Kevin Kelly

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Born 1952

Occupation: Editor

Nationality: American

Most frequent words in Kevin Kelly quotes

Filter author quotes by word: environment (11), organization (7), organizations (7), change (6), organism (6), system (6), organisms (5), very (6), more (4), evolution (4)

Everything that we are making, we are making more and more complex.

Words: making, more, complex
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Much of outcomes research is a systematic attempt to exploit what is known and make it better.

Words: outcomes, research, systematic, attempt, exploit, known, make, better
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The system continually has to make this choice: it can either continue to exploit a known process and make it more productive, or it can explore a new process at the cost of being less efficient.

Words: system, continually, make, choice, either, continue, exploit, known, process, more, productive, explore, new, cost, being, less, efficient
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The nature of an innovation is that it will arise at a fringe where it can afford to become prevalent enough to establish its usefulness without being overwhelmed by the inertia of the orthodox system.

Words: nature, innovation, will, arise, fringe, afford, become, prevalent, enough, establish, usefulness, being, overwhelmed, inertia, orthodox, system
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Managing bottom-up change is its own art.

Words: managing, change, own, art
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But in a turbulent environment the change is so widespread that it just routes around any kind of central authority. So it is best to manage the bottom-up change rather than try to institute it from the top down.

Words: turbulent, environment, change, widespread, just, routes, around, any, kind, central, authority, best, manage, rather, try, Institute, top, down
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Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.

Words: changing, things, top, down, works, stable
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Complexity that works is built up out of modules that work perfectly, layered one over the other.

Words: complexity, works, built, modules, work, perfectly, layered, one, over, other
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The great advance of personal computers was not the computing power per se but the fact that it brought it right to your face, that you had control over it, that were confronted with it and could steer it.

Words: great, advance, personal, computers, computing, power, fact, brought, right, face, control, over, confronted, steer
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Technological advances could allow us to see more clearly into our own lives.

Words: technological, advances, allow, see, more, clearly, own, lives
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Organizations get invested into a particular product. And sometimes the best thing is to stop making that product, even though it's profitable, because it has optimized at a local peak.

Words: organizations, get, invested, particular, product, sometimes, best, thing, stop, making, though, profitable, optimized, local, peak
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But when you are embodied in a location, in a physical plant, in a set of people, and in a common history, that constrains your evolution and your ability to evolve in certain directions.

Words: embodied, location, physical, plant, set, people, common, history, constrains, evolution, ability, evolve, certain, directions
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Species go extinct because there are historical contraints built into a given body or a given design.

Words: species, extinct, historical, built, given, body, design
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Managers tend to treat organizations as if they are infinitely plastic. They hire and fire, merge, downsize, terminate programs, add capacities. But there are limits to the shifts that organizations can absorb.

Words: managers, tend, treat, organizations, infinitely, plastic, hire, fire, merge, terminate, programs, add, capacities, limits, shifts, absorb
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Organisms by their design are not made to adapt too far.

Words: organisms, design, made, adapt, far
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It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.

Words: generally, easier, kill, organization, change, substantially
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An organization's intelligence is distributed to the point of being ubiquitous.

Words: organizations, intelligence, distributed, point, being, ubiquitous
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The way to build a complex system that works is to build it from very simple systems that work.

Words: way, build, complex, system, works, very, simple, systems, work
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And they discovered something very interesting: when it comes to walking, most of the ant's thinking and decision-making is not in its brain at all. It's distributed. It's in its legs.

Words: discovered, something, very, interesting, comes, walking, ants, thinking, brain, all, distributed, legs
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We are infected by our own misunderstanding of how our own minds work.

Words: infected, own, misunderstanding, minds, work
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