Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 106 | Stuart Bartlett on What "Life" Means
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Jul 20, 2020 
Stuart Bartlett, a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech, dives into the intriguing complexities of defining life. He discusses a revolutionary framework based on four pillars: dissipation, autocatalysis, homeostasis, and learning. Bartlett emphasizes that life isn't a simple concept but rather a collection of traits. The conversation also explores the potential for synthetic and extraterrestrial life, the challenges of cooperation in evolution, and how these principles can reshape our understanding of what it means to be alive.
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Definition of Life's Importance
- Defining life is crucial for scientific progress, enabling focused research and mission design in fields like astrobiology.
- A clear definition helps determine the goal, like proving abiogenesis or finding extraterrestrial life.
Darwinian Evolution Definition
- Darwinian evolution involves heritable variation leading to reproductive success, influenced by selective pressures.
- It's a cornerstone of biology, explaining how organisms adapt and diversify over time.
Artificial Life and Evolution
- Artificial life (ALife) research uses digital evolution experiments to study alternative life forms and processes like evolutionary robotics.
- Robots are programmed through evolution, where better performing code is recombined and reiterated.
