# The Adjacent Possible Contains New Molecules by Stuart A. Kauffman > “The adjacent possible, for a chemical reaction graph, is the set of novel molecules that can be created out of those existing now.” > **— Stuart A. Kauffman**, *2004 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Direct publication and locator:** [Kauffman's Law — Stuart A. Kauffman](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10542) — 2004 Annual Question response, contiguous sentence(s) within the representative extract. - **Exact original excerpt:** “The adjacent possible, for a chemical reaction graph, is the set of novel molecules that can be created out of those existing now. The biosphere has advanced into the chemical adjacent possible over the history of life.The issue is, are there laws that govern this advance? And so too for technology. I'm very unsure about my candidate law, but at least it points to the reality that we do advance into the adjacent possible and perhaps some law governs how we do so.” - **Context and editing:** This is Kauffman’s definition for a chemical reaction graph. His response goes on to say he is very unsure about a possible law of advance; the poster asserts only the defined set. No editorial words were inserted. - **Local Edge archive:** [[research/Edge 2004 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2004 Full Quotation Curation]], response EDGE2004-119. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Emergence|Emergence]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Emergence|Emergence]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The adjacent possible, for a chemical reaction graph, is the set of novel molecules that can be created out of those existing now.” — Stuart A. Kauffman, 2004 Edge Annual Question, response passage https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-stuart-kauffman-adjacent-possible-contains-new-molecules ```