--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything that's living is a machine. I'm…" description: "\"Anything that's living is a machine. I'm a machine; my children are machines. I can step back and see them as being a bag of skin full of biomolecules ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/rodney-brooks-16742_bag_anything-that-s-living-is-a-machine-i-m_1657633.png" --- # Anything that's living is a machine. I'm a machine; my… ![“Anything that's living is a machine. I'm a machine; my children are machines. I can step back and see them as being a bag of skin full of biomolecules that are interacting according to some laws.” quote by Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/rodney-brooks-16742_bag_anything-that-s-living-is-a-machine-i-m_1657633.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/rodney-brooks-16742_bag_anything-that-s-living-is-a-machine-i-m_1657633.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/rodney-brooks-16742_bag_anything-that-s-living-is-a-machine-i-m_1657633.png) > “Anything that's living is a machine. I'm a machine; my children are machines. I can step back and see them as being a bag of skin full of biomolecules that are interacting according to some laws.” [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Views living beings as complex machines, highlighting biological processes as rule‑based systems. **In simple terms:** Living things operate like machines. Key Takeaway Study biological systems for engineering insight. Themes biology technology systems thinking mechanics Mood analytical neutral Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - medical research - AI development - education - environmental modeling Key Concepts bio‑inspired design complex systems robotics Questions to Reflect On - Can machines ever replicate true life? - What ethical limits arise from viewing life as machinery? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies consciousness and experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) ## Related quotes > [A house is not a machine! It's something else for living - but not a machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/a-house-is-not-a-machine-it-s-something-else-for-living-but-not-a/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [“Casey's flesh and blood sends the war machine's children to exclusive private schools.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/casey-s-flesh-and-blood-sends-the-war-machine-s-children-to-exclusive/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [The first human-to-computer uploads of 2100 will prove that a perfect simulation is the thing being simulated - that a silicon soul doesn't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-human-to-computer-uploads-of-2100-will-prove-that-a-perfect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want a machine to be able to interact with people, it better not do things that are surprising to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/if-you-want-a-machine-to-be-able-to-interact-with-people-it-better/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I used to wear long jumpers, but they made me look like a bag tied up in the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darcey-bussell/i-used-to-wear-long-jumpers-but-they-made-me-look-like-a-bag-tied-up/) [Darcey Bussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darcey-bussell/) > [Every president inherits a mixed bag when he comes to office, and Obama's was hardly the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/every-president-inherits-a-mixed-bag-when-he-comes-to-office-and/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [My left eye went when I was young. I was working the speed bag, and some steel went in the eye and scratched it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-frazier/my-left-eye-went-when-i-was-young-i-was-working-the-speed-bag-and/) [Joe Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-frazier/) > [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'm never without my personalised Anya Hindmarch diary - I keep my schedule online, too, but my diary is always in my bag. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerin-lauder/i-m-never-without-my-personalised-anya-hindmarch-diary-i-keep-my/) [Aerin Lauder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerin-lauder/) > [I am very, very old-fashioned and clumsy. I use those long reporter notebooks. This is what a troglodyte I am. The night before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-am-very-very-old-fashioned-and-clumsy-i-use-those-long-reporter/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Ice your arm, after a start, pitchers will put the ice bag on their elbow and their shoulder. Makes no sense. It makes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-bauer/ice-your-arm-after-a-start-pitchers-will-put-the-ice-bag-on-their/) [Trevor Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-bauer/) > [“Don't keep looking for "something" in the bag of "nothing". You will see the same thing again and again no matter how many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-keep-looking-for-something-in-the-bag-of-nothing-you-will-see/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I've never been impressed by somebody who came in with a crocodile bag, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/i-ve-never-been-impressed-by-somebody-who-came-in-with-a-crocodile/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [If I forgot to put something on, and I have to wear a trash bag, I'm just like, 'I'm gonna rock a trash bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rippon/if-i-forgot-to-put-something-on-and-i-have-to-wear-a-trash-bag-i-m/) [Adam Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rippon/) > [“I wasn’t a nerd, mind you, but I’d spent a lot of my youth studying Epics, so I’d had limited experience with social interaction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-wasn-t-a-nerd-mind-you-but-i-d-spent-a-lot-of-my-youth-studying/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) ## More by Rodney Brooks > [If you make your robot look exactly like Albert Einstein, then the robot better be as smart as Einstein, or its user is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/if-you-make-your-robot-look-exactly-like-albert-einstein-then-the/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Robotics is very interdisciplinary, and so, except at a very few colleges, there is not a major that is exactly fitted to robotics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/robotics-is-very-interdisciplinary-and-so-except-at-a-very-few/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [When I look out in the future, I can't imagine a world, 500 years from now, where we don't have robots everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/when-i-look-out-in-the-future-i-can-t-imagine-a-world-500-years-from/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I won some genetic lottery. I always happened to be strangely good at mathematics in my head. I just popped out weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-won-some-genetic-lottery-i-always-happened-to-be-strangely-good-at/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Two big questions that people ask me are: if we make these robots more and more human-like, will we accept them - will they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/two-big-questions-that-people-ask-me-are-if-we-make-these-robots-more/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [You can make the assumption that most human drivers are not out to kill pedestrians. Well, maybe in some parts of Boston they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/you-can-make-the-assumption-that-most-human-drivers-are-not-out-to/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Each of the essays in this volume ranges widely across technical and philosophical domains. They examine both familiar automatons from throughout history and delight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/each-of-the-essays-in-this-volume-ranges-widely-across-technical-and/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Every technology, every science that tells us more about ourselves, is scary at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/every-technology-every-science-that-tells-us-more-about-ourselves-is/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I begin by looking for megatrends, changes in the world that will create major new demands. My goal is to create a company that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-begin-by-looking-for-megatrends-changes-in-the-world-that-will/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Much to the surprise of the builders of the first digital computers, programs written for them usually did not work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/much-to-the-surprise-of-the-builders-of-the-first-digital-computers/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [The most important thing for building a robot that you can interact with socially is its visual attention system. Because what it pays attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/the-most-important-thing-for-building-a-robot-that-you-can-interact/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [If you want a machine to be able to interact with people, it better not do things that are surprising to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/if-you-want-a-machine-to-be-able-to-interact-with-people-it-better/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Hands-on experience is the best way to learn about all the interdisciplinary aspects of robotics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/hands-on-experience-is-the-best-way-to-learn-about-all-the/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I always tell people, it's never too late to start saving for retirement. It's not that important how much you have already saved. What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-always-tell-people-it-s-never-too-late-to-start-saving-for/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I moved to MIT from Stanford in 1984 to teach, and became the founding director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-moved-to-mit-from-stanford-in-1984-to-teach-and-became-the-founding/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) [Explore all 39 Rodney Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) ## More Bag quotes > [“I wasn’t a nerd, mind you, but I’d spent a lot of my youth studying Epics, so I’d had limited experience with social interaction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-wasn-t-a-nerd-mind-you-but-i-d-spent-a-lot-of-my-youth-studying/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [If I forgot to put something on, and I have to wear a trash bag, I'm just like, 'I'm gonna rock a trash bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rippon/if-i-forgot-to-put-something-on-and-i-have-to-wear-a-trash-bag-i-m/) [Adam Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rippon/) > [I've never been impressed by somebody who came in with a crocodile bag, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/i-ve-never-been-impressed-by-somebody-who-came-in-with-a-crocodile/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [“Don't keep looking for "something" in the bag of "nothing". You will see the same thing again and again no matter how many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-keep-looking-for-something-in-the-bag-of-nothing-you-will-see/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Ice your arm, after a start, pitchers will put the ice bag on their elbow and their shoulder. Makes no sense. It makes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-bauer/ice-your-arm-after-a-start-pitchers-will-put-the-ice-bag-on-their/) [Trevor Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-bauer/) > [I am very, very old-fashioned and clumsy. I use those long reporter notebooks. This is what a troglodyte I am. The night before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-am-very-very-old-fashioned-and-clumsy-i-use-those-long-reporter/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I'm never without my personalised Anya Hindmarch diary - I keep my schedule online, too, but my diary is always in my bag. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerin-lauder/i-m-never-without-my-personalised-anya-hindmarch-diary-i-keep-my/) [Aerin Lauder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerin-lauder/) > [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/) > [My left eye went when I was young. I was working the speed bag, and some steel went in the eye and scratched it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-frazier/my-left-eye-went-when-i-was-young-i-was-working-the-speed-bag-and/) [Joe Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-frazier/) > [Every president inherits a mixed bag when he comes to office, and Obama's was hardly the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/every-president-inherits-a-mixed-bag-when-he-comes-to-office-and/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [I used to wear long jumpers, but they made me look like a bag tied up in the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darcey-bussell/i-used-to-wear-long-jumpers-but-they-made-me-look-like-a-bag-tied-up/) [Darcey Bussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darcey-bussell/) > [Directing is a lot of fun, but you have to be on your toes every minute. If you zone out for even a second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-collins/directing-is-a-lot-of-fun-but-you-have-to-be-on-your-toes-every/) [Misha Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-collins/) > [Before I had kids, my bag was clean. In case I need to occupy them, I like to have Hot Wheels cars, See's lollipops,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-brandt/before-i-had-kids-my-bag-was-clean-in-case-i-need-to-occupy-them-i/) [Betsy Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-brandt/) > [Canada's always kind of like a mixed bag with what you're gonna get audience-wise. Just because like, you know, the politeness. Like, obviously, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chappell-roan/canada-s-always-kind-of-like-a-mixed-bag-with-what-you-re-gonna-get/) [Chappell Roan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chappell-roan/) > [I always carry snacks in my bag. It's a good habit to have now that I am a mom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-bash/i-always-carry-snacks-in-my-bag-it-s-a-good-habit-to-have-now-that-i/) [Dana Bash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-bash/) Browse all 344 Bag quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anything that's living is a machine. I'm a machine; my children are machines. 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