--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without death there is little innovation…" description: "\"“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of this kind of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/richard-fortey-24595_change_without-death-there-is-little-innovation_58540.png" --- # Without death there is little innovation. Extinction… ![“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of this kind of extinction new developments would not prosper. In our own history, periods when ideas have been perpetuated by dogma, preventing the replacement of…” quote by Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/richard-fortey-24595_change_without-death-there-is-little-innovation_58540.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/richard-fortey-24595_change_without-death-there-is-little-innovation_58540.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/richard-fortey-24595_change_without-death-there-is-little-innovation_58540.png) > ““Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of this kind of extinction new developments would not prosper. In our own history, periods when ideas have been perpetuated by dogma, preventing the replacement of old by new ideas, have also been times of stultifying stagnation. The Dark Ages in western society were the most static, least innovative of times. So the fact that trilobites were replaced by batches of successive species through their long history was a testimony to their evolutionary vigour.”” [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovation depends on the removal of outdated forms; extinction creates space for novel adaptations, while dogmatic persistence stalls progress. **In simple terms:** Progress needs turnover of old ideas. Key Takeaway Stagnation arises from preserving the status quo. Themes Evolutionary change Innovation dynamics Dogma vs. progress Historical cycles Species turnover Mood reflective inquisitive cautious Type philosophical historical scientific When to use this quote - Scientific paradigm shifts - Technological revolutions - Cultural renaissances - Ecological succession - Organizational restructuring Key Concepts Extinction as catalyst Creative renewal Historical stagnation Adaptive pressure Practical Applications - Designing policies that encourage disruptive ideas - Using extinction metaphors to motivate change management Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can societies use to replace entrenched ideas? - How does controlled 'extinction' of outdated practices foster innovation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Cycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycle/) [Dark ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-ages/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“The fastest extinction in New Zealand – possibly in the entire world – was the Stephen’s Island wren, which lived on tiny Stephen’s Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-carwardine/the-fastest-extinction-in-new-zealand-possibly-in-the-entire-world/) [Mark Carwardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-carwardine/) > [“All autumn, the chafe and jar of nuclear war; we have talked our extinction to death. I swim like a minnow behind my studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/all-autumn-the-chafe-and-jar-of-nuclear-war-we-have-talked-our/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies to label…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three-hundred-million-years-almost/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [You must not lie about trilobites, nor yet about time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/you-must-not-lie-about-trilobites-nor-yet-about-time/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“But, for now, I retreated back down the little hidden staircase into the familiar world of the basement of the Natural History Museum, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-little-hidden-staircase-into/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life. ... 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Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/every-new-discovery-about-the-genome-is-consistent-with-evolution/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“But, for now, I retreated back down the little hidden staircase into the familiar world of the basement of the Natural History Museum, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-little-hidden-staircase-into/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [The great proliferation of museums in the nineteenth century was a product of the marriage of the exhibition as a way of awakening intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/the-great-proliferation-of-museums-in-the-nineteenth-century-was-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally I like being fourth cousin to a mushroom and having a bonobo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/whether-we-find-it-appealing-or-not-is-another-question-but/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“There is no final truth in palaeontology. 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We are all our own curators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/a-life-accumulates-a-collection-of-people-work-and-perplexities-we/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“When I meet some of my commuting acquaintances on the 6.21 home to Henley-on-Thames they occasionally enquire what I have done that day. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/when-i-meet-some-of-my-commuting-acquaintances-on-the-6-21-home-to/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies to label…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three-hundred-million-years-almost/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“There might be symphonies of perfume, Mozarts of musk. Novelists might construct nasal narratives, versifiers sonnets of scent. Sculpture would entail subtleties of shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/there-might-be-symphonies-of-perfume-mozarts-of-musk-novelists-might/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life. ... As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/in-the-spirit-building-there-are-thousands-upon-thousands-of-jars/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“I recall the words of Charles Darwin in his Autobiography. ‘I rejoice that I have avoided controversies, and this I owe to Charles Lyell,\*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-recall-the-words-of-charles-darwin-in-his-autobiography-i-rejoice/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) [Explore all 24 Richard Fortey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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