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← There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity:…
17 connected korrents · 11 moments from 4 Jun 2020 to 7 Aug 2026.
Everything filed under evolutionary biology
evolutionary biology
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energy
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physics
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space
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AI and science
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Europe Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity: without photosynthesis or eukaryotes, the planet could have stayed bacteria and nothing else. There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity: without photosynthesis or eukaryotes, the planet could have stayed bacteria and nothing else. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Bacteria never became complex because the barrier is structure, not information — they explored genetic space far more thoroughly than eukaryotes and still got stuck. — tap to centre the map on it Bacteria never became complex because the barrier is structure, not information — they explored genetic space far more thoroughly than eukaryotes and still got stuck. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to believe, because the road from bacteria to humans has huge gaps in it. — tap to centre the map on it There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to believe, because the road from bacteria to humans has huge gaps in it. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The hardest step on the road from chemistry to us was multicellularity, and it was strictly a problem of energetics. — tap to centre the map on it The hardest step on the road from chemistry to us was multicellularity, and it was strictly a problem of energetics. Last stated a year ago
5 May 2025
JL
Janna Levin — holds since 2025-05-05 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Unlike physics, biology's complexity and nonlinearity make a brute-force approach to knowledge creation necessary rather than one based on writing down equations. — tap to centre the map on it Unlike physics, biology's complexity and nonlinearity make a brute-force approach to knowledge creation necessary rather than one based on writing down equations. Last stated a year ago
29 Jun 2025
EH
Elliot Hershberg — holds since 2025-06-29 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Ecological complexity is impossible without an oxygenated planet, because oxygen is the difference between extracting 10% and 40% of the energy in food. — tap to centre the map on it Ecological complexity is impossible without an oxygenated planet, because oxygen is the difference between extracting 10% and 40% of the energy in food. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: If we found a thousand life forms across the universe, 995 of them would be carbon-based and living in water. — tap to centre the map on it If we found a thousand life forms across the universe, 995 of them would be carbon-based and living in water. Last stated 4 years ago
7 Sept 2022
NL
Nick Lane — holds since 2022-09-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Life is not chemical; it merely emerges in chemistry, because chemistry is the first space the universe builds that is too large for it to exhaust. — tap to centre the map on it Life is not chemical; it merely emerges in chemistry, because chemistry is the first space the universe builds that is too large for it to exhaust. Last stated 2 years ago
13 Jun 2024
SW
Sara Walker — holds since 2024-06-13 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Building a mechanistic whole-cell model of a human cell is far more uncertain in timeline than doing so for simpler organisms like E. coli. — tap to centre the map on it Building a mechanistic whole-cell model of a human cell is far more uncertain in timeline than doing so for simpler organisms like E. coli. Last stated a year ago
29 Jun 2025
EH
Elliot Hershberg — holds since 2025-06-29 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human. — tap to centre the map on it A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human. Last stated 3 years ago
22 Apr 2024
SC
Sean Carroll — holds since 2024-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A selection signal can be validated without a significance threshold, by measuring how far it is enriched for mutations an entirely independent study says affect a trait. — tap to centre the map on it A selection signal can be validated without a significance threshold, by measuring how far it is enriched for mutations an entirely independent study says affect a trait. Last stated 6 months ago
8 May 2026
DR
David Reich — holds since 2026-05-08 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Adaptive evolution tends to achieve even a simple, fixed objective through complicated behavior. — tap to centre the map on it Adaptive evolution tends to achieve even a simple, fixed objective through complicated behavior. Last stated 5 months ago
4 Jun 2026
SW
Stephen Wolfram — holds since 2026-06-04 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Humans are by nature the Machiavellian animal, the product of 40 million years of evolution from primates — tap to centre the map on it Humans are by nature the Machiavellian animal, the product of 40 million years of evolution from primates
RG
Robert Greene — holds since c. 2010 — tap for who they are
Same subject: People judge an organisation by the humans they deal with, because judging other people is the task evolution equipped them for. — tap to centre the map on it People judge an organisation by the humans they deal with, because judging other people is the task evolution equipped them for. Last stated 10 months ago
9 Dec 2025
RS
Rory Sutherland — holds since 2025-12-09 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The desire to work rather than be idle may be an evolved human trait. — tap to centre the map on it The desire to work rather than be idle may be an evolved human trait. Last stated 9 months ago
2 Feb 2026
JC
JL Collins — holds since 2026-02-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Plague receded from Europe through fourteen generations of natural selection, not through any advance in medicine. — tap to centre the map on it Plague receded from Europe through fourteen generations of natural selection, not through any advance in medicine. Last stated 6 years ago
4 Jun 2020
AP
Ada Palmer — holds since 2020-06-04 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The selection signal on the genetics of schooling is not a European artefact: the same variants predict years of school in China, a population disconnected from Europe for the whole period. — tap to centre the map on it The selection signal on the genetics of schooling is not a European artefact: the same variants predict years of school in China, a population disconnected from Europe for the whole period. Last stated 6 months ago
8 May 2026
DR
David Reich — holds since 2026-05-08 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work. — tap to centre the map on it A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work. Last stated 3 months ago
7 Aug 2026
MH
Max Hodak — holds since 2026-08-07 — tap for who they are
At the centre
There is no necessary trajectory from simple life to complexity: without photosynthesis or eukaryotes, the planet could have stayed bacteria and nothing else.
Holds Read this korrent →
Bacteria never became complex because the barrier is structure, not information — they explored genetic space far more thoroughly than eukaryotes and still got stuck.
Holds
There are far fewer alien civilizations than people would like to believe, because the road from bacteria to humans has huge gaps in it.
Holds
The hardest step on the road from chemistry to us was multicellularity, and it was strictly a problem of energetics.
Holds
Unlike physics, biology's complexity and nonlinearity make a brute-force approach to knowledge creation necessary rather than one based on writing down equations.
Holds
Ecological complexity is impossible without an oxygenated planet, because oxygen is the difference between extracting 10% and 40% of the energy in food.
Holds
If we found a thousand life forms across the universe, 995 of them would be carbon-based and living in water.
Holds
Life is not chemical; it merely emerges in chemistry, because chemistry is the first space the universe builds that is too large for it to exhaust.
Holds
Building a mechanistic whole-cell model of a human cell is far more uncertain in timeline than doing so for simpler organisms like E. coli.
Holds
A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human.
Holds
A selection signal can be validated without a significance threshold, by measuring how far it is enriched for mutations an entirely independent study says affect a trait.
Holds
Adaptive evolution tends to achieve even a simple, fixed objective through complicated behavior.
Holds
Humans are by nature the Machiavellian animal, the product of 40 million years of evolution from primates
Last stated c. 2010
Holds
People judge an organisation by the humans they deal with, because judging other people is the task evolution equipped them for.
Holds
The desire to work rather than be idle may be an evolved human trait.
Holds
Plague receded from Europe through fourteen generations of natural selection, not through any advance in medicine.
Holds
The selection signal on the genetics of schooling is not a European artefact: the same variants predict years of school in China, a population disconnected from Europe for the whole period.
Holds
A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work.
Holds