--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine you're copying a very long…" description: "\"Imagine you're copying a very long document, and occasionally you'll put an A where there should be a C. And that mistake has been translated down thro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/spencer-wells-33666_accumulate_imagine-you-re-copying-a-very-long-docum_732157.jpg" --- # Imagine you're copying a very long document, and… ![“Imagine you're copying a very long document, and occasionally you'll put an A where there should be a C. And that mistake has been translated down through the generations, and more mistakes have accumulated. So the longer the lineage has been in existence, the more mistakes the sequence is going…” quote by Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/spencer-wells-33666_accumulate_imagine-you-re-copying-a-very-long-docum_732157.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/spencer-wells-33666_accumulate_imagine-you-re-copying-a-very-long-docum_732157.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/424/spencer-wells-33666_accumulate_imagine-you-re-copying-a-very-long-docum_732157.jpg) > “Imagine you're copying a very long document, and occasionally you'll put an A where there should be a C. And that mistake has been translated down through the generations, and more mistakes have accumulated. So the longer the lineage has been in existence, the more mistakes the sequence is going to have.” [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Errors accumulate over generations, making ancient lineages increasingly corrupted. **In simple terms:** Mistakes pile up over time. Key Takeaway Check and correct inherited errors. Themes history genetics error propagation Mood analytical cautious Type educational reflective When to use this quote - genealogy research - family health assessments - archival restoration - software version control Key Concepts evolutionary biology information theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify critical mistakes? - Can some errors be beneficial? A Different Perspective Not all errors are harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Lineage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lineage/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes/) ## Related quotes > [Here, I am looking for a document issued by a public attorney. I don't find. He is accused by the political leaders of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-verges/here-i-am-looking-for-a-document-issued-by-a-public-attorney-i-don-t/) [Jacques Verges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-verges/) > [ Everything we did was done in form and with propriety, and the result of our proceedings is the document \[the Quebec Resolutions\] that has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-d-arcy-mcgee/everything-we-did-was-done-in-form-and-with-propriety-and-the-result/) [Thomas D'Arcy McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-d-arcy-mcgee/) > [I am the world's worst reporter. I am apt to try too hard to help rather than just document my subjects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-am-the-world-s-worst-reporter-i-am-apt-to-try-too-hard-to-help/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [The Constitution is a living, breathing document that can speak to you and nobody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-constitution-is-a-living-breathing-document-that-can-speak-to-you/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [Saying the Constitution is a living document is the same as saying we don't have a Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/saying-the-constitution-is-a-living-document-is-the-same-as-saying-we/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [What I find most satisfying about photography is the way in which it allows me to document 'reality' while at the same time creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-smith/what-i-find-most-satisfying-about-photography-is-the-way-in-which-it/) [Alix Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-smith/) > [I've had so many different influences musically, even from people who aren't even musicians. If you're inspired by someone and you document it musically,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-salling/i-ve-had-so-many-different-influences-musically-even-from-people-who/) [Mark Salling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-salling/) > [In 2001, Texaco was bought by Chevron, and during deliberations concerning that sale, an 800 page document listing the problems and liabilities connected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coyote/in-2001-texaco-was-bought-by-chevron-and-during-deliberations/) [Peter Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coyote/) > [Somebody could send you an office document or a PDF file, and as soon as you open it, it's a booby trap and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/somebody-could-send-you-an-office-document-or-a-pdf-file-and-as-soon/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Remove the document—and you remove the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/remove-the-document-and-you-remove-the-man/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [I believe that the Constitution is an enduring document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ketanji-brown-jackson/i-believe-that-the-constitution-is-an-enduring-document/) [Ketanji Brown Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ketanji-brown-jackson/) > [The length of this document defends it well against the risk of its being read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-length-of-this-document-defends-it-well-against-the-risk-of-its/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [It's not about trying to be funny all the time. It's more of a document that hopefully is funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/it-s-not-about-trying-to-be-funny-all-the-time-it-s-more-of-a/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [I have little children, 5 1/2 and 1 1/2, and I thought I should document my life, because by the time they're in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-mottola/i-have-little-children-5-1-2-and-1-1-2-and-i-thought-i-should/) [Tommy Mottola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-mottola/) > [The Bible is a radically pro-slavery document. Slave owners waved Bibles over their heads in the Civil War and justified it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/the-bible-is-a-radically-pro-slavery-document-slave-owners-waved/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) ## More by Spencer Wells > [It turns out that every person alive today can trace his or her ancestry back to Africa. Everyone's DNA tells a story of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/it-turns-out-that-every-person-alive-today-can-trace-his-or-her/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [We spent an enormous amount of time as hominids and as primates living as hunter-gatherers. That is the natural way for us to live,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-spent-an-enormous-amount-of-time-as-hominids-and-as-primates/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [“Creativity is imagining something that isn't there and making it real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/creativity-is-imagining-something-that-isn-t-there-and-making-it-real/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [DNA ties us all together; we share ancestry with barracuda and bacteria and mushrooms, if you go far enough back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/dna-ties-us-all-together-we-share-ancestry-with-barracuda-and/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [“The biggest revolution of the past 50,000 years of human history was not the advent of the Internet, the growth of the industrial age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/the-biggest-revolution-of-the-past-50-000-years-of-human-history-was/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [We are all Africans under the skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Every drop of human blood contains a history book written in the language of our genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/every-drop-of-human-blood-contains-a-history-book-written-in-the/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [If you go far enough back, your genome connects you with bacteria, butterflies, and barracuda - the great chain of being linked together through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/if-you-go-far-enough-back-your-genome-connects-you-with-bacteria/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Many of the crises we see in the 21st century, I would argue, have their roots in the dawn of the Neolithic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/many-of-the-crises-we-see-in-the-21st-century-i-would-argue-have/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [What if I told you every single person in America - every single person on Earth - is African? With a small scrape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/what-if-i-told-you-every-single-person-in-america-every-single-person/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Taken with the archaeological data, we can say that the old hypothesis of an invasion of people - not merely their language - from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/taken-with-the-archaeological-data-we-can-say-that-the-old-hypothesis/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [The greatest history book ever written is the one hidden in our DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/the-greatest-history-book-ever-written-is-the-one-hidden-in-our-dna/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [ So what we can answer \[as geneticists\] is questions about biology, about biological ancestry. But to make any sense of that historically we have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/so-what-we-can-answer-as-geneticists-is-questions-about-biology-about/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) [Explore all 14 Spencer Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) ## More Accumulate quotes > [It's interesting how sleepwalking in a certain way becomes an accumulation of your outside stimuli that's actually there and what's happening in your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/it-s-interesting-how-sleepwalking-in-a-certain-way-becomes-an/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [The more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-stewart/the-more-storage-you-have-the-more-stuff-you-accumulate/) [Alexis Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-stewart/) > [What is negotiation but the accumulation of small lies leading to advantage?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/what-is-negotiation-but-the-accumulation-of-small-lies-leading-to/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [“A little here and a little there will always accumulate, so why be surprised when steady, small steps take you to great places?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-little-here-and-a-little-there-will-always-accumulate-so-why-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [The question becomes not just how to accumulate more, but how to covet less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/the-question-becomes-not-just-how-to-accumulate-more-but-how-to-covet/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We've accumulated a lot of things over the years and many things from our grandmother. Hopefully it'll be all right. I really don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-fields/we-ve-accumulated-a-lot-of-things-over-the-years-and-many-things-from/) [Dorothy Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-fields/) > [Each of my novels has come from a different place, and the processes are not always entirely conscious. I have lived off and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/each-of-my-novels-has-come-from-a-different-place-and-the-processes/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [You can't accumulate anything, because anything you get you have to give away. We all know this. We watch our bodies go through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/you-can-t-accumulate-anything-because-anything-you-get-you-have-to/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [If large financial institutions can break the law and accumulate million in profits - and, if they get caught, settle by paying out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/if-large-financial-institutions-can-break-the-law-and-accumulate/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“How long should one accumulate material things? As long as they do not become a burden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/how-long-should-one-accumulate-material-things-as-long-as-they-do-not/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [One precedent creates another and they soon accumulate and constitute law. What yesterday was a fact, today is doctrine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius/one-precedent-creates-another-and-they-soon-accumulate-and-constitute/) [Junius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius/) > [Our culture is hung up on and overemphasises what can be derived from material objects. I think this is something quite new, over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/our-culture-is-hung-up-on-and-overemphasises-what-can-be-derived-from/) [Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/) > [Over time, you accumulate a lot of life material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-van-peebles/over-time-you-accumulate-a-lot-of-life-material/) [Melvin Van Peebles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-van-peebles/) > [Basically, the body does have a vast amount of inbuilt anti-ageing machinery; it's just not 100% comprehensive, so it allows a small number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/basically-the-body-does-have-a-vast-amount-of-inbuilt-anti-ageing/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) Browse all 86 Accumulate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagine you're copying a very long document, and occasionally you'll put an A where there should be a C. 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