--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My computer is a very complex gadget and…" description: "\"My computer is a very complex gadget and it was designed by many designers, so why must the universe have only a single designer and not many designers..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg" --- # My computer is a very complex gadget and it was designed… ![“My computer is a very complex gadget and it was designed by many designers, so why must the universe have only a single designer and not many designers?” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg) > “My computer is a very complex gadget and it was designed by many designers, so why must the universe have only a single designer and not many designers?” [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. Complex systems can arise from many interacting parts, challenging the notion of a single designer for the universe. **In simple terms:** Complex things can form without one designer. Key Takeaway Consider multiple contributors in design. Themes science philosophy design Mood analytical thought‑provoking Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - technology development - biological evolution - architectural planning Key Concepts emergent complexity pluralistic design anthropic principle Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports multiple contributors? - How do we test for a single vs many designers? A Different Perspective Multiple designers can cause coordination issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Designers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designers/) [Gadgets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gadgets/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [The SF genre, of course, is really an organically evolved, marketplace-determined, idiosyncratic grab bag of themes and signifiers and characters and icons and gadgets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/the-sf-genre-of-course-is-really-an-organically-evolved-marketplace/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [I'll take my iPod - though I'm not very good with gadgets to be honest - and that has everything I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-flintoff/i-ll-take-my-ipod-though-i-m-not-very-good-with-gadgets-to-be-honest/) [Andrew Flintoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-flintoff/) > [I like to download as many apps as I can - especially the ones with games and gadgets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/i-like-to-download-as-many-apps-as-i-can-especially-the-ones-with/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [I have never been very good with technology and when it comes to gadgets I normally lag pretty far behind my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-have-never-been-very-good-with-technology-and-when-it-comes-to/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [People go on postponing everything that is meaningful. Tomorrow they will laugh; today, money has to be gathered... more money, more power, more things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/people-go-on-postponing-everything-that-is-meaningful-tomorrow-they/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A new world is not made simply by trying to forget the old. A new world is made with a new spirit, with new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/a-new-world-is-not-made-simply-by-trying-to-forget-the-old-a-new/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Most of us carry at least one device, all the time, every day. 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I like woollen things and log fires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-m-not-very-geeky-i-m-quite-homespun-i-would-say-i-m-more-modern/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Gadgets - our houses are filled with them: ones we need, ones we think we need, and others that were a good idea at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheherazade-goldsmith/gadgets-our-houses-are-filled-with-them-ones-we-need-ones-we-think-we/) [Sheherazade Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheherazade-goldsmith/) > [I was on automatic pilot; ideas for gadgets kept coming, fed by a force of energy flowing through me and around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-baylis/i-was-on-automatic-pilot-ideas-for-gadgets-kept-coming-fed-by-a-force/) [Trevor Baylis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-baylis/) > [I like the computer! It's a gadget, and I love gadgets. But it's very complicated and I didn't think I'd have the time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordicai-gerstein/i-like-the-computer-it-s-a-gadget-and-i-love-gadgets-but-it-s-very/) [Mordicai Gerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordicai-gerstein/) > [Counterterrorism isn't really about the nunchakus, the guns and gadgets. It's about psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/counterterrorism-isn-t-really-about-the-nunchakus-the-guns-and/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [Dreams about the future are always filled with gadgets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/dreams-about-the-future-are-always-filled-with-gadgets/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [there is a danger, when thinking of the earliest civilized people, of putting too much emphasis on technology. One tends to assume that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacquetta-hawkes/there-is-a-danger-when-thinking-of-the-earliest-civilized-people-of/) [Jacquetta Hawkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacquetta-hawkes/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [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/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. 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This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Browse all 1,635 Complexes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My computer is a very complex gadget and it was designed by many designers, so why must the universe have only a single designer and not many designers?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and-it-was-designed-by-many/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complexes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and-it-was-designed-by-many/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/richard-dawkins-115_complexes_my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and_482085.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My computer is a very complex gadget and it was designed by many designers, so why must the universe have…” — Richard Dawkins", "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": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My computer is a very complex...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and-it-was-designed-by-many/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-computer-is-a-very-complex-gadget-and-it-was-designed-by-many/#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 } } ] } ```