Lists 50 or so quotations on complexity

1. Complexity
Nature does not make jumps. cha
Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
PhilosophiaBotanica (1754) 77
The things which enter into our consciousness are vast in number, and their relations – to the extent the
mind can grasp them – are extraordinarily complex. Minds with the inner power to grow will begin to
establish an order so that knowledge becomes easier; they will begin to satisfy themselves by finding
coherence and connection. mil
Johann W. Goethe (1749-1832)
Quote (1781), A Study Based on Spinoza (1891)
The most sublime metamorphosis in the inorganic realm occurs when the amorphous takes on structure as
it comes into being. Every material has the inclination and the right to do this. mil
Johann W. Goethe (1749-1832)
Maxims and Reflections (1819)
We cannot know, but must act, just as we need little knowledge but much skill in a game. Nature has
given us the chess board; we cannot and should not work beyond its limits. She has carved our pieces;
gradually we will learn their value, their moves , and their powers. Now it will be our task to find the
moves we think best; each seeks this in his own way regardless of any advice. mil
Johann W. Goethe (1749-1832)
Maxims and Reflections (1819)
Observation discloses in the animal organism numerous phenomena existing side by side and
interconnected now profoundly, now indirectly, or accidentally. Confronted with a multitude of different
assumptions the mind must guess the real nature of this connection. enc
Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936)
Experimental psychology and other essays (1958) 10
People are notoriously nonlinear. ram
Simon Ramo (1913-)
Cure for Chaos (1969) p97
The natural world...is one of infinite varieties and complexities, a multidimensional world which contains
no straight lines or completely regular shapes, where things do not happen in sequences, but all together;
a world where – as modern physics tells us – even empty space is curved. cap
Fritjof Capra (1939-)
The Tao of Physics (1975) p15
When confronted with complex systems, we are much like the blind men and the elephant, each seeing
only a small part of the whole. sim
Albert J. Simard (1942-)
Wildland Fire Management (1977) p1
To study man‟s interface with his environment is to study complexities and conflict. When the interface
arises at a point of stress for both systems, our analytical skills must be all the greater. sim
Albert J. Simard (1942-)

2. Wildland Fire Management (1977) p9
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for and why it is
here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarrely inexplicable. There is
another theory which states that this has already happened. wes
Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Universe, Fit the Seventh (radio, 1978)
No matter how complex it is, if you can look at it in the right way, it becomes even more complex. col
Malcolm Lester
In: Books in Canada (Surguy, 1978)
In relationship there is novelty, creativity, richer complexity. Whether we are talking about chemical
reactions or human societies, molecules or international treaties, there are qualities that cannot be
predicted by looking at the components. fer
Marilyn Ferguson
The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980) p156
The more complex or coherent a structure, the greater the next level of complexity. Each new level is
even more integrated and connected than the one before, requiring a greater flow of energy for
maintenance, and is therefore still less stable... Flexibility begets flexibility. fer
Marilyn Ferguson
The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980) p165
With the idea of a doomed determinist world view now gone, we can feel free to make our fate for good
or ill. Classical science made us feel that we were helpless witnesses to Newton‟s clockwork world.
Now, science allows us to feel home in nature. dos
IlyaPrygogine
In: The World According to IlyaPrygogine (Lukas, 1980)
Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor
does lightning travel in a straight line. cam
Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010)
The Fractal Geometry of Nature (1983) p1
In the space of a few generations, the pre-Socratics collected, discussed, and criticized some of the
concepts we are still trying to organize in order to understand the relation between being and becoming,
or the appearance of order out of a hypothetically undifferentiated initial environment. pri
Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003)
Order out of Chaos (1984) p38
Once the conditions for self-organization are satisfied, life becomes as predictable as the Bénard
instability or a falling stone. pri
Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003)
Order out of Chaos (1984) p176
The world has changed and therefore so must we. What must change is the quality and quantity of our
awareness of complexity and our skills and comfort level in working with it. lyn
Dudley Lynch and Paul L. Kordis
Strategy of the Dolphin (1988) p13

3. Low-leverage interventions would be much less alluring if it were not for the fact that many actually
work, in the short term... In complex human systems there are always ways to make things look better in
the short run. Only eventually does the compensating feedback come back to haunt you.
Peter M. Senge (1947-)
The Fifth Discipline (1990) p60
What most managers think of as scientific management is based on a conception of science that few
current scientists would defend. While traditional science focuses on analyses, prediction and control, the
new science emphasizes chaos and complexity. ehr
David Freeman
In: Harvard Business Review (Nov.-Dec. 1992)
Complexity is ubiquitous. It is in nature as well as in artifice. It occurs in large and small systems. It can
be tangible or intangible. To be aware of the existence of complexity is like feeling a “presence” that
virtually defies description. cam
Ali Çambell (1923-)
Applied Chaos Theory (1993) pxi
Whenever we face our daily obligations with alacrity or muddle through the day, we cannot help but be
aware of the complex nature of all that surrounds us and the uncertainties we face. cam
Ali Çambell (1923-)
Applied Chaos Theory (1993) p1
How can one define in a few words a concept that appears in so many different ways? There is
complexity in nature as a whole, in each of its species, in the myriad of devices and processes devised by
man, and in the social institutions that are meant to be helpful. cam
Ali Çambell (1923-)
Applied chaos Theory (1993) p2
Complex processes are the work of the devil. bus
Michael Hammer (1948-2008)
In: Business Week (Aug. 1993)
The idea that complex problems and situations can be readily “fixed” by the alliance of money and
machines is powerful and alluring. While there are occasions and situations where this is true, it is
certainly not a model to be universally adopted. mcg
James McGee and Lawrence Prusak
Managing Information Strategically (1993) 5
It takes a complex sensing system to register and regulate a complex object. dav
Karl E. Wick
Sensemaking in Organizations (1995) p34
If work expands to fill the available time, complexity expands to fill the available computer power. mar
James Martin (1936-)
CYBERCORP, The New Business Revolution (1996) p97
When the very design of our works prevents interaction with them in any meaningful way, then it will be
impossible to set things right when the train of cybernetic society veers off the track. bro
David Brown
Cybertrends (1997) p226

4. As our machines are increasingly jacked into global networks of information, it becomes more and more
difficult to imagine the dataspace at our fingertips, to picture all that complexity in our mind‟s eye - the
way city dwellers... „cognitively map‟ their real-world environs. joh
Steven D. Johnson
Interface Culture (1997) p18
Unless employees understand the complexities of the business environment, they can‟t invest their
intellectual capital wisely no matter how wiling they are to contribute it.
Frances Horibe
Managing Knowledge Workers (1999) 55
We also need to become more complex if biological systems are to keep ahead of electronic ones...
Computers speed and complexity double every 18 months, and this will probably continue until
computers have a similar complexity to the human brain. cit
Stephen W. Hawking (1942-)
In: Ottawa Citizen (Jan. 6, 2000) A.10
Society‟s interaction with cyberspace is one of the most complex of complex systems. It will have
powerful emergent properties but it is too early yet to know what they are.mar
James Martin (1933-)
After the Internet: Alien Intelligence (2000) p39
Well into this century, we will focus on utility over fads, triple our productivity, use our computers as
naturally and easily and with as much pleasure as we now use our cars and refrigerators, and hear the
voices of hundreds of millions more people – if we abandon our self-defeating path toward unbridled and
growing machine complexity. der
Michael L. Dertouzos
The Unfinished Revolution (2001) p6
Many complex systems exhibit properties that cannot be predicted by verbal reasoning, or even pure
mathematics, from the behavior of their components. Human society is no exception.
Jared M. Diamond (1937-)
Life with the Artificial Anasazi, in: Nature (Oct. 10, 2002) p567
We often can‟t predict or manage the behavior of complex systems with much precision, because they are
often very sensitive to the smallest of changes and perturbations and their behavior can flip from one
mode to another suddenly and dramatically. hom
Thomas F. Homer-Dixon (1956-)
The Ingenuity Gap (2001) p4
The complexity and speed of operation of today‟s vital economic, social, and ecological systems exceed
the human brain‟s grasp. Very few of us have more than a rudimentary understanding of how these
systems work. They are fraught with countless “unknown unknowns.” hom
Thomas F. Homer-Dixon (1956-)
The Ingenuity Gap (2001) p4
The bedrock of the adaptive point of view is that the world is created from the bottom up, as agents of one
kind or another organize themselves into increasingly complex and capable structures.
Christopher Meyer (1944-) and Stanley Davis (1931-)
It‟s Alive (2003) p35

5. Self-organizing agents creating larger structures operate in economies as well as in biology.
Semiconductors led to computers, then to modems, and then to the internet, not vice versa.
Christopher Meyer (1944-) and Stanley Davis (1931-)
It‟s Alive (2003) p36
An airplane is complicated. When something is complicated it has many different parts and interactions.
However, those parts and interactions can be known, understood, engineered, and managed. When
something is truly complex there are simply too many variables for it to ever be truly known, fully
understood, or managed.
David Snowden
In: The Future of Knowledge (Allee, 2003) p61
We try to manage complexity by focusing on only one small area at a time, breaking things down into
separate functions and processes. That might be useful for understanding something complicated, but it
simply doesn‟t work with things that are complex, such as organizations.
Verna Allee (1949-)
The Future of Knowledge (2003) p62
Portfolio and process complexity is often a larger drag on profits and growth than any other single factor
in the business. geo
Michael L. George and Stephen A. Wilson
Conquering Complexity in Your Business (2004) p3
The overall impact of complexity is to hinder management‟s ability to identify, collect, and respond to
information that is strategically critical to the business. geo
Michael L. George and Stephen A. Wilson
Conquering Complexity in Your Business (2004) p51
Economic and social systems are essentially dynamic and not static... Most of the time one will
experience and observe behavior not in but out of equilibrium. orm
Paul Ormerod
Why Most Things Fail (2005) p21
It‟s the region between order and disorder that gives you complexity, not the order and disorder at the
ends. klu
Murray Gell-Mann (1929-)
In: Simplexity (Kluger, 2008) p29
If ever there was a laboratory for the pinball interplay of physics, psychology, and overall complexity, it‟s
in the chaotic scrum of daily traffic. klu
Jeffrey Kluger
Simplexity (2008) p65
Very small changes at the microscopic scale can lead to phase transitions at the macroscopic scale.
Physicists work with this, but it also has a role in how ideas spread in society. klu
Simon Levine
In: Simplexity (Kluger, 2008) p 90