“Particular individuals do not recur, but their building blocks do.”
Source: Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995), Ch 2. Adaptive Systems, p. 79
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
John H. Holland 19
US university professor 1929–2015Related quotes

“Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun.”

“Do not block the way of inquiry.”
Vol. I, par. 135
Collected Papers (1931-1958)

Source: The Real Frank Zappa Book (1989), p. 239; this may be derived from a similar observation by Harlan Ellison which is sometimes misattributed to Zappa: "The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity."

"Theodore Zeldin - historian, philosopher" in History Today (July 1999)
“When a new building block is discovered, the result is usually a range of innovations.”
Source: Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995), Ch 2. Adaptive Systems, p. 62

“Growth and prosperity. These are the blocks with which we must build our welfare society.”
From the Opening Address to the Folketing (The Danish Parliament) on Tuesday 6 October 2009.
2000s, 2009