--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way that organizations and organisms…" description: "\"The way that organizations and organisms anticipate the future is by taking signals from the past, most the time.\" — Kevin Kelly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kevin-kelly-2418_anticipate_the-way-that-organizations-and-organisms_1662222.png" --- # The way that organizations and organisms anticipate the… ![“The way that organizations and organisms anticipate the future is by taking signals from the past, most the time.” quote by Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kevin-kelly-2418_anticipate_the-way-that-organizations-and-organisms_1662222.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kevin-kelly-2418_anticipate_the-way-that-organizations-and-organisms_1662222.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kevin-kelly-2418_anticipate_the-way-that-organizations-and-organisms_1662222.png) > “The way that organizations and organisms anticipate the future is by taking signals from the past, most the time.” [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Organizations and living systems predict future conditions by interpreting past patterns, though this method is not always reliable. **In simple terms:** Future is guessed from past signals. Key Takeaway Use past data wisely. Themes prediction learning adaptation Mood analytical cautious Type strategic insightful When to use this quote - business planning - medical diagnosis - climate modeling - personal decision making Key Concepts systems theory signal processing Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance past data with new information? - What are risks of assuming continuity? A Different Perspective Overreliance on past may ignore novel changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Signals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signals/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [One of the functions of an organization, of any organism, is to anticipate the future, so that those relationships can persist over time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/one-of-the-functions-of-an-organization-of-any-organism-is-to/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I live in the present. I only remember the past, and anticipate the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-live-in-the-present-i-only-remember-the-past-and-anticipate-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We believe that the possibility of the future far exceeds the accomplishment of the past. We review the past with the common sense, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-believe-that-the-possibility-of-the-future-far-exceeds-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Live for today, but hold your hands open to tomorrow. Anticipate the future and its changes with joy. There is a seed of God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/live-for-today-but-hold-your-hands-open-to-tomorrow-anticipate-the/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [We think very little of time present; we anticipate the future, as being too slow, and with a view to hasten it onward, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-think-very-little-of-time-present-we-anticipate-the-future-as/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [One must plan for the future and anticipate the future without fearing the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/one-must-plan-for-the-future-and-anticipate-the-future-without/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good does it do to brood on the past or anticipate the future? Remain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/do-not-encumber-your-mind-with-useless-thoughts-what-good-does-it-do/) [Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [Accordingly, globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future, but something that is taking place in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-beck/accordingly-globalization-is-not-only-something-that-will-concern-and/) [Ulrich Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-beck/) > [“You change the future by taking control of the present. Know how to use your minutes and hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/you-change-the-future-by-taking-control-of-the-present-know-how-to/) [Innocent Mwatsikesimbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/) > [Determine your future now by taking hold of every opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbye-turner/determine-your-future-now-by-taking-hold-of-every-opportunity/) Debbye Turner > [It's not about the past, and it's not about the future, its about taking this moment you're living in right now, and making it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/it-s-not-about-the-past-and-it-s-not-about-the-future-its-about/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [I want to pursue music in the future, but I'm taking it a step at a time and making sure I'm constantly growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-scott/i-want-to-pursue-music-in-the-future-but-i-m-taking-it-a-step-at-a/) [Naomi Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-scott/) > [“When you do what's important now for you, you create a past that leaves you ready to handle the present. By default, the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kuypers/when-you-do-what-s-important-now-for-you-you-create-a-past-that/) [John Kuypers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kuypers/) > [“The future is being made out of the present, so the best way to take care of the future is to take care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/the-future-is-being-made-out-of-the-present-so-the-best-way-to-take/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) ## More by Kevin Kelly > [We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-are-reaching-deep-within-ourselves-to-adjust-the-master-knob/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [This is the culmination of a lot of people's vision. I think this is just another step towards making Central Michigan football among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/this-is-the-culmination-of-a-lot-of-people-s-vision-i-think-this-is/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Existence, it seems, is chiefly maintenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/existence-it-seems-is-chiefly-maintenance/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“We have no certainty we’ll contact extraterrestrial beings from one of the billion earthlike planets in the sky in the next 200 years, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-no-certainty-we-ll-contact-extraterrestrial-beings-from-one/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/changing-things-from-the-top-down-works-when-things-are-stable/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/it-s-generally-much-easier-to-kill-an-organization-than-to-change-it/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The only organization capable of unprejudiced growth, or unguided learning, is a network. All othertopologies limit what can happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-only-organization-capable-of-unprejudiced-growth-or-unguided/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We have to get better at believing the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-to-get-better-at-believing-the-impossible/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Our most important mechanical inventions are not machines that do what humans do better, but machines that can do things we can’t do at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/our-most-important-mechanical-inventions-are-not-machines-that-do/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“In the universal library, no book will be an island. It’s all connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-the-universal-library-no-book-will-be-an-island-it-s-all-connected/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Singularity is the point at which "all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/singularity-is-the-point-at-which-all-the-change-in-the-last-million/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We tend to think of the mind of an organization residing in the CEO and the organization's top managers, perhaps with the help of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-tend-to-think-of-the-mind-of-an-organization-residing-in-the-ceo/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The smallest thought could not exist unless the entire universe and the laws of physics were in some way encouraging it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-smallest-thought-could-not-exist-unless-the-entire-universe-and/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“From the days of Sumerian clay tablets until now, humans have “published” at least 310 million books, 1.4 billion articles and essays, 180 million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/from-the-days-of-sumerian-clay-tablets-until-now-humans-have/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) [Explore all 167 Kevin Kelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## More Anticipate quotes > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I like to do everything you can possibly do before you go into rehearsal, because once we are in rehearsal or on the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-prince/i-like-to-do-everything-you-can-possibly-do-before-you-go-into/) [Harold Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-prince/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. 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