--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every mutation through a new combination…" description: "\"Every mutation through a new combination of genetic factors that provides the organism with a new opportunity for coming to terms with the conditions o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/konrad-lorenz-8538_adaptation_every-mutation-through-a-new-combination_1401879.jpg" --- # Every mutation through a new combination of genetic… ![“Every mutation through a new combination of genetic factors that provides the organism with a new opportunity for coming to terms with the conditions of its environment signifies no more and no less than that new information about this environment has got into that organic system. Adaptation is…” quote by Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/konrad-lorenz-8538_adaptation_every-mutation-through-a-new-combination_1401879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/konrad-lorenz-8538_adaptation_every-mutation-through-a-new-combination_1401879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/konrad-lorenz-8538_adaptation_every-mutation-through-a-new-combination_1401879.jpg) > “Every mutation through a new combination of genetic factors that provides the organism with a new opportunity for coming to terms with the conditions of its environment signifies no more and no less than that new information about this environment has got into that organic system. Adaptation is essentially a cognitive process.” [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adaptation arises when genetic changes give organisms new ways to handle environmental challenges, acting like a cognitive update. **In simple terms:** Genetic changes help organisms cope with their surroundings. Key Takeaway Recognize adaptation as a mental process. Themes evolution cognition environment genetics Mood thoughtful analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - wildlife research - conservation - education - technology design Key Concepts cognitive adaptation information theory Questions to Reflect On - How do organisms “learn” from genetic changes? - Can we accelerate adaptation through technology? A Different Perspective Adaptation may be limited by genetic constraints and lack of variation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adaptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) [Adaptation Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation-essentially-4914769/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Cognitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognitive/) [Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combination/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Factors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factors/) [Genetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genetic/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Mutation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutation/) [New information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-information/) [New opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-opportunity/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Organic Adaptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organic-adaptation-4914768/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that both art and the human striving for cognitive comprehension are manifest forms of the grand game in which nothing more is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-believe-that-both-art-and-the-human-striving-for-cognitive/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [The approach and strategies are very similar in that you gather all the information you can and then keep adding to that base of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-approach-and-strategies-are-very-similar-in-that-you-gather-all/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Acknowledging weakness doesn't make a leader less effective. On the contrary, in most cases it is simply a way of expressing that he understands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/acknowledging-weakness-doesn-t-make-a-leader-less-effective-on-the/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [Everyone wants to make good decisions. But how do you know when you are being guided by the Eck (Holy Spirit) or the mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-klemp/everyone-wants-to-make-good-decisions-but-how-do-you-know-when-you/) [Harold Klemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-klemp/) > [The ability to work hard for days on end without losing focus is a talent. The ability to keep absorbing new information after many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/the-ability-to-work-hard-for-days-on-end-without-losing-focus-is-a/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [“a mind that is too full of what it thinks it knows can’t take in new information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarajoy-marsh/a-mind-that-is-too-full-of-what-it-thinks-it-knows-can-t-take-in-new/) [Sarajoy Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarajoy-marsh/) > [Enlightenment is not the process of learning 'new' information. It is the process of 'reminding' ourselves that the answers are already 'within our consciousness'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allen/enlightenment-is-not-the-process-of-learning-new-information-it-is/) [Eric Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allen/) > [All great leaders constantly seek new information and new ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/all-great-leaders-constantly-seek-new-information-and-new-ways-of/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [“If he ever changes his stance on something, it's because he's received new information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-graham/if-he-ever-changes-his-stance-on-something-it-s-because-he-s-received/) [Heather Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-graham/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I spend a lot of time going over old conversation summaries. A lot of the old ones are about ideas that ended in failure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-boyden/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-going-over-old-conversation-summaries-a-lot-of/) [Edward Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-boyden/) > [There has never been a master plan. Anyone who wanted to do it, we fired because it takes on a life of its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/there-has-never-been-a-master-plan-anyone-who-wanted-to-do-it-we/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Abundance, like everything else in the universe, is simply a specific arrangement of energy and information. With our intention, we can change the energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/abundance-like-everything-else-in-the-universe-is-simply-a-specific/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“they favor new information over old, even if the older information is more valuable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-keller/they-favor-new-information-over-old-even-if-the-older-information-is/) [Gary Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-keller/) > [Larousse is an invaluable tool for any cook. I've used this great resource all throughout my cooking career, and of course I look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keller/larousse-is-an-invaluable-tool-for-any-cook-i-ve-used-this-great/) [Thomas Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keller/) ## More by Konrad Lorenz > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I owe undying gratitude to my patient parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-owe-undying-gratitude-to-my-patient-parents/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/it-is-a-good-morning-exercise-for-a-research-scientist-to-discard-a/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > ['I don't need brains,' says the billionaire contemptuously. 'I'm brainy enough myself!' The broker cries out in desperation, 'What, in heaven's name, do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-don-t-need-brains-says-the-billionaire-contemptuously-i-m-brainy/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I have found the missing link between the higher ape and civilized man; it is we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-have-found-the-missing-link-between-the-higher-ape-and-civilized/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/the-fidelity-of-a-dog-is-a-precious-gift/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Whenever we find, in two forms of life that are unrelated to each other, a similarity of form or of behaviour patterns which relates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/whenever-we-find-in-two-forms-of-life-that-are-unrelated-to-each/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [...he who has seen the intimate beauty of nature cannot tear himself away from it again. He must become either a poet or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/he-who-has-seen-the-intimate-beauty-of-nature-cannot-tear-himself/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [We had better dispense with the personification of evil, because it leads, all too easily, to the most dangerous kind of war: religious war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/we-had-better-dispense-with-the-personification-of-evil-because-it/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If you confine yourself to this Skinnerian technique, you study nothing but the learning apparatus and you leave out everything that is different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/if-you-confine-yourself-to-this-skinnerian-technique-you-study/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [All scientific knowledge to which man owes his role as master of the world arose from playful activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-scientific-knowledge-to-which-man-owes-his-role-as-master-of-the/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [All the advantages that man has gained from his ever-deepening understanding of the natural world that surrounds him, his technological, chemical and medical progress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/all-the-advantages-that-man-has-gained-from-his-ever-deepening/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/truth-in-science-can-be-defined-as-the-working-hypothesis-best-suited/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“Every scientist should, after all, regard it as his duty to tell the public, in a generally intelligible way, about what he is doing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-scientist-should-after-all-regard-it-as-his-duty-to-tell-the/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I consider early childhood events as most essential to a man's scientific and philosophical development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-consider-early-childhood-events-as-most-essential-to-a-man-s/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) [Explore all 78 Konrad Lorenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) ## More Adaptation quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [“Why I am Passionate and Dedicated 1000% to producing and bringing my books Loving Summer, Bitter Frost, and other book series to the Screen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/why-i-am-passionate-and-dedicated-1000-to-producing-and-bringing-my/) [Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) [Alexander Agassiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-agassiz/) > [The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-the-ageless-law-of-nature-but-the/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-facts-of-variability-of-the-struggle-for-existence-of-adaptation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-law-of-nature-we-overlook-that-intellectual-versatility-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world may not be ready yet for the film equivalent of books on tape, but this peculiar phenomenon has arrived in the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/the-world-may-not-be-ready-yet-for-the-film-equivalent-of-books-on/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [“Evolution is more about adaptivity than adaptability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/evolution-is-more-about-adaptivity-than-adaptability/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [There is change by necessity or adaptation, and there is contrived change or novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/there-is-change-by-necessity-or-adaptation-and-there-is-contrived/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The tendency for depression to repeat reflects the normal default settings of a plastic mood system that is open to experience. The unfortunate consequence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rottenberg/the-tendency-for-depression-to-repeat-reflects-the-normal-default/) [Jonathan Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rottenberg/) > [“The unglamorous truth is that there are but a handful of uniquely human traits that we have clearly demonstrated are adaptations evolved to thrive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/the-unglamorous-truth-is-that-there-are-but-a-handful-of-uniquely/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/you-must-be-shapeless-formless-like-water-when-you-pour-water-in-a/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“On the rare occasions on which a movie was shown, there was as much suspense in the audience over whether the electricity would hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/on-the-rare-occasions-on-which-a-movie-was-shown-there-was-as-much/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. With 'L.A. Confidential,' I loved the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/working-on-an-adaptation-is-not-as-satisfying-because-it-s-not-your/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) [Browse all 476 Adaptation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every mutation through a new combination of genetic factors that provides the organism with a new opportunity for coming to terms with the conditions of its environment signifies no more and no less than that new information about this environment has got into that organic system. 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