--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think about even very common…" description: "\"If you think about even very common examples like, say, something that you would build, like a clock or a car or a group of people trying to accomplish..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/peter-adamson-14769_accomplish_if-you-think-about-even-very-common-exam_2183530.png" --- # If you think about even very common examples like, say… ![“If you think about even very common examples like, say, something that you would build, like a clock or a car or a group of people trying to accomplish something, it fails when its unity breaks down. So when it stops having a single form, which is functioning all together, then it sort of falls…” quote by Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/peter-adamson-14769_accomplish_if-you-think-about-even-very-common-exam_2183530.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/peter-adamson-14769_accomplish_if-you-think-about-even-very-common-exam_2183530.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/peter-adamson-14769_accomplish_if-you-think-about-even-very-common-exam_2183530.png) > “If you think about even very common examples like, say, something that you would build, like a clock or a car or a group of people trying to accomplish something, it fails when its unity breaks down. So when it stops having a single form, which is functioning all together, then it sort of falls apart into discrete elements.” [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When a system loses its cohesive unity, it fragments into isolated parts, ceasing to function as a whole. **In simple terms:** Loss of unity causes breakdown. Key Takeaway Maintain cohesion. Themes systems unity failure collaboration Mood analytical reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team projects - engineering design - organizational management - software development Key Concepts systems theory emergence complexity Questions to Reflect On - How can you preserve unity in complex projects? - What safeguards prevent fragmentation? A Different Perspective Unity alone doesn't guarantee success; other factors matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplish/) [Apart Discrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apart-discrete-4726953/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Breaking down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-down/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Discrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrete/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Fails Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fails-unity-4726952/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falling apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-apart/) [Falls Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falls-apart-469549/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) [Unity Breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity-breaks-4726951/) ## Related quotes > [Before something great happens, everything falls apart. Just hold on long enough to get through the smoke screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-sweat/before-something-great-happens-everything-falls-apart-just-hold-on/) [Keith Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-sweat/) > [Hate it when everything falls apart just when I feel that my life's completed. Good things never last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hate-it-when-everything-falls-apart-just-when-i-feel-that-my-life-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It hurts when you put all your time and energy into someone and it falls apart like it was never there :(](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal/it-hurts-when-you-put-all-your-time-and-energy-into-someone-and-it/) [Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal/) > [“Without you everything falls apart. Without you it's not as much fun to pick up the pieces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nine-inch-nails/without-you-everything-falls-apart-without-you-it-s-not-as-much-fun/) [Nine Inch Nails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nine-inch-nails/) > [Just when you thought everything would be perfect, everything falls apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas-2/just-when-you-thought-everything-would-be-perfect-everything-falls/) [Ryaj Ablando-Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas-2/) > [“Somebody sees me, and I see myself through them. Then it’s all gone, the whole world falls apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/somebody-sees-me-and-i-see-myself-through-them-then-it-s-all-gone-the/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Everything can look good in theory and in practice it all falls apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-carr/everything-can-look-good-in-theory-and-in-practice-it-all-falls-apart/) [Derek Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-carr/) > [“You carved your name into my heart You said we were forever But everything falls Everything falls apart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-sylvan/you-carved-your-name-into-my-heart-you-said-we-were-forever-but/) [Dianne Sylvan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-sylvan/) > [“You spend so much time, so much effort, trying to hold yourself togheter. And then everything falls apart anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-spend-so-much-time-so-much-effort-trying-to-hold-yourself/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [It hurts when you put all you're time and energy into someone and it falls apart like it was never there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/it-hurts-when-you-put-all-you-re-time-and-energy-into-someone-and-it/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [“The reason everything falls apart around me, but I don’t is because my angels keep me standing up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-reason-everything-falls-apart-around-me-but-i-don-t-is-because-my/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Everything that comes together falls apart. Everything. The chair I’m sitting on. It was built, and so it will fall apart. I’m gonna fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/everything-that-comes-together-falls-apart-everything-the-chair-i-m/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The minute I'm in a little pain ... your rough, tough, scary bad boy image totally falls apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/the-minute-i-m-in-a-little-pain-your-rough-tough-scary-bad-boy-image/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [See that's where it falls apart for me!" Anne cried. "What sticks in my throat is that God gets the credit but never the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/see-that-s-where-it-falls-apart-for-me-anne-cried-what-sticks-in-my/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) > [“Just. Sometimes everything falls apart at once, you know" And I'm slowly putting it back together, but it's taking a freaking eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-perry/just-sometimes-everything-falls-apart-at-once-you-know-and-i-m-slowly/) [Jolene Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-perry/) ## More by Peter Adamson > [Plotinus thought that the entire world has a single soul. He also thought that each animal and plant and of course human, has an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/plotinus-thought-that-the-entire-world-has-a-single-soul-he-also/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Assuming there is an intellect, we're clearly not this universal intellect or we would know it. So that's one function of soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/assuming-there-is-an-intellect-we-re-clearly-not-this-universal/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The body is some kind of image of you, it's kind of something that's just attached to your soul, some kind of outside principle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-body-is-some-kind-of-image-of-you-it-s-kind-of-something-that-s/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The forms are part of the mind, or really are the mind, they're just the contents of this universal night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-forms-are-part-of-the-mind-or-really-are-the-mind-they-re-just/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Before the 3rd century you're having several philosophical schools still as a going concern. You have not only the Platonists and the Aristotelians but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/before-the-3rd-century-you-re-having-several-philosophical-schools/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Unlike later Neo-Platonists, Plotinus says that our souls are always connected to the universal intellect and that we never really fall away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/unlike-later-neo-platonists-plotinus-says-that-our-souls-are-always/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The forms in intellect are some kind of blueprint or model on which the physical world is based, and something needs to come along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-forms-in-intellect-are-some-kind-of-blueprint-or-model-on-which/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Once you're in a kind of revealed religious tradition, you wind up having to explain how the things said about God in the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/once-you-re-in-a-kind-of-revealed-religious-tradition-you-wind-up/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Al-Ghazali is the most important philosophical theologian of classical Islam, and Moderation in Belief is among his most important works. It sets out al-Ghazali's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/al-ghazali-is-the-most-important-philosophical-theologian-of/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [In fact Plotinus thought not only that soul in general is eternal so that you always have soul, but he thought that each person's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/in-fact-plotinus-thought-not-only-that-soul-in-general-is-eternal-so/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The intellect must be different from the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-intellect-must-be-different-from-the-soul/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Basically the problem is that if the intellect is looking at or beholding the forms, what it will get is some kind of representation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/basically-the-problem-is-that-if-the-intellect-is-looking-at-or/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The body distracts your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-body-distracts-your-soul/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [For Plotinus, what really exists are the Platonic forms, so the true nature or form of things like justice, beauty, maybe numbers, things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/for-plotinus-what-really-exists-are-the-platonic-forms-so-the-true/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [This is in a way the most important thing about soul is that it's a kind of principle which mediates between the universal intellect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/this-is-in-a-way-the-most-important-thing-about-soul-is-that-it-s-a/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) [Explore all 45 Peter Adamson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) ## More Accomplish quotes > [Learn to see the big picture. Often times we get tunnel vision and lose sight of the big picture and what we're really trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/learn-to-see-the-big-picture-often-times-we-get-tunnel-vision-and/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [God has given believers the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all the world, and we need to use all at our disposal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-epp/god-has-given-believers-the-responsibility-of-spreading-the-gospel-to/) [Theodore Epp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-epp/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [There's things that you want to accomplish, but to do that you have to work. That's the name of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/there-s-things-that-you-want-to-accomplish-but-to-do-that-you-have-to/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We have to think about the future and what it is we want to accomplish from this party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-bernice-johnson/we-have-to-think-about-the-future-and-what-it-is-we-want-to/) [Eddie Bernice Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-bernice-johnson/) > [Everything that I have ever hoped to accomplish, she has done and done better than anyone I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/everything-that-i-have-ever-hoped-to-accomplish-she-has-done-and-done/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [There's a lot that I want to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-s-a-lot-that-i-want-to-accomplish/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [For what we want to accomplish in the future, we have to be able to view everything from the eyes of the customer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-katz/for-what-we-want-to-accomplish-in-the-future-we-have-to-be-able-to/) [Karen Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-katz/) > [And for me the only way to live life is to grab the bull by the horns and call up recording studios and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/and-for-me-the-only-way-to-live-life-is-to-grab-the-bull-by-the-horns/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [A great tennis career is something that a 15-year-old normally doesn't have. I hope my example helps other teens believe they can accomplish things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/a-great-tennis-career-is-something-that-a-15-year-old-normally-doesn/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [Somebody once told me that if you laugh at a George Bush joke, or you send an email cartoon to your friends that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/somebody-once-told-me-that-if-you-laugh-at-a-george-bush-joke-or-you/) [Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/) > [One should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/one-should-not-withdraw-from-individuals-and-commit-to-the-community/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) [Browse all 2,426 Accomplish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you think about even very common examples like, say, something that you would build, like a clock or a car or a group of people trying to accomplish something, it fails when its unity breaks down. 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