# Even the Largest Avalanche Begins with a Trigger by Vernor Vinge > "I have argued above that we cannot prevent the Singularity, that its coming is an inevitable consequence of the humans' natural competitiveness and the possibilities inherent in technology. And yet ... we are the initiators. Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things." > **— Vernor Vinge**, *1993, “The Coming Technological Singularity,” VISION-21 Symposium* ## Sources and Context - **Full source:** [Vernor Vinge, The Coming Technological Singularity, university-hosted text](https://edoras.sdsu.edu/~vinge/misc/singularity.html). Vinge couples a strong inevitability claim with recognition that humans initiate the process. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Human Deliberation|Human Deliberation]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/The Coming Technological Singularity|The Coming Technological Singularity]] - [[wiki/Human Deliberation|Human Deliberation]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "I have argued above that we cannot prevent the Singularity, that its coming is an inevitable consequence of the humans' natural competitiveness and the possibilities inherent in technology. And yet ... we are the initiators. Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things." — Vernor Vinge, 1993, “The Coming Technological Singularity,” VISION-21 Symposium https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-vinge-avalanche-trigger ```