Mind & Matter Evolution, Language, Domestication, Symbolic Cognition, AI & Large Language Models | Terrence Deacon | 141
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Feb 24, 2024 The podcast discusses topics like biological evolution, gene duplication, domestication of dogs and songbirds, symbolic cognition, artificial intelligence, and large language models. Dr. Deacon explores the origins of language, brain development, human vs. non-human vocal communication, and the evolution of symbolic communication. The episode touches on inverse Darwinism, overproduction in evolution, brain competition, metabolic adaptations, and the evolution of language through social dynamics and technology.
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Duplication Enables Novel Evolution
- Gene duplication creates redundancy that relaxes selection and enables new functions to evolve.
- Relaxed selection lets degraded copies drift and sometimes acquire novel complementary roles.
External Dependencies Drive Multi-Trait Change
- Losing an internal function (like vitamin C synthesis) forces organisms to adapt externally and co-evolve other traits.
- External resource dependence redistributes selection across sensory, behavioral, and social systems.
Sexual Selection Vs Survival Balance
- Sexual selection can push traits beyond survival optima until natural selection balances them.
- Environmental danger levels shift the equilibrium between ornament exaggeration and viability.