--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The primary consequence of the…" description: "\"The primary consequence of the computational nature of the universe is that the universe naturally generates complex systems, such as life. Although th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/seth-lloyd-13748_complex-systems_the-primary-consequence-of-the-computati_1024165.jpg" --- # The primary consequence of the computational nature of the… ![“The primary consequence of the computational nature of the universe is that the universe naturally generates complex systems, such as life. Although the basic laws of physics are comparatively simple in form, they give rise, because they are computationally universal, to systems of enormous…” quote by Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/seth-lloyd-13748_complex-systems_the-primary-consequence-of-the-computati_1024165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/seth-lloyd-13748_complex-systems_the-primary-consequence-of-the-computati_1024165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/seth-lloyd-13748_complex-systems_the-primary-consequence-of-the-computati_1024165.jpg) > “The primary consequence of the computational nature of the universe is that the universe naturally generates complex systems, such as life. Although the basic laws of physics are comparatively simple in form, they give rise, because they are computationally universal, to systems of enormous complexity.” [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Because the universe operates computationally, simple physical laws can generate immense complexity, including life. **In simple terms:** Simple rules create complex systems. Key Takeaway Explore how basic laws yield complexity. Themes complexity computational physics emergence life Mood inquisitive analytical optimistic Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - scientific research - education - technology design Key Concepts algorithmic universality information theory systems theory Questions to Reflect On - What implications does computational universality have for technology? - How can we harness simple laws for innovation? A Different Perspective Complexity may be unpredictable and hard to control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complex systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-systems/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Computational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computational-339348/) [Computational Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computational-nature-2301886/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws of physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-physics/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Primaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primaries/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Universe Naturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-naturally-2301887/) ## Related quotes > [I see the universe as naturally and infinitely self-correcting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-see-the-universe-as-naturally-and-infinitely-self-correcting/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“I do what I love and what I am good at. The universe naturally does great things through me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-what-i-love-and-what-i-am-good-at-the-universe-naturally-does/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In this metaphor we actually have a picture of the computational universe, a metaphor which I hope to make scientifically precise as part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/in-this-metaphor-we-actually-have-a-picture-of-the-computational/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [We have a closed circle of consistency here: the laws of physics produce complex systems, and these complex systems lead to consciousness, which then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-penrose/we-have-a-closed-circle-of-consistency-here-the-laws-of-physics/) [Roger Penrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-penrose/) > [If you take a more Darwinian point of view the dynamics of the universe are such that as the universe evolved in time, complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/if-you-take-a-more-darwinian-point-of-view-the-dynamics-of-the/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [My work was fairly theoretical. It was in recursive function theory. And in particular, hierarchies of functions in terms of computational complexity. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-ritchie/my-work-was-fairly-theoretical-it-was-in-recursive-function-theory/) [Dennis Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-ritchie/) > [We basically created a computational unit out of two brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/we-basically-created-a-computational-unit-out-of-two-brains/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [ \[The\] dynamics of computational artifacts extend beyond the interface narrowly defined, to relations of people with each other and to the place of computing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-suchman/the-dynamics-of-computational-artifacts-extend-beyond-the-interface/) [Lucy Suchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-suchman/) > [I think of the brain as a computational device: It has a bunch of little components that perform calculations on some small aspect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/i-think-of-the-brain-as-a-computational-device-it-has-a-bunch-of/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [“Computational kindness isn’t just a principle of behavior; it’s also a design principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/computational-kindness-isn-t-just-a-principle-of-behavior-it-s-also-a/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [I love that the work that we do is so vital to science. We're in a lot of ways at the scientific front line.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jensen-huang/i-love-that-the-work-that-we-do-is-so-vital-to-science-we-re-in-a-lot/) [Jensen Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jensen-huang/) > [What we see is the solution to a computational problem, our brains compute the most likely causes from the photon absorptions within our eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-von-helmholtz/what-we-see-is-the-solution-to-a-computational-problem-our-brains/) [Hermann von Helmholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-von-helmholtz/) > [The brain is a complex biological organ possessing immense computational capability: it constructs our sensory experience, regulates our thoughts and emotions, and controls our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kandel/the-brain-is-a-complex-biological-organ-possessing-immense/) [Eric Kandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kandel/) > [I have a computational quality to my mind, I suppose. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with video games. I reprogrammed games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-have-a-computational-quality-to-my-mind-i-suppose-when-i-was-a-kid/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [If the system exhibits a structure which can be represented by a mathematical equivalent, called a mathematical model, and if the objective can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dantzig/if-the-system-exhibits-a-structure-which-can-be-represented-by-a/) [George Dantzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dantzig/) ## More by Seth Lloyd > [Every physical system registers information, and just by evolving in time, by doing its thing, it changes that information, transforms that information, or, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/every-physical-system-registers-information-and-just-by-evolving-in/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [“The significance of a bit depends not just on its value but on how that value affects other bits over time, as part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/the-significance-of-a-bit-depends-not-just-on-its-value-but-on-how/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [ \[With quantum computers\] you can calculate how many bits are in the universe, how much energy it takes to flip them, how much energy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/with-quantum-computers-you-can-calculate-how-many-bits-are-in-the/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [In this metaphor we actually have a picture of the computational universe, a metaphor which I hope to make scientifically precise as part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/in-this-metaphor-we-actually-have-a-picture-of-the-computational/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Yes, I am a quantum mechanic! Those darn quantum computers break all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/yes-i-am-a-quantum-mechanic-those-darn-quantum-computers-break-all/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [What's happened with society is that we have created these devices, computers, which already can register and process huge amounts of information, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/what-s-happened-with-society-is-that-we-have-created-these-devices/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Meaning is like pornography, you know it when you see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/meaning-is-like-pornography-you-know-it-when-you-see-it/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [If you wanted to build the most powerful computer you could, you can't do better than including everything in the universe that's potentially available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/if-you-wanted-to-build-the-most-powerful-computer-you-could-you-can-t/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [There are considerable advantages to using many degrees of freedom to store information, stability and controllability being perhaps the most important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/there-are-considerable-advantages-to-using-many-degrees-of-freedom-to/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [When it comes to their capacity to screw things up, computers are becoming more human every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/when-it-comes-to-their-capacity-to-screw-things-up-computers-are/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [It's also a reasonable scientific program to look at the dynamics of the standard model and to try to prove from that dynamics that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/it-s-also-a-reasonable-scientific-program-to-look-at-the-dynamics-of/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Some folks think life and technology and mind can keep expanding forever. Others say it can't. We are still not clear on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/some-folks-think-life-and-technology-and-mind-can-keep-expanding/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Of course, one way of thinking about all of life and civilization is as being about how the world registers and processes information. Certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/of-course-one-way-of-thinking-about-all-of-life-and-civilization-is/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Programmed by quanta, physics gave rise first to chemistry and then to life; programmed by mutations and recombination, life gave rise to Shakespeare; programmed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/programmed-by-quanta-physics-gave-rise-first-to-chemistry-and-then-to/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Instead of having to be a member of the Royal Society to do science, the way you had to be in England in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/instead-of-having-to-be-a-member-of-the-royal-society-to-do-science/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) [Explore all 49 Seth Lloyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) ## More Complex systems quotes > [The only way to know how a complex system will behave-after you modify it-is to modify it and see how it behaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-p-box/the-only-way-to-know-how-a-complex-system-will-behave-after-you/) [George E. P. Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-e-p-box/) > [When discussing complex systems like brains and other societies, it is easy to oversimplify: I call this Occam's lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-j-good/when-discussing-complex-systems-like-brains-and-other-societies-it-is/) [I. J. Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-j-good/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex system for granted, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/implicit-in-the-activist-conception-of-government-is-the-assumption/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Interpretation of Complex Systems Kenyon B. De Greene All systems evolve, although the rates of evolution may vary over time both between and within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-douglas-kiel/interpretation-of-complex-systems-kenyon-b-de-greene-all-systems/) [L. Douglas Kiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-douglas-kiel/) > [Global terrorism is extreme both in its lack of realistic goals and in its cynical exploitation of the vulnerability of complex systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/global-terrorism-is-extreme-both-in-its-lack-of-realistic-goals-and/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [It is important to understand that while oxytocin may be the hub of the evolution of the social brain in mammals, it is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-churchland/it-is-important-to-understand-that-while-oxytocin-may-be-the-hub-of/) [Patricia Churchland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-churchland/) > [The first proponent of cortical memory networks on a major scale was neither a neuroscientist nor a computer scientist but .. a Viennes economist:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-fuster/the-first-proponent-of-cortical-memory-networks-on-a-major-scale-was/) [Joaquin Fuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-fuster/) > [You show me a successful complex system, and I will show you a system that has evolved through trial and error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/you-show-me-a-successful-complex-system-and-i-will-show-you-a-system/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [“What’s the point of making predictions if they cannot change anything? Some complex systems, such as the weather, are oblivious to our predictions. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/what-s-the-point-of-making-predictions-if-they-cannot-change-anything/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I believe the evidence strongly supports common descent. But the root question remains unanswered: What has caused complex systems to form?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/i-believe-the-evidence-strongly-supports-common-descent-but-the-root/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [What seems interesting to me is to reproduce in the figurative representation of an object the whole complex system of impressions we receive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-seems-interesting-to-me-is-to-reproduce-in-the-figurative/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [A rough rule in life is that an organization foolish in one way in dealing with a complex system is all too likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/a-rough-rule-in-life-is-that-an-organization-foolish-in-one-way-in/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Consciousness, like a complex system of software, has thousands of levels of nested, self-accessing subroutines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/consciousness-like-a-complex-system-of-software-has-thousands-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“all these complex systems have somehow acquired the ability to bring order and chaos into a special kind of balance. This balance point—often called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-mitchell-waldrop/all-these-complex-systems-have-somehow-acquired-the-ability-to-bring/) [M. Mitchell Waldrop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-mitchell-waldrop/) [Browse all 94 Complex systems quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-systems/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The primary consequence of the computational nature of the universe is that the universe naturally generates complex systems, such as life. 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