“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

Last update Aug. 17, 2025. History

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Stephen Hawking 122
British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author 1942–2018

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“Our ability to adapt is amazing. Our ability to change isn't quite as spectacular.”

Lisa Lutz (1970) US author

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“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
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“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change.”

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) British naturalist, author of "On the origin of species, by means of natural selection"

The earliest known appearance of this basic statement is a paraphrase of Darwin in the writings of Leon C. Megginson, a management sociologist at Louisiana State University. [[Megginson, Leon C., Lessons from Europe for American Business, Southwestern Social Science Quarterly, 1963, 44(1), 3-13, p. 4]] Megginson's paraphrase (with slight variations) was later turned into a quotation. See the summary of Nicholas Matzke's findings in "One thing Darwin didn't say: the source for a misquotation" http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/one-thing-darwin-didnt-say at the Darwin Correspondence Project. The statement is incorrectly attributed, without any source, to Clarence Darrow in Improving the Quality of Life for the Black Elderly: Challenges and Opportunities : Hearing before the Select Committee on Aging, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, first session, September 25, 1987 (1988).
Misattributed

Clarence Darrow photo

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change.”

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

As quoted in Improving the Quality of Life for the Black Elderly: Challenges and Opportunities : Hearing before the Select Committee on Aging, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, first session, September 25, 1987 (1988)
This quote's earliest known source is from Leon C. Megginson (see Charles Darwin)
Misattributed

“Prior to studies of unusually intelligent people that showed them to be generally much better adapted and happier than others, the popular belief in the United States was that exceptional intelligence was often associated with exceptional ability to “drive yourself nuts.””

Robyn Dawes (1936–2010) American psychologist

Hence, people believed that genius and lunacy were intimately connected. Perhaps, nearly all of us “drive ourselves a little nuts” by virtue of creating stories that lead us to the illusion that we understand history, other people, causality, and life—when we don’t.
Source: Everyday Irrationality: How Pseudo-Scientists, Lunatics, and the Rest of Us Systematically Fail to Think Rationally (2001), Chapter 7, “Good Stories” (p. 125)

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“For each human being there is an optimum ratio between change and stasis. Too little change, he grows bored. Too little stability, he panics and loses his ability to adapt.”

Flash Crowd, section 9, in Three Trips in Time and Space (1973), edited by Robert Silverberg, p. 74

Indra Nooyi photo

“CEOs need keep an open mind so they can adapt to a rapidly changing world and need to bring an abundant dose of emotional intelligence to the job.”

Indra Nooyi (1955) Indian-born, naturalized American, business executive

CEOs need to change: Indra Nooyi

Warren Farrell photo

“Part of our evolutionary heritage is the ability to adapt -- species that survive, adapt. Humans adapt by altering their priorities to match evolving values.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: Father and Child Reunion (2001), p. 242.

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