Living organisms seem exquisitely organized and complex, with features clearly adapted to serving certain functions needed to survive and procreate. Natural selection provides a compelling explanation for why that is so. But is there a bigger picture, a more general framework that explains the origin and evolution of functions and complexity in a world governed by uncaring laws of physics? I talk with planetary scientist and astrobiologist Michael Wong about how we can define what "functions" are and the role they play in the evolution of the universe.Support Mindscape on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.Blog post with transcript: <a href="https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/12/16/299-michael-wong-on-information-function-and-the-origin-of-life/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/12/16/299-michael-wong-on-information-function-and-the-origin-of-life/</a>Michael Wong received his Ph.D. in planetary science from Caltech. He is currently a Sagan Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Institution for Scienceʼs Earth & Planets Laboratory. He is in the process of co-authoring two books:&nbsp;A Missing Law: Evolution, Information, and&nbsp;the Inevitability of Cosmic Complexity&nbsp;with Robert M. Hazen, and a revised edition of&nbsp;Astrobiology: A Multidisciplinary Approach&nbsp;with Jonathan Lunine.<ul><li><a href="https://miquai.myportfolio.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li><li><a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/bio/dr-michael-l-wong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carnegie web page</a></li><li><a href="https://soundcloud.com/strange-new-worlds" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Strange New Worlds podcast</a></li><li>Wong et al. (2023), "<a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">On the Roles of Function and Selection in Evolving Systems</a>."</li><li>Wong and Prabhu (2023), "<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2022.0810" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cells as the First Data Scientists</a>."</li></ul>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

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299 | Michael Wong on Information, Function, and the Origin of Life

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