JohannesDahlstrom comments on The Irrationality Game - Less Wrong

38 Post author: Will_Newsome 03 October 2010 02:43AM

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Comment author: JohannesDahlstrom 03 October 2010 10:29:52PM 3 points [-]

You make the "metabolism first" school of thought sound like a minority contrarian position to the mainstream "genes first" hypothesis. I was under the impression that they were simply competing hypotheses with the jury being still out on the big question. That's how they presented the issue in my astrobiology class, anyway.

Comment author: Perplexed 03 October 2010 10:52:08PM 1 point [-]

It was a minority, contrarian position just a decade ago. But Wachtershauser's position is not just "metabolism first". It is also "strictly autotrophic" and "lipid first". So I think it is still fair to call it a minority opinion.