# Technology Creates Itself From Itself by W. Brian Arthur > “The collective of technology evolves much as a coral reef builds itself from activities of small organisms: it creates itself from itself, and all technologies are descended from earlier technologies.” > **— W. Brian Arthur**, *2009, The Nature of Technology* ## Sources and Context - **Direct source and complete wording:** [The Nature of Technology](https://sites.santafe.edu/~wbarthur/thenatureoftechnology.htm) — Arthur's Santa Fe Institute site supplies this complete proposition while summarizing the book's theory of combinatorial technological evolution. - **Article use:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat]] cites the phrase “creates itself from itself” while explaining how prior technologies become the building blocks of later technologies. The Reminder restores Arthur's full coral-reef comparison and its concluding claim of technological descent. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match. There Is No Safety. There Is No Retreat]] - **Companion article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Companion article:** [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/W. Brian Arthur|W. Brian Arthur]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/W. Brian Arthur|W. Brian Arthur]] - [[wiki/Technological Evolution|Technological Evolution]] - [[wiki/General-Purpose Technology|General-Purpose Technology]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The collective of technology evolves much as a coral reef builds itself from activities of small organisms: it creates itself from itself, and all technologies are descended from earlier technologies.” — W. Brian Arthur, 2009, The Nature of Technology https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-w-brian-arthur-technology-creates-itself-from-itself ```