this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2024
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Review of 2023 book: How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology Philip Ball. ISBN9781529095999

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[–] PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 46 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

[–] GentlemanLoser@ttrpg.network 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe finish the book before you decide?

[–] PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] kalkulat@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

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.)

[–] veganpizza69@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

What’s the name of the theory the says cells use the genome like a library of tools?