--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way to build a complex system that…" description: "\"The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very simple systems that work.\" — Kevin Kelly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png" --- # The way to build a complex system that works is to build… ![“The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very simple systems that work.” quote by Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png) > “The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very simple systems that work.” [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. Complex systems succeed when assembled from reliable simple components. **In simple terms:** Build complex things from simple, working parts. Key Takeaway Start with simple, proven modules. Themes engineering systems design Mood analytical pragmatic Type technical instructional When to use this quote - software development - hardware design - organizational structure Key Concepts modularity emergent behavior scalability Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure each simple component truly works? - What risks arise when scaling simple parts? A Different Perspective Complexity can arise from simple parts interacting unpredictably. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Build Complex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-complex-3571267/) [Build Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-simple-5346995/) [Complex Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-works-5346996/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple Systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-systems-1528889/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Systems Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systems-work-1870969/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Computer science doesn't know how to build complex systems that work reliably. 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If you do, your systems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/once-a-week-do-a-thorough-review-of-all-your-projects-in-as-much/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) ## 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 Simple quotes > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. 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We might be sitting out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/it-s-something-he-used-to-say-when-he-was-happy-it-could-be-a-very/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) > [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I believe that simple, consistent shifts in our thinking and actions can lead to the miraculous in all aspects of our daily lives, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/i-believe-that-simple-consistent-shifts-in-our-thinking-and-actions/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [Like in nature, I like things which are based on a few simple principles, even though their manifestation can be very rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabiola-gianotti/like-in-nature-i-like-things-which-are-based-on-a-few-simple/) [Fabiola Gianotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabiola-gianotti/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. 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If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) [Browse all 10,010 Simple quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very simple systems that work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kevin Kelly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-works-is-to-build-it-from-very/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Simple" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-works-is-to-build-it-from-very/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/kevin-kelly-2418_simple_the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-w_3096355.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very simple systems that work.” — Kevin Kelly", "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": "Kevin Kelly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The way to build a complex...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-works-is-to-build-it-from-very/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-way-to-build-a-complex-system-that-works-is-to-build-it-from-very/#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 } } ] } ```