--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The surviving intelligent life form on…" description: "\"The surviving intelligent life form on Earth is not going to be carbon-based; it's going to be silicon-based.\" — Paul MacCready" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png" --- # The surviving intelligent life form on Earth is not going… ![“The surviving intelligent life form on Earth is not going to be carbon-based; it's going to be silicon-based.” quote by Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png) > “The surviving intelligent life form on Earth is not going to be carbon-based; it's going to be silicon-based.” [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He predicts that future intelligent life will be silicon-based rather than carbon, suggesting a shift in biological foundations for intelligence **In simple terms:** Future intelligence may be based on silicon, not carbon Key Takeaway Consider alternative foundations for life and intelligence Themes science future biology Mood speculative inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - space exploration - AI research - education - policy making Key Concepts exobiology technology development Questions to Reflect On - What implications does silicon life have for technology? - How might humanity adapt to non-carbon intelligence? A Different Perspective Silicon-based life may face unknown limitations compared to carbon life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Carbon Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-based-975004/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Going Silicon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-silicon-4958766/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Silicon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silicon/) [Silicon Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silicon-based-2208905/) [Surviving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surviving/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [“At times, Larry accused Elon of being “specieist”: treating certain life forms as inferior just because they were silicon-based rather than carbon-based.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/at-times-larry-accused-elon-of-being-specieist-treating-certain-life/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [Silicon-based life may be impossible for one other reason: silicon bonds readily dissolve in water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/silicon-based-life-may-be-impossible-for-one-other-reason-silicon/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [Silicon-based life on Earth doesn't make sense, but perhaps it would in some totally different environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/silicon-based-life-on-earth-doesn-t-make-sense-but-perhaps-it-would/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [I really stay away from products that are not silicon-based, and I really stay away from parabens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-milian/i-really-stay-away-from-products-that-are-not-silicon-based-and-i/) [Christina Milian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-milian/) > [This going on and on about how terrible a carbon-based economy is, these people are full of crap. They don't know what they're talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/this-going-on-and-on-about-how-terrible-a-carbon-based-economy-is/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“Some might argue that a diamond is the earths hardest carbon based substance. However, I'd challenge that with the resolve, resilience, and tenacity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/some-might-argue-that-a-diamond-is-the-earths-hardest-carbon-based/) [Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/) > [I think, in the long run, we have to wean ourselves from a carbon-based economy. We absolutely have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-think-in-the-long-run-we-have-to-wean-ourselves-from-a-carbon-based/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [We're going to bake this planet, and be a curse to all species, including our own, if we don't find an alternative to carbon-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-re-going-to-bake-this-planet-and-be-a-curse-to-all-species/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I am a carbon-based life form. If mixed with water (H2O), my hair may frizzle, my eyes may redden, and my organics may shrivel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-vincent-majestic/i-am-a-carbon-based-life-form-if-mixed-with-water-h2o-my-hair-may/) [L Vincent Majestic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-vincent-majestic/) > [“There’s no doubt about it: more varieties of carbon-based molecules exist than all other kinds of molecules combined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/there-s-no-doubt-about-it-more-varieties-of-carbon-based-molecules/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We should transition away from carbon-based fuels, but that is not something that you can just flip a switch metaphorically, no pun intended, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/we-should-transition-away-from-carbon-based-fuels-but-that-is-not/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [“Time is an abstract concept created by carbon based life forms to monitor their on going decay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thundercleese/time-is-an-abstract-concept-created-by-carbon-based-life-forms-to/) [Thundercleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thundercleese/) > [It's better to have a broken CD player that worked once than to never have evolved into a self-aware carbon based lifeform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-benzine/it-s-better-to-have-a-broken-cd-player-that-worked-once-than-to-never/) [Craig Benzine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-benzine/) > [“What do I and a diamond have in common? We are tough, brilliant, and carbon based entities which evolved into something better under immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/what-do-i-and-a-diamond-have-in-common-we-are-tough-brilliant-and/) [Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/) > [Burning carbon-based substances like oil, gas, and especially coal, produces billions of tons of extra carbon dioxide each year. Methane gas from cows and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/burning-carbon-based-substances-like-oil-gas-and-especially-coal/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) ## More by Paul MacCready > [The only big ideas I've ever had came from daydreaming, but modern life keeps people from daydreaming. Every moment of the day your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-only-big-ideas-i-ve-ever-had-came-from-daydreaming-but-modern/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [Anyone who's not interested in model airplanes must have a screw loose somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/anyone-who-s-not-interested-in-model-airplanes-must-have-a-screw/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [Suddenly, we humans - a recently arrived species, no longer subject to the checks and balances inherent in nature - have grown in population,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/suddenly-we-humans-a-recently-arrived-species-no-longer-subject-to/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [The problem is we don't understand the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-problem-is-we-don-t-understand-the-problem/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [I'm more interested in a world that works than what sells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/i-m-more-interested-in-a-world-that-works-than-what-sells/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [Your grandchildren will likely find it incredible - or even sinful - that you burned up a gallon of gasoline to fetch a pack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/your-grandchildren-will-likely-find-it-incredible-or-even-sinful-that/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [We humans are basically content with a two-dimensional world, which is what we-ve always occupied. We travel mostly on the ground, have traffic jams,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/we-humans-are-basically-content-with-a-two-dimensional-world-which-is/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [We're short on wisdom; we're high on technology. Where's it going to lead?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/we-re-short-on-wisdom-we-re-high-on-technology-where-s-it-going-to/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [The only dumb question is the question you don't ask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-only-dumb-question-is-the-question-you-don-t-ask/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) [Explore all 10 Paul MacCready quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) ## More Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) [Peter Dilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dilger/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) [Marc Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-morano/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) [Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The surviving intelligent life form on Earth is not going to be carbon-based; it's going to be silicon-based.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul MacCready" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-earth-is-not-going-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carbon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-earth-is-not-going-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/paul-maccready-40925_carbon_the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-e_3032180.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The surviving intelligent life form on Earth is not going to be carbon-based; it's going to be silicon-based.” — Paul MacCready", "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": "Paul MacCready", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The surviving intelligent life form on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-earth-is-not-going-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-surviving-intelligent-life-form-on-earth-is-not-going-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```