Chris Kempes

This is the story of different phases of evolution in the history of life. Now, if I keep doing that, though, eventually I start to get a spine that is so long that the leverage on it means it's really easy to break. And so either I can't grow the spine any longer, or I have to make it much wider, or I have to use a different material to make that spine, right?

This is the story of different phases of evolution in the history of life. Now, if I keep doing that, though, eventually I start to get a spine that is so long that the leverage on it means it's really easy to break. And so either I can't grow the spine any longer, or I have to make it much wider, or I have to use a different material to make that spine, right?

So this is a place where you'd say, well, the evolutionary dynamic is really about this predator prey evolutionary chase where one's trying to eat the other and the other's trying to build up defenses. But at some point, and probably at every point, those decisions run up against the laws of physics, right?

So this is a place where you'd say, well, the evolutionary dynamic is really about this predator prey evolutionary chase where one's trying to eat the other and the other's trying to build up defenses. But at some point, and probably at every point, those decisions run up against the laws of physics, right?

So to build a great defense, which you'd say defense is only in the context of a predator, but still to build up a great defense, I have to do so in a way that is also optimizing certain physical constraints. And that's the key. And so it's that every time I'm making an evolutionary consideration, I'm also making a physical one. And actually, Galileo was the first person to point this out.

So to build a great defense, which you'd say defense is only in the context of a predator, but still to build up a great defense, I have to do so in a way that is also optimizing certain physical constraints. And that's the key. And so it's that every time I'm making an evolutionary consideration, I'm also making a physical one. And actually, Galileo was the first person to point this out.

as he did with sort of his drawings of bones and explaining how as organisms got bigger, their bones had to get much wider just so that it wouldn't break. And so I think this is something, again, we often take for granted.

as he did with sort of his drawings of bones and explaining how as organisms got bigger, their bones had to get much wider just so that it wouldn't break. And so I think this is something, again, we often take for granted.

Well, there is interesting quantum mechanics in systems like photosynthesis. I don't work so much on those. I'm mostly concerned with packages of biological stuff. So I sort of think, you know, the viruses are sort of as small as I get. So I don't go quite to the quantum mechanical scale. But yeah, you can use a lot of classical physics. to describe much of what we see in organisms.

Well, there is interesting quantum mechanics in systems like photosynthesis. I don't work so much on those. I'm mostly concerned with packages of biological stuff. So I sort of think, you know, the viruses are sort of as small as I get. So I don't go quite to the quantum mechanical scale. But yeah, you can use a lot of classical physics. to describe much of what we see in organisms.

Now, where that gets complicated is where those classical physics interface with complicated, say, mathematical geometries.

Now, where that gets complicated is where those classical physics interface with complicated, say, mathematical geometries.

So a lot of the work that's been done at the Santa Fe Institute, Jeffrey West and Brian Inquist and Jim Brown did this work in the late 90s, was to show that when you start to think about optimizing even classical physical constraints, the best way to do that is with a fractal geometry. And so then the

So a lot of the work that's been done at the Santa Fe Institute, Jeffrey West and Brian Inquist and Jim Brown did this work in the late 90s, was to show that when you start to think about optimizing even classical physical constraints, the best way to do that is with a fractal geometry. And so then the

the mathematics of that geometry become more complicated, but the constraints you're optimizing are still classical physics constraints.

the mathematics of that geometry become more complicated, but the constraints you're optimizing are still classical physics constraints.

Yeah, and so what I mean by physical constraint is really there's a physical law. And as you know well, physical laws often apply at certain length scales or certain amounts of mass or that sort of thing. But over some range of sizes, there are certain physical laws that are present. And those inform sort of how all the physics at that scale operates. And that's what I mean by constraint.

Yeah, and so what I mean by physical constraint is really there's a physical law. And as you know well, physical laws often apply at certain length scales or certain amounts of mass or that sort of thing. But over some range of sizes, there are certain physical laws that are present. And those inform sort of how all the physics at that scale operates. And that's what I mean by constraint.

So gravity is really a law of physics. But we could think about that also as a constraint in the sense that if I get taller, I have to deal with different forces of braking that owe to gravitational forces on our planet. So it's really that sort of thing. Now, you can have more abstract constraints. some of which emerge in time. I mean, in over evolutionary time.

So gravity is really a law of physics. But we could think about that also as a constraint in the sense that if I get taller, I have to deal with different forces of braking that owe to gravitational forces on our planet. So it's really that sort of thing. Now, you can have more abstract constraints. some of which emerge in time. I mean, in over evolutionary time.