Adam Frank

And they have not yet, they're not going to, enough of them to exert any kind of these Gaian feedback. So we call that an immature biosphere. But then as time goes on, as life becomes more robust and it begins to exert these feedbacks, keeping the planet in the place where it needs to be for life, we call that a mature biosphere, right?

And they have not yet, they're not going to, enough of them to exert any kind of these Gaian feedback. So we call that an immature biosphere. But then as time goes on, as life becomes more robust and it begins to exert these feedbacks, keeping the planet in the place where it needs to be for life, we call that a mature biosphere, right?

And they have not yet, they're not going to, enough of them to exert any kind of these Gaian feedback. So we call that an immature biosphere. But then as time goes on, as life becomes more robust and it begins to exert these feedbacks, keeping the planet in the place where it needs to be for life, we call that a mature biosphere, right?

And the important thing, and we're going to, I'm sure later on we're going to talk about definitions of life and such. There's this great term called autopoiesis. That Francisco Varela, the neurobiologist Francisco Varela came up with. And he said, you know, one of the defining things about life is this property of autopoiesis, which means self-creating and self-maintaining.

And the important thing, and we're going to, I'm sure later on we're going to talk about definitions of life and such. There's this great term called autopoiesis. That Francisco Varela, the neurobiologist Francisco Varela came up with. And he said, you know, one of the defining things about life is this property of autopoiesis, which means self-creating and self-maintaining.

And the important thing, and we're going to, I'm sure later on we're going to talk about definitions of life and such. There's this great term called autopoiesis. That Francisco Varela, the neurobiologist Francisco Varela came up with. And he said, you know, one of the defining things about life is this property of autopoiesis, which means self-creating and self-maintaining.

Life does not create the conditions which will destroy itself, right? It's always trying to keep itself in a place where it can stay alive. So the biosphere, from this guy in perspective, has been autopoietic for billions of years. Now, we just invented this technosphere in the last couple of hundred years. And what we were arguing in that paper is that it's an immature technosphere, right?

Life does not create the conditions which will destroy itself, right? It's always trying to keep itself in a place where it can stay alive. So the biosphere, from this guy in perspective, has been autopoietic for billions of years. Now, we just invented this technosphere in the last couple of hundred years. And what we were arguing in that paper is that it's an immature technosphere, right?

Life does not create the conditions which will destroy itself, right? It's always trying to keep itself in a place where it can stay alive. So the biosphere, from this guy in perspective, has been autopoietic for billions of years. Now, we just invented this technosphere in the last couple of hundred years. And what we were arguing in that paper is that it's an immature technosphere, right?

Because right now, with climate change and all the other things we're doing, the technosphere right now is sort of destroying the conditions under which it needs to maintain itself. So the real job for us, if we're going to last over... you know, geologic timescales.

Because right now, with climate change and all the other things we're doing, the technosphere right now is sort of destroying the conditions under which it needs to maintain itself. So the real job for us, if we're going to last over... you know, geologic timescales.

Because right now, with climate change and all the other things we're doing, the technosphere right now is sort of destroying the conditions under which it needs to maintain itself. So the real job for us, if we're going to last over... you know, geologic timescales.

If we want a technosphere that's going to last tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of years, then we've got to become mature, which means to not undermine the conditions, to not subvert the conditions that you need to stay alive. So as of right now, I'd say we're not autopoietic.

If we want a technosphere that's going to last tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of years, then we've got to become mature, which means to not undermine the conditions, to not subvert the conditions that you need to stay alive. So as of right now, I'd say we're not autopoietic.

If we want a technosphere that's going to last tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of years, then we've got to become mature, which means to not undermine the conditions, to not subvert the conditions that you need to stay alive. So as of right now, I'd say we're not autopoietic.

From the pond, yeah, right. Get sick a few times.

From the pond, yeah, right. Get sick a few times.

From the pond, yeah, right. Get sick a few times.

Well, you know, it's interesting with the technosphere, we can talk about this more, but like, you know, we're just emerging as a technosphere in terms of as a interplanetary technosphere, right?

Well, you know, it's interesting with the technosphere, we can talk about this more, but like, you know, we're just emerging as a technosphere in terms of as a interplanetary technosphere, right?