Evolution Quote by Steven Pinker
““Many textbooks point out that no animal has evolved wheels and cite the fact as an example of how evolution is often incapable of finding the optimal solution to an engineering problem. But it is not a good example at all. Even if nature could have evolved a moose on wheels, it surely would have opted not to. Wheels are good only in a world with roads and rails. They bog down in any terrain that is soft, slippery, steep, or uneven. Legs are better. Wheels have to roll along an unbroken supporting ridge, but legs can be placed on a series of separate footholds, an extreme example being a ladder. Legs can also be placed to minimize lurching and to step over obstacles. Even today, when it seems as if the world has become a parking lot, only about half of the earth's land is accessible to vehicles with wheels or tracks, but most of the earth's land is accessible to vehicles with feet: animals, the vehicles designed by natural selection.””
About This Quote
Source Interview: Talk at Harvard University, 2015
Evolution favors solutions suited to environmental constraints, not necessarily optimal engineering designs.
In simple terms: Nature chooses what works best for its context.
Consider context before judging design.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- robotics design
- vehicle engineering
- biology education
- wildlife conservation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What environmental factors should guide design choices?
- When might wheels still be preferable?
Wheels can be optimal in specific niches, but not universally.