John Henry Holland Quotes

• Evolution continually innovates, but at each level it conserves the elements that are recombined to yield the innovations.

  John Henry Holland

  Yield, Innovation, Elements

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  13 Copy quote

• Model building is the art of selecting those aspects of a process that are relevant to the question being asked. As with any art, this selection is guided by taste, elegance, and metaphor; it is a matter of induction, rather than deduction. High science depends on this art.

  John Henry Holland

  Art, Matter, Taste

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  7 Copy quote

• If we are to understand the interactions of a large number of agents, we must first be able to describe the capabilities of individual agents.

  John Henry Holland

  Numbers, Able, Firsts

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  8 Copy quote

• With theory, we can separate fundamental characteristics from fascinating idiosyncrasies and incidental features. Theory supplies landmarks and guideposts, and we begin to know what to observe and where to act.

  John Henry Holland

  Fundamentals, Landmarks, Theory

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  16 Copy quote

• Particular individuals do not recur, but their building blocks do.

  John Henry Holland

  Block, Building, Individual

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  4 Copy quote

• Looking back to data, we can see if the consequences are plausible; looking forward to theory, we can see if general principles are suggested.

  John Henry Holland

  Data, Principles, Looking Forward

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  5 Copy quote

• The recycling of resource by the aggregate behavior of a diverse array of agents is much more than the sum of the individual actions.

  John Henry Holland

  Agents, Action, Recycling

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  7 Copy quote

• nonlinear interactions almost always make the behavior of the aggregate more complicated than would be predicted by summing or averaging.

  John Henry Holland

  Would Be, Complicated, Behavior

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  25 Copy quote

• If there is to be a competition, there must be some basis for resolving it. It is also clear that the competition should be experienced based.

  John Henry Holland

  Competition, Should, Clear

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  8 Copy quote

• Holland's and Kauffman's work, together with Dawkins' simulations of evolution and Varela's models of autopoietic systems, provide essential inspiration for the new discipline of artificial life, This approach, initiated by Chris Langton (1989, 1992), tries to develop technological systems (computer programs and autonomous robots) that exhibit lifelike properties, such as reproduction, sexuality, swarming, and co-evolution.

  John Henry Holland

  Inspiration, Discipline, Working Together

  8 Copy quote

• When a new building block is discovered, the result is usually a range of innovations.

  John Henry Holland

  Block, Innovation, Building

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  4 Copy quote

• This use of building blocks to generate internal models is a pervasive feature of complex adaptive systems.

  John Henry Holland

  Block, Use, Building

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  4 Copy quote

• Unwrapping occurs when the "solution" is explicitly built into the program from the start.

  John Henry Holland

  Program, Built, Solutions

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  6 Copy quote

• From the point of view of physics, it is a miracle that [seven million New Yorkers are fed each day] without any control mechanism other than sheer capitalism.

  John Henry Holland

  Views, Miracle, Each Day

  4 Copy quote

• The measure of performance of any given agent is the amount of money it accumulates through its actions.

  John Henry Holland

  Agents, Action, Given

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  4 Copy quote

• The multiplier effect is a major feature of networks and flows. It arises regardless of the particular nature of the resource, be it goods, money, or messages.

  John Henry Holland

  Flow, Messages, Arise

  John Henry Holland (1995). “Hidden order: how adaptation builds complexity”, Addison-Wesley Longman

  4 Copy quote

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