# Natural Selection Constrains the Trajectories of Human Design by Steven Pinker > “The development of organisms must use complex feedback loops rather than blueprints. Random events can divert the trajectory of growth, but the trajectories are confined within an envelope of functioning designs for the species defined by natural selection.” > **— Steven Pinker**, *2002, Edge Annual Question, “What Is Your Question? ... Why?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [What is the missing ingredient — not genes, not upbringing — that shapes the mind?](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11078) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2002 Annual Question collection, *WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION? ... WHY?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2002 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2002 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] - [[wiki/Steven Pinker|Steven Pinker]] - [[wiki/Second-Order Cybernetics|Second-Order Cybernetics]] - [[wiki/Cybernetic Feedback Loop|Cybernetic Feedback Loop]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The development of organisms must use complex feedback loops rather than blueprints. Random events can divert the trajectory of growth, but the trajectories are confined within an envelope of functioning designs for the species defined by natural selection.” — Steven Pinker, 2002, Edge Annual Question, “What Is Your Question? ... Why?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-steven-pinker-natural-selection-constrains-trajectories-human ```