All topics / assembly theory
Topic
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Assembly theory
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episodes
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thinkers
2h
of conversation
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books & papers
4
terms defined
The neighbourhood: assembly theory and the ideas it travels with. Drag to roam, click a star for the episode, click a neighbour to travel.
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The lexicon
Every term the guests lean on, in plain language. Read one in full, or filter to find it.
What the corpus says
The throughline across every conversation that touches this idea.
Sarah Walker challenges the RNA world hypothesis, suggesting it's a set of hypotheses with inherent problems.
Sarah Walker · Sara Walker: The Origin of Life on Earth and Alien Worlds
Assembly theory offers a new approach to detecting alien life by focusing on the complexity of objects rather than chemical markers.
Sarah Walker · Sara Walker: The Origin of Life on Earth and Alien Worlds
Walker posits that consciousness is created through interactions, not limited to human brains.
Sarah Walker · Sara Walker: The Origin of Life on Earth and Alien Worlds
The concept of a shadow biosphere implies that life may have originated multiple times on Earth, increasing the likelihood of extraterrestrial life.
Sarah Walker · Sara Walker: The Origin of Life on Earth and Alien Worlds
Walker argues that understanding life's origin requires a shift in viewing life as a planetary phenomenon.
Sarah Walker · Sara Walker: The Origin of Life on Earth and Alien Worlds
Voices on assembly theory
5 standout quotes from across the corpus.
Go read
3 books and papers cited across these episodes.
At the frontier
Still unresolved
2 open questions flagged across these conversations.
The thinkers
Who takes this idea on, by how often they return to it.