--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't disturb complicated systems that…" description: "\"Don't disturb complicated systems that have been around for a very long time. We don't understand their logic. Don't pollute the planet. Leave it the w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_complicated_don-t-disturb-complicated-systems-that-h_1854949.jpg" --- # Don't disturb complicated systems that have been around… ![“Don't disturb complicated systems that have been around for a very long time. We don't understand their logic. Don't pollute the planet. Leave it the way we found it, regardless of scientific 'evidence'.” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_complicated_don-t-disturb-complicated-systems-that-h_1854949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_complicated_don-t-disturb-complicated-systems-that-h_1854949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_complicated_don-t-disturb-complicated-systems-that-h_1854949.jpg) > “Don't disturb complicated systems that have been around for a very long time. We don't understand their logic. Don't pollute the planet. Leave it the way we found it, regardless of scientific 'evidence'.” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Long‑standing complex systems are fragile to interference because their inner logic is hidden; preserving them avoids unintended harm. **In simple terms:** Complex systems are fragile; don’t mess with them. Key Takeaway Respect and protect established systems. Themes complexity preservation uncertainty Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - environmental policy - technology maintenance - organizational change - infrastructure upgrades Key Concepts systems theory antifragility Questions to Reflect On - What hidden mechanisms might we overlook? - How can we balance innovation with stability? A Different Perspective Even well‑understood systems can be disrupted by good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Complicated Systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-systems-2459290/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) [Planet Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet-leave-2459289/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Pollute Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pollute-planet-2459288/) [Scientific evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-evidence/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The one thing that I do is take really complicated systems and subjects and make them accessible to regular people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-one-thing-that-i-do-is-take-really-complicated-systems-and/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“A complex system, contrary to what people believe, does not require complicated systems and regulations and intricate policies. The simpler, the better. Complications lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-complex-system-contrary-to-what-people-believe-does-not-require/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You come to the planet with nothing and you leave with nothing, so you'd better do some good while you are here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-van-halen/you-come-to-the-planet-with-nothing-and-you-leave-with-nothing-so-you/) [Alex Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-van-halen/) > [When you leave the planet, you leave music behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-van-halen/when-you-leave-the-planet-you-leave-music-behind/) [Alex Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-van-halen/) > [Walk lightly on this # planet and yet leave such a # footprint that cannot be erased for thousands of years!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/walk-lightly-on-this-planet-and-yet-leave-such-a-footprint-that/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [We believe that when men reach beyond this planet, they should leave their national differences behind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-believe-that-when-men-reach-beyond-this-planet-they-should-leave/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [You come to the planet with nothing and you leave with nothing, so youd better do some good while you are here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-van-halen/you-come-to-the-planet-with-nothing-and-you-leave-with-nothing-so/) [Alex Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-van-halen/) > [You do only live once, and I feel like if I'm able to make a difference on this planet and leave it just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bindi-irwin/you-do-only-live-once-and-i-feel-like-if-i-m-able-to-make-a/) [Bindi Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bindi-irwin/) > [The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-stern/the-scientific-evidence-is-now-overwhelming-climate-change-presents/) [Nicholas Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-stern/) > [Yes, all of life is sacred, including plants; and yes, there is research that demonstrates that plants have feelings - they feel it when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/yes-all-of-life-is-sacred-including-plants-and-yes-there-is-research/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [The best scientific evidence suggests temperatures are rising, and the best scientific evidence suggests man-made anthropogenic carbon emissions have some substantial thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-best-scientific-evidence-suggests-temperatures-are-rising-and-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [I don't think about life everlasting. If something doesn't have scientific evidence to back it up, I don't believe it. I'm a straight shooter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-yeager/i-don-t-think-about-life-everlasting-if-something-doesn-t-have/) [Chuck Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-yeager/) > [This last chapter .. may have given the impression that somehow man is the ultimate triumph of evolution, that all these millions of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/this-last-chapter-may-have-given-the-impression-that-somehow-man-is/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [How is it that, in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, there are still some who would deny the dangers of climate change? Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-stern/how-is-it-that-in-the-face-of-overwhelming-scientific-evidence-there/) [Nicholas Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-stern/) > [“Maybe  there's no scientific evidence of desserts curing what ails you, but if you ask me, the jury's still out on science anyway. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-cestari/maybe-there-s-no-scientific-evidence-of-desserts-curing-what-ails-you/) [Crystal Cestari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-cestari/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. Then, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-nightmare-scenario-is-that-the-government-saves-citibank-once/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“One needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket in order to win. Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Complicated quotes > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) [Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin/) > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. 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Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) [Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't disturb complicated systems that have been around for a very long time. We don't understand their logic. Don't pollute the planet. 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