--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea of being able to build things…" description: "\"The idea of being able to build things bottom up, atom by atom, has made [scientists] all into tinkerers. And all of a sudden scientists are seeking de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/paola-antonelli-30510_able_the-idea-of-being-able-to-build-things-b_1104576.png" --- # The idea of being able to build things bottom up, atom by… ![“The idea of being able to build things bottom up, atom by atom, has made [scientists] all into tinkerers. And all of a sudden scientists are seeking designers, just like designers are seeking scientists.” quote by Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/paola-antonelli-30510_able_the-idea-of-being-able-to-build-things-b_1104576.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/paola-antonelli-30510_able_the-idea-of-being-able-to-build-things-b_1104576.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/paola-antonelli-30510_able_the-idea-of-being-able-to-build-things-b_1104576.png) > “The idea of being able to build things bottom up, atom by atom, has made \[scientists\] all into tinkerers. And all of a sudden scientists are seeking designers, just like designers are seeking scientists.” [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists and designers increasingly collaborate, treating creation as a modular, bottom‑up process that blurs disciplinary lines. **In simple terms:** Science and design now work together, building from tiny parts. Key Takeaway Foster interdisciplinary teamwork from the smallest components up. Themes innovation interdisciplinary collaboration Mood enthusiastic forward‑looking Type practical visionary When to use this quote - product development - educational curricula - research labs - startup incubators - policy making Key Concepts modular design systems thinking creative engineering Questions to Reflect On - What risks arise when focusing only on atomic components? - How can holistic vision be preserved in modular design? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on modularity can ignore holistic system behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Atom Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atom-scientists-2911369/) [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Chemistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Designer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designer/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientists Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-seeking-2911368/) [Scientists Tinkerers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-tinkerers-2911366/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Seeking Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking-scientists-2911367/) [Tinkerers Sudden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tinkerers-sudden-2911370/) ## Related quotes > [Some of the most important discoveries that scientists have made were not what they were seeking at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/some-of-the-most-important-discoveries-that-scientists-have-made-were/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/) [Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/) > [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/) [Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/) > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) [Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) [Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/) ## More by Paola Antonelli > [Designers may be the true intellectuals of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-may-be-the-true-intellectuals-of-the-future/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [I consider video games a form of design that is amazingly important today and that is going to become even more important in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/i-consider-video-games-a-form-of-design-that-is-amazingly-important/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Not all design is for the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/not-all-design-is-for-the-general-good/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Designers need to be mavericks, because the best way to design a successful object is to pretend that either it never existed or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-need-to-be-mavericks-because-the-best-way-to-design-a/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Be yourself, be in the moment, you’re going to be modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/be-yourself-be-in-the-moment-you-re-going-to-be-modern/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [People think that design is styling. Design is not style. It's not about giving shape to the shell and not giving a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/people-think-that-design-is-styling-design-is-not-style-it-s-not/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Beauty and elegance are a right, not a surplus... . We must demand, at least, intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/beauty-and-elegance-are-a-right-not-a-surplus-we-must-demand-at-least/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [While an artist can choose whether or not to be responsive and responsible towards other human beings, by definition a designer must be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/while-an-artist-can-choose-whether-or-not-to-be-responsive-and/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Heaven is satisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/heaven-is-satisfied-curiosity/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [In an ideal world, social responsibility would be a prerequisite for design, and designers would vow to produce beautiful, useful, positive, responsible, functional, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/in-an-ideal-world-social-responsibility-would-be-a-prerequisite-for/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Small objects, like the Walkman first and then the iPod, create bubbles of space around us that enable us to have a metaphysical space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/small-objects-like-the-walkman-first-and-then-the-ipod-create-bubbles/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Ugly design should be rejected, just like nonfunctional design is rejected, just like nonenvironmentally conscious design should be rejected. It's a value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/ugly-design-should-be-rejected-just-like-nonfunctional-design-is/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Elegance in objects is everybody’s right, and it shouldn’t cost more than ugliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/elegance-in-objects-is-everybody-s-right-and-it-shouldn-t-cost-more/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Good design is a Renaissance attitude that combines tech, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/good-design-is-a-renaissance-attitude-that-combines-tech-cognitive/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Designers stand between revolutions and everyday life. They’re able to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and society and convert those changes into objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/designers-stand-between-revolutions-and-everyday-life-they-re-able-to/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) [Explore all 17 Paola Antonelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea of being able to build things bottom up, atom by atom, has made [scientists] all into tinkerers. 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