--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let us think of Nature as a builder…" description: "\"Let us think of Nature as a builder, making all that we see out of atoms of a limited number of kinds, just as the builder of a house constructs it out..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg" --- # Let us think of Nature as a builder, making all that we… ![“Let us think of Nature as a builder, making all that we see out of atoms of a limited number of kinds, just as the builder of a house constructs it out of so many different kinds of things: bricks, slates, planks, panes of glass, and so on.” quote by William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg) > “Let us think of Nature as a builder, making all that we see out of atoms of a limited number of kinds, just as the builder of a house constructs it out of so many different kinds of things: bricks, slates, planks, panes of glass, and so on.” [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nature assembles complex forms from a limited set of basic elements, like a builder using varied materials to construct a house. **In simple terms:** Complex things arise from simple building blocks. Key Takeaway Recognize and work with basic components. Themes science creation complexity Mood curious analytical Type explanatory inspirational When to use this quote - education - engineering - environmental design - material science Key Concepts atomism emergence systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What basic elements underlie your project? - How does recognizing limits inspire creativity? A Different Perspective Simplifying may overlook emergent properties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) [Builder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/builder/) [Builder Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/builder-making-2435747/) [Constructs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructs/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-kinds/) [Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glass/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [House Constructs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-constructs-2435746/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds/) [Let us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-us/) [Limited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited/) [Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making/) [Many](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/many/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Builder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-builder-2435745/) [Number](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/see/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-nature-248009/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's in our nature to try to get beyond that next horizon. I think that when we as a species are scratching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/i-think-it-s-in-our-nature-to-try-to-get-beyond-that-next-horizon-i/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) > [It is absurd to suppose we can think of nature as a system apart from knowledge, for it is knowledge that is increasingly determining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/it-is-absurd-to-suppose-we-can-think-of-nature-as-a-system-apart-from/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [I think that's my nature, to want to bring people together rather than to try to bombard them into agreement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-think-that-s-my-nature-to-want-to-bring-people-together-rather-than/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I never use nature as a starting point. I never abstract from nature; I never consciously think of nature when I paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/i-never-use-nature-as-a-starting-point-i-never-abstract-from-nature-i/) [Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/) > [I think the most common meme is that it's too difficult to change. It's too risky to change. My nature doesn't allow me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/i-think-the-most-common-meme-is-that-it-s-too-difficult-to-change-it/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [We have, of course, long since ceased to think of Nature as the sympathetic mirror of our moods, or to imagine that she has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-le-gallienne/we-have-of-course-long-since-ceased-to-think-of-nature-as-the/) [Richard Le Gallienne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-le-gallienne/) > [“If you think about it, everyone is behind someone and in front of someone. The nature of the sphere, right? No one gets left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-olin-unferth/if-you-think-about-it-everyone-is-behind-someone-and-in-front-of/) [Deb Olin Unferth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-olin-unferth/) > [“HUMANS THINK THAT NATURE GIVES SERVICE TO HIM SO IT IS SERVANT OF HIS, BUT HE DOES'NT UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE CHILDREN'S OF NATURE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omkar-patil/humans-think-that-nature-gives-service-to-him-so-it-is-servant-of-his/) [Omkar Patil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omkar-patil/) > [You know, I think that nature has such a powerful message about moving from dark to light, and bitterness to sweetness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-bailey-rae/you-know-i-think-that-nature-has-such-a-powerful-message-about-moving/) [Corinne Bailey Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-bailey-rae/) > [“There are moments when we think nature happens just for us, and there are other moments when the ridiculousness of that notion is revealed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/there-are-moments-when-we-think-nature-happens-just-for-us-and-there/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“In this image-driven age, wildlife filmmakers carry a heavy responsibility. They can influence how we think and behave when we’re in nature. They can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-palmer/in-this-image-driven-age-wildlife-filmmakers-carry-a-heavy/) [Chris Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-palmer/) > [“It is extremely Sad to think that while nature is talking,humankind is not listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-masterson/it-is-extremely-sad-to-think-that-while-nature-is-talking-humankind/) [Jd Masterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-masterson/) > [I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we only will tune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/i-love-to-think-of-nature-as-an-unlimited-broadcasting-station/) [George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/) > [I think it's my nature to engage in things that are more difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/i-think-it-s-my-nature-to-engage-in-things-that-are-more-difficult/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [I think nature's imagination Is so much greater than man's, she's never going to let us relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-nature-s-imagination-is-so-much-greater-than-man-s-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Henry Bragg > [When a liquid boils, the temperature has been raised to such a pitch that the evaporating molecules are sufficient in number and speed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/when-a-liquid-boils-the-temperature-has-been-raised-to-such-a-pitch/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [The infinite variety in the properties of the solid materials we find in the world is really the expression of the infinite variety of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/the-infinite-variety-in-the-properties-of-the-solid-materials-we-find/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [The difference between a gas and a liquid is that in the former, the atoms and molecules move to and fro in an independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/the-difference-between-a-gas-and-a-liquid-is-that-in-the-former-the/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [Science is experimental, moving forward step-by-step, making trial and learning through success and failure. 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So the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/the-atoms-may-be-compared-to-the-letters-of-the-alphabet-which-can-be/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [Broadly speaking, the discovery of X-rays has increased the keenness of our vision ten thousand times, and we can now 'see' the individual atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/broadly-speaking-the-discovery-of-x-rays-has-increased-the-keenness/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [In a gas, motion has the upper hand; the atoms are moving so fast that they have no time to enter into any sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/in-a-gas-motion-has-the-upper-hand-the-atoms-are-moving-so-fast-that/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [Whenever we warm our hands by the fire, we allow the energy radiated by the fire to quicken up the movements of the atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/whenever-we-warm-our-hands-by-the-fire-we-allow-the-energy-radiated/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) > [From religion comes a man's purpose; from science, his power to achieve it. Sometimes people ask if religion and science are not opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/from-religion-comes-a-man-s-purpose-from-science-his-power-to-achieve/) [William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) [Explore all 14 William Henry Bragg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/) ## More Atoms quotes > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) [Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) [Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/) > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/) [Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/) > [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/) [Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/) > [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) [Browse all 852 Atoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let us think of Nature as a builder, making all that we see out of atoms of a limited number of kinds, just as the builder of a house constructs it out of so many different kinds of things: bricks, slates, planks, panes of glass, and so on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Henry Bragg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-making-all-that-we-see-out-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atoms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-making-all-that-we-see-out-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/william-henry-bragg-34146_atoms_let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-maki_243348.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let us think of Nature as a builder, making all that we see out of atoms of a limited number of kinds, just…” — William Henry Bragg", "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": "William Henry Bragg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let us think of Nature as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-making-all-that-we-see-out-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/let-us-think-of-nature-as-a-builder-making-all-that-we-see-out-of/#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 } } ] } ```