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-paskoff/whenever-you-come-upon-a-fork-in-the-road-don-t-put-it-in-your-mouth/) [G. R. Paskoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-paskoff/) > [You don't need a silver fork to eat good food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-prudhomme/you-don-t-need-a-silver-fork-to-eat-good-food/) [Paul Prudhomme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-prudhomme/) > [“Bullshit. You can paint with a fork, you can kill with a fork. A fork is a tool. Don't let yourself be confined by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fatah-steele/bullshit-you-can-paint-with-a-fork-you-can-kill-with-a-fork-a-fork-is/) [Brian Fatah Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fatah-steele/) > [The life of expression is the tuning fork by which we find our way to the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-life-of-expression-is-the-tuning-fork-by-which-we-find-our-way-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Food is much better off the hand than the fork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/food-is-much-better-off-the-hand-than-the-fork/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [“When you come to a fork in the road, just take it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-you-come-to-a-fork-in-the-road-just-take-it/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-you-arrive-at-a-fork-in-the-road-take-it/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others-if-you/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-world-was-my-oyster-but-i-used-the-wrong-fork/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“When you get to the fork in the road…take it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-you-get-to-the-fork-in-the-road-take-it/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) ## More by Kary Mullis > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother-formerly-bernice-alberta/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Religion is inwardly focused and driven only to sustain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/religion-is-inwardly-focused-and-driven-only-to-sustain-itself/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Natural DNA is a tractless coil, like an unwound and tangled audiotape on the floor of the car in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/natural-dna-is-a-tractless-coil-like-an-unwound-and-tangled-audiotape/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Do we care about these people that are HIV-positive whose lives have been ruined? Those are the people I'm the most concerned about. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/do-we-care-about-these-people-that-are-hiv-positive-whose-lives-have/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I love a microphone and a big crowd; I'm an entertainer, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-love-a-microphone-and-a-big-crowd-i-m-an-entertainer-i-guess/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Science consistently produces a new crop of miraculous truths and dazzling devices every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-consistently-produces-a-new-crop-of-miraculous-truths-and/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Here's a bunch of people practising a new set of behavioural norms. Apparently it didn't work because a lot of them got sick. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/here-s-a-bunch-of-people-practising-a-new-set-of-behavioural-norms/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [People realize this man knows what the hell's going on and nobody else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-realize-this-man-knows-what-the-hell-s-going-on-and-nobody/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Science, like nothing else among the institutions of mankind, grows like a weed every year. Art is subject to arbitrary fashion, religion is inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-like-nothing-else-among-the-institutions-of-mankind-grows/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I'm not politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-m-not-politically-correct/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Fish don't know much about water, and people didn't know much about air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/fish-don-t-know-much-about-water-and-people-didn-t-know-much-about-air/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My mother would give my brothers and me a pile of catalogues and let us pick what we wanted for Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-would-give-my-brothers-and-me-a-pile-of-catalogues-and-let/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [They can't pooh-pooh me now, because of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/they-can-t-pooh-pooh-me-now-because-of-who-i-am/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) [Explore all 48 Kary Mullis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## More Fork quotes > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [“When you get to the fork in the road…take it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-you-get-to-the-fork-in-the-road-take-it/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-world-was-my-oyster-but-i-used-the-wrong-fork/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others-if-you/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-you-arrive-at-a-fork-in-the-road-take-it/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [“When you come to a fork in the road, just take it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-you-come-to-a-fork-in-the-road-just-take-it/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [Food is much better off the hand than the fork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/food-is-much-better-off-the-hand-than-the-fork/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [The life of expression is the tuning fork by which we find our way to the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-life-of-expression-is-the-tuning-fork-by-which-we-find-our-way-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“Bullshit. You can paint with a fork, you can kill with a fork. A fork is a tool. Don't let yourself be confined by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fatah-steele/bullshit-you-can-paint-with-a-fork-you-can-kill-with-a-fork-a-fork-is/) [Brian Fatah Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fatah-steele/) > [You don't need a silver fork to eat good food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-prudhomme/you-don-t-need-a-silver-fork-to-eat-good-food/) [Paul Prudhomme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-prudhomme/) > [“Whenever you come upon a fork in the road DON'T put it in your mouth! You don't know where it's been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-paskoff/whenever-you-come-upon-a-fork-in-the-road-don-t-put-it-in-your-mouth/) [G. R. Paskoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-paskoff/) > [It is quite amazing how hard the subconscious works when it is made to understand that this life is not a rehearsal, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burdett/it-is-quite-amazing-how-hard-the-subconscious-works-when-it-is-made/) [John Burdett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burdett/) > [Violence begins with the fork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/violence-begins-with-the-fork/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Fork: An instrument used chiefly for the purpose of putting dead animals into the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/fork-an-instrument-used-chiefly-for-the-purpose-of-putting-dead/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The world is like a dropped pie most of the time. Don't kill yourself trying to put it back together. Just grab a fork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-world-is-like-a-dropped-pie-most-of-the-time-don-t-kill-yourself/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Browse all 92 Fork quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fork/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You can always back up and pick a new fork.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kary Mullis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fork/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fork" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fork/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25b/kary-mullis-13943_fork_you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fo_3140643.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can always back up and pick a new fork.” — Kary Mullis", "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": "Kary Mullis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You can always back up and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fork/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/you-can-always-back-up-and-pick-a-new-fork/#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 } } ] } ```