Perry Marshall, author of Evolution 2.0 and founder of the $10 million prize for the origin of a spontaneously arising communication system, joins Glen Reuschling, retired engineer, and Karen Wong to discuss the fundamental nature of information, choice, and the observer. Read more »
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Karen Wong has a longtime interest in origins and evolution and we discuss what happens when you shift the definition of evolution. Old definition: Changes in gene frequencies acted upon by natural selection. New definition: Self-awareness at fractal levels of scale.
Why water is essential to life possessing the ability to choose, by Denis Noble of Oxford:
Life begins and depends on the strange physical and chemical properties of water. This lecture by Denis Noble was delivered to a Biology Congress in Iran in 2022. In simple language it shows why water is crucial to our ability to exercise free action in choosing our actions and in being creative. The lecture ends with a plea: water resources in many part of the world are threatened by global warming, while in other parts of the world people and animals are threatened by massive flooding. Recognising how important water is to life, and why that is so, is a major step towards convincing people and nations around the world to take action to prevent the catastrophes that threaten life on earth.
Glen Reuschling writes:
I’ve taken the opportunity to read, then reread several times, your recent paper “Biology transcends the limits of computation” (2021). I’m confused. Wouldn’t a working solution to your prize challenge effectively disprove the assertion of the paper’s title? Read more »
Joana Xavier is a rising star in the Origin of Life field. She is a researcher at University College London. She recently authored a paper with Stuart Kauffman on autocatalytic networks which are nature’s version of M.C. Escher’s hand drawing a hand. We discuss the uneasy relationship between professional scientists and Intelligent Design and then go on to discuss conflicts in academia, science funding and publishing.
Joana’s Website: https://jcxavier.org/
Joana’s paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsta.2021.0244
Podcast: https://evo2.org/podcasts/the-biggest-mystery-in-the-history-of-the-universe/
When Perry’s brother quit his missionary job and abandoned his Christian faith, this plunged Perry into a deep crisis of questioning everything himself. He decided to put Christian beliefs on the biggest public anvil he could find and invite the whole world to swing a hammer.
There are very very few people who can slice through the jargon of molecular biology and explain how cells talk to each other in a way that a highschool student can understand. But Jon Lieff has done exactly that and his book, NAME, is a guided tour of a microscopic world that is bursting with life… and stories…This book may change the way you see everything.
Podcast Link: https://evo2.org/podcasts/an-invisible-world-buzzing-with-communication-and-excitement-jon-lieff-md/
Jon Lieff’s Website: https://jonlieffmd.com/
Jon Lieff’s Book: The Secret Language of Cells
Interview with Damien Deighan of Data Science Conversations: In this episode we are joined by Perry Marshall to talk about his latest scientific paper entitled “Biology Transcends the Limits of Computation”. We also discuss his $10 million Evolution 2.0 Science Prize, which is the largest prize in the world in science currently.
His paper – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079610721000365 – pushes the boundaries in the field of evolutionary biology and his science prize is driving some truly fascinating and thought provoking implications for the development of strong AI.
Rich Jacobs indulged his fascination with technology by starting a podcast called Finding Genius. He didn’t know that it would end up taking him into hundreds of specialties in science, technology, and medicine.
His book titled Finding Genius: Understanding Viruses: 30 Questions, 25 Geniuses, 100 Amazing Insights is a beautifully edited compilation of Q&A from some of the best virus people in the world. Here we explore what Rich discovered about viruses and their experts.
Podcast link: https://evo2.org/podcasts/viruses-and-what-rich-jacobs-discovered-from-interviewing-3000-experts/
John Sonmez of Bulldog Mindset Talks with Perry Marshall about…Biology.
John Sonmez interviews Perry Marshall and they discuss why it’s impossible for computers in their current form to become conscious; how modern mathematics speaks in a new way to age-old questions about free will; the nature of consciousness; the origin of life and the very nature of reality itself. All this is based on Perry’s paper “Biology transcends the limits of computation.”