--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Acquired characteristics are inherited in…" description: "\"Acquired characteristics are inherited in technology and culture. Lamarckian evolution is rapid and accumulative. It explains the cardinal difference b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/stephen-jay-gould-885_abyss_acquired-characteristics-are-inherited-i_2040539.png" --- # Acquired characteristics are inherited in technology and… ![“Acquired characteristics are inherited in technology and culture. Lamarckian evolution is rapid and accumulative. It explains the cardinal difference between our past, purely biological mode of change, and our current, maddening acceleration toward something new and liberating- or toward the abyss.” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/stephen-jay-gould-885_abyss_acquired-characteristics-are-inherited-i_2040539.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/stephen-jay-gould-885_abyss_acquired-characteristics-are-inherited-i_2040539.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/stephen-jay-gould-885_abyss_acquired-characteristics-are-inherited-i_2040539.png) > “Acquired characteristics are inherited in technology and culture. Lamarckian evolution is rapid and accumulative. It explains the cardinal difference between our past, purely biological mode of change, and our current, maddening acceleration toward something new and liberating- or toward the abyss.” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gould argues that cultural and technological change mirrors Lamarckian evolution: traits acquired through use are passed on, leading to rapid, cumulative innovation that can be liberating or perilous. **In simple terms:** Ideas we use can be inherited, speeding change. Key Takeaway Recognize and guide the direction of cultural inheritance. Themes science technology culture evolution innovation Mood optimistic cautious Type analytical prescriptive When to use this quote - business strategy - education reform - software development - public policy - media trends Key Concepts Lamarckian inheritance cumulative change Questions to Reflect On - What inherited ideas shape today’s tech? - How can we steer cumulative change toward benefit? A Different Perspective Rapid change can outpace ethical frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Our past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-past/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [“He hovered, as it were, on the fringes of both the scientific and the classical worlds, making, apparently, no deep impression on either. 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Acceleration is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-gunther-mcgrath/generating-ideas-is-not-a-problem-incubation-is-acceleration-is/) Rita Gunther McGrath > [To tell the truth, in Pacific 231 I was on the trail of a very abstract and quite ideal concept, by giving the impression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-honegger/to-tell-the-truth-in-pacific-231-i-was-on-the-trail-of-a-very/) [Arthur Honegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-honegger/) > [As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. 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You give him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-bergkamp/if-you-look-at-the-whole-package-with-everything-henry-has-i-don-t/) [Dennis Bergkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-bergkamp/) > [Car love is the sound of a throaty V-8 rumbling and revving, the acceleration throwing you back in the seat - especially when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/car-love-is-the-sound-of-a-throaty-v-8-rumbling-and-revving-the/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Looking to the future I see in the further acceleration of science continuous jobs for our workers. Science will cure unemployment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schwab/looking-to-the-future-i-see-in-the-further-acceleration-of-science/) [Charles M. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schwab/) > [Music. A meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-a-meaningless-acceleration-in-the-rhythm-of-celestial-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizontal-acceleration-factor-for/) [Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. 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Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 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Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Acquired characteristics are inherited in technology and culture. Lamarckian evolution is rapid and accumulative. 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