this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2024
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Theoretical biologist here. This is an incredibly important book. I just bought it a few minutes ago and so I’m only partway through the beginning, but it’s summarizing everything people from my school of thought (complex adaptive systems theory, multilevel selection models, and so on) have been arguing for two or three decades. It’s a very fast read so far (probably less so if you’re less familiar with the points the author is making), but I really hope that this book has an impact that’s reflective of the timeliness and cohesiveness (as I am reading into what the author is preparing to argue) deserves.
Maybe finish the book before you decide?
If you’re familiar with the subject, you can tell exactly where the author is going to go with it. I’ve been working on and teaching this material for about 20 years, and I’ve applied it against quite a diverse number of areas.
I’m not learning anything new from the book, but simply reading a well-assembled argument as to why it should become a dominant paradigm.
Lol you're saying with a chapter you don't even need to read the rest of it? And you're a scientist?
Yes, because I know this material well enough that I could have written this book, and have written multiple papers on closely related topics as well as taught courses on this material.
I’m sorry if that seems weird but it’s what happens when you become an expert in a field, especially one as narrow as theoretical biology. I knew exactly where he was going with his argument.
It’s like when you have a twin and you can finish each other’s sandwiches.
What's weird is claiming the book is "incredibly important" but also, the author's thoughts on the subject are so obvious that you do not need to finish the book.
Let’s say you were an expert in epidemiological modeling, and you and a modestly sized group of your fellow researchers had been working on an approach that demonstrated what should have been done in 2020, and what a shitshow it would be if it wasn’t done. Then, of course, it wasn’t done. Then one of your fellow travelers wrote a book saying what should have been done. You know the work - you’d contributed to it yourself - but you think other people should know about it.
Would you consider that book “very important?”
IDK, I only read the first line of your comment
Well, had to read the last line as well to be able to come up with a witty cheeky response ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Or, you know, they're commenting based on what they know, which is most than most of us in this thread, and they're doing it now while the conversation is happening instead of waiting until they've finished the book, because by then everyone will have moved on.
Username half checks out.
Yeh! Good to see the rusty machine (and self-deprecating) model fading away and being replaced by real appreciation of the true marvels that have emerged over millions of years. (Science's mechanical models were all so ... 18th century!)
(Not so familiar with biology but did enjoy hearing about the tack Lee Cronin's taken.)
What’s the name of the theory the says cells use the genome like a library of tools?