QuoteProject
Most species do their own evolving, making it up as they go along, which is the way Nature intended. And this is all very natural and organic and in tune with mysterious cycles of the cosmos, which believes that there's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fiber and, in some cases, backbone.
Terry Pratchett
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Species evolve through natural processes and adapt through trial and error.

This quote by Terry Pratchett highlights the natural evolution of species, suggesting that adaptation and change are part of a larger cosmic cycle. It emphasizes that through long periods of challenges and experiences, species gain resilience, moral strength, and the foundation for their existence, reinforcing the idea that nature operates organically and instinctively over time.

Themes

EvolutionNatureAdaptationTrial And ErrorCosmos

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about environmental conservation, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of natural processes.

More from Terry Pratchett

And then Jack chopped down what was the world's last beanstalk, adding murder and ecological terrorism to the theft, enticement, and trespass charges already mentioned, and all the giant's children didn't have a daddy anymore. But he got away with it and lived happily ever after, without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done...which proves that you can be excused for just about anything if you are a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.
Terry PratchettRead
They've got something they do it with, I think it's called a mocracy, and it means everyone in the whole country can say who the new Tyrant is. One man ... one vet. ... Everyone has ... the vet. Except for women, of course. And children. And criminals. And slaves. And stupid people. And people of foreign extraction. And people disapproved of for, er, various reasons. And lots of other people. But everyone apart from them. It's a very enlightened civilization.
Terry PratchettRead
Geography is just physics slowed down, with a couple of trees stuck in it.
Terry PratchettRead
You can't trample infidels when you're a tortoise. I mean, all you could do is give them a meaningful look.
Terry PratchettRead
Any fool could be a witch with a runic knife, but it took skill to be one with an apple corer.
Terry PratchettRead
People look down on stuff like geography and meteorology, and not only because they're standing on one and being soaked by the other. They don't look quite like real science. But geography is only physics slowed down and with a few trees stuck on it, and meteorology is full of excitingly fashionable chaos and complexity. And summer isn't a time. It's a place as well. Summer is a moving creature and likes to go south for the winter.
Terry PratchettRead

Similar quotes

I see a future in which nature gives us a helping hand. Instead of destroying the natural world, why can't we use it to solve the kinds of problems that we are facing?
Frances ArnoldRead
I often get letters, quite frequently, from people who say how they like the programmes a lot, but I never give credit to the almighty power that created nature.
David AttenboroughRead
I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.
John MuirRead
his planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken.
Paul HawkenRead
Whatever peace I know rests in the natural world, in feeling myself a part of it, even in a small way.
May SartonRead
Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.
Nicolas ChamfortRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.