--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A guided missile corrects its trajectory…" description: "\"A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies, homing in, say, on the heat of a jet plane's exhaust. A great improvement on a simple ballistic s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/richard-dawkins-115_away_a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory_292143.jpg" --- # A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies… ![“A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies, homing in, say, on the heat of a jet plane's exhaust. A great improvement on a simple ballistic shell, it still cannot discriminate particular targets. It could not zero in on a designated New York skyscraper if launched from as far away as…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/richard-dawkins-115_away_a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory_292143.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/richard-dawkins-115_away_a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory_292143.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/richard-dawkins-115_away_a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory_292143.jpg) > “A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies, homing in, say, on the heat of a jet plane's exhaust. A great improvement on a simple ballistic shell, it still cannot discriminate particular targets. It could not zero in on a designated New York skyscraper if launched from as far away as Boston.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A guided missile can adjust its path toward heat sources but lacks precise target discrimination over long distances. **In simple terms:** Missiles can home in on heat but not specific distant targets. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of adaptive systems. Themes technology precision limitations Mood analytical critical Type technical strategic When to use this quote - military planning - defense strategy - engineering design - risk assessment Key Concepts guidance systems target discrimination Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve specificity in adaptive technologies? - What are ethical implications of imprecise targeting? A Different Perspective Even adaptive tech can fail without precise targeting data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away/) [Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) [Cannot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannot/) [Corrects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrects/) [Corrects Trajectory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrects-trajectory-2808029/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Discriminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discriminate/) [Exhaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaust/) [Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far/) [Far away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-away/) [Flies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flies/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Guided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guided/) [Guided Missile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guided-missile-2808027/) [Heat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heat/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Jet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jet/) [Missile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missile/) [Missile Corrects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missile-corrects-2808028/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Shell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shell/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Skyscraper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skyscraper/) [Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still/) [Targets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/targets/) [Trajectory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trajectory/) [Trajectory Flies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trajectory-flies-2808030/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) [Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zero/) ## Related quotes > [“She’s not great at communicating day-to-day, but when we finally do get into arguments, she has a laser-guided missile system that cuts right through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-wright/she-s-not-great-at-communicating-day-to-day-but-when-we-finally-do/) [David W. 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