--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They're just bacteria. They don't think…" description: "\"“They're just bacteria. They don't think or plan. They just...exist.' 'Just exist? They do things we only dream of. They are fecund and potent, they ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg" --- # They're just bacteria. They don't think or plan. They… ![“They're just bacteria. They don't think or plan. They just...exist.' 'Just exist? They do things we only dream of. They are fecund and potent, they can speak to one another with chemicals and light, they can form teams -- oh, the teams they can form. Millions strong, all working together…” quote by Sourdough Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg) > ““They're just bacteria. They don't think or plan. They just...exist.' 'Just exist? They do things we only dream of. They are fecund and potent, they can speak to one another with chemicals and light, they can form teams -- oh, the teams they can form. Millions strong, all working together perfectly. If we could cooperate like that -- if we could even get close-- we would have all of our problems solved.”” Sourdough Robin Sloan ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bacteria cooperate flawlessly, suggesting that collective effort could solve human problems. **In simple terms:** Bacteria work together perfectly; humans could learn. Key Takeaway Learn from microbial teamwork to solve complex challenges. Themes cooperation biology teamwork collective intelligence problem solving Mood inspired optimistic Type Bacteria:1 Teamwork:1 Working together:1 Exist Just:0 Exist Things:0 Just Bacteria:0 Bacteria Don:0 Perfectly Cooperate:1 When to use this quote - environmental projects - public health initiatives - technological collaborations Key Concepts microbial communication synergy systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What can we learn from bacterial communication? - How can we foster trust in large teams? A Different Perspective Human societies face political and ethical hurdles to cooperation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Teamwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teamwork/) [Working together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-together/) ## Related quotes > [“People as such do not exist: they are all 'things conceived”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-bely/people-as-such-do-not-exist-they-are-all-things-conceived/) [Andrei Bely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-bely/) > [No one truly understood what it is to exist as someone who has to do the things that Jack Bauer does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-wersching/no-one-truly-understood-what-it-is-to-exist-as-someone-who-has-to-do/) [Annie Wersching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-wersching/) > [From things that have happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know and all those you cannot know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/from-things-that-have-happened-and-from-things-as-they-exist-and-from/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Images exist; things themselves are images... Images constantly act on and react to one another, produce and consume. There is no difference between images,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/images-exist-things-themselves-are-images-images-constantly-act-on/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [“I looked anxiously around me: the present, nothing but the present. Furniture light and solid, rooted in its present, a table, a bed, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-looked-anxiously-around-me-the-present-nothing-but-the-present/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Art no longer cares to serve the state and religion, it no longer wishes to illustrate the history of manners, it wants to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasimir-malevich/art-no-longer-cares-to-serve-the-state-and-religion-it-no-longer/) Kasimir Malevich > [I rather think that archives exist to keep things safe - but not secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/i-rather-think-that-archives-exist-to-keep-things-safe-but-not-secret/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [You make something from things that have happened and from things that exist and from all things that you know and all those you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-something-from-things-that-have-happened-and-from-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All things in this creation exist within you and all things in you exist in creation; there is no border between you and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/all-things-in-this-creation-exist-within-you-and-all-things-in-you/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [I, and all the complex things around me, exist only because many things were assembled in a very precise way. The 'emergent' properties are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/i-and-all-the-complex-things-around-me-exist-only-because-many-things/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [“Does a flower really have beauty? Does a fruit really have beauty? No: they have only color and form And existence. Beauty is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/does-a-flower-really-have-beauty-does-a-fruit-really-have-beauty-no/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“...If God really does exist, and is not just a myth, it must have consequence for the whole of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-worth/if-god-really-does-exist-and-is-not-just-a-myth-it-must-have/) [Jennifer Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-worth/) > [No more empty promises, they don't exist. Just me out in the open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-daughtry/no-more-empty-promises-they-don-t-exist-just-me-out-in-the-open/) [Chris Daughtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-daughtry/) > [Does PARIDISE exist or am I just dreaming.:(](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/does-paridise-exist-or-am-i-just-dreaming/) Unkown > [The gods, if they exist, are just the people who happen to live on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/the-gods-if-they-exist-are-just-the-people-who-happen-to-live-on-the/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) Richard E. Leakey > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They're just bacteria. They don't think or plan. They just...exist.' 'Just exist? They do things we only dream of. They are fecund and potent, they can speak to one another with chemicals and light, they can form teams -- oh, the teams they can form. Millions strong, all working together perfectly. If we could cooperate like that -- if we could even get close-- we would have all of our problems solved.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sourdough Robin Sloan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sourdough-robin-sloan/they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-or-plan-they-just-exist-just/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bacteria" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sourdough-robin-sloan/they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-or-plan-they-just-exist-just/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/robin-sloan-sourdough-180315_teamwork_they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-o_675763.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They're just bacteria. They don't think or plan. They just...exist.' 'Just exist? They do things we only…” — Sourdough Robin Sloan", "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": "Sourdough Robin Sloan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sourdough-robin-sloan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They're just bacteria. They don't think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sourdough-robin-sloan/they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-or-plan-they-just-exist-just/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sourdough-robin-sloan/they-re-just-bacteria-they-don-t-think-or-plan-they-just-exist-just/#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 } } ] } ```