Most of the universe is still hydrogen and helium, though. Nearly all of it, in fact.Mr Tea, the universe started as helium and hydrogen. I promise you it trends in the direction of complexity
A lot of Portuguese say bro which always sounds wrong to me. Especially when I feel it's done for my benefit, reminds me of when I went to Moscow and bars kept trying to make me feel at home by offering London Pride. As though a) people go on holiday to do just what they do at home and b) all Londoners drink. Pride cos it's got London in its nameeveryone has stopped saying 'brother' in the bodegas etc in nyc, that was all anyone called me before the pandemic, it never happens now
I'm not dissing bacteria - although, when all's said and done, I'm sure you'd agree that a bacterium is a good bit simpler, in terms of taking fewer bits to describe, than a human (or most humans, at least). But the question is whether bacteria today are any more complex than those that existed, say, a billion years ago. Bacteria seem to be trundling along quite happily without having to get more complex as time goes on.You’re both wrong. Bacteria as a group show the most metabolic diversity. Simplicity at the cellular level doesn’t mean simplicity at macro level and they’re operating on completely different time scales and recent research shows that they’re capable of long distance communication, a kind of memory and shit like that bro
Contrary to multicellular organisms that display segmentation during development, communities of unicellular organisms are believed to be devoid of such sophisticated patterning. Unexpectedly, we find that the gene expression underlying the nitrogen stress response of a developing Bacillus subtilis biofilm becomes organized into a ring-like pattern. Mathematical modeling and genetic probing of the underlying circuit indicate that this patterning is generated by a clock and wavefront mechanism, similar to that driving vertebrate somitogenesis. We experimentally validated this hypothesis by showing that predicted nutrient conditions can even lead to multiple concentric rings, resembling segments. We additionally confirmed that this patterning mechanism is driven by cell-autonomous oscillations. Importantly, we show that the clock and wavefront process also spatially patterns sporulation within the biofilm. Together, these findings reveal a biofilm segmentation clock that organizes cellular differentiation in space and time, thereby challenging the paradigm that such patterning mechanisms are exclusive to plant and animal development.
This is unfortunately not aligned with the newest theories of natural selection. It appears the universe bends toward propagating patterns of greater generalized fitness, robustness, and complexity over time.
TBC, in that last one I wasn't criticising the concept of trigger stimuli, per se, which is a useful concept. It was a comment on how "Lol, triggered!" has become a standard online response to someone getting mildly irked, or even just disagreeing with you. I'm sure I've used it that way myself, even.It’s funny how you can read peoples prejudices and shoulder chips from this. Some are aiming at wokeness, I’m aiming at English people and everyone is aiming at @suspended
Transforming Conversations
Almost every day there is an opportunity for a transforming conversation with people we meet, that nurtures faith, builds courage, strengthens resolve, or addresses conflict. Drawing on research insights and utilising skills from coaching, the day offers a simple framework for having conversations that matter.
A bit like when Jesus delivered the Experience-Centred Narrative on the Mount, really.I mentioned my hatred of the abuse of the word "conversation" upthread, and just to annoy me more this happens:
for some reason I sometimes get emails intended for a Welsh vicar - I'm sure he's missed his last criminal background check because I'm the one who has received the reminders... anyway, today I got an email meant for him with a list of courses for Church of Wales clergy, including: