A mammalian gene pool can acquire at most 1 bit of information per generation.
Eliezer,
That's a very provocative, interestingly empirical, yet troublingly ambiguous statement. :)
I think it's important to note that evolution is very effective (within certain constraints) in figuring out ways to optimize not only genes but also genomes-- it seems probable that a large amount of said "bits" have been on the level of structural or mechanical optimizations.
These structural/mechanical optimizations might in turn involve mechanisms by which to use existi...
Interesting series of articles. I like the theme.
Just a small observation-- you may define the origin of life outside the domain of evolution, but I think you could just as easily bring it under the umbrella of evolution, with discussion of replicator precursors such as chemical epicycles and whatnot. I see your point, but I think distancing evolution from such a question might be seen as 'passing the buck'.
This should not be surprising; genes have to do all their own work of spreading. There's no Evolution Fairy who can watch the gene pool and say, "Hm, that gene seems to be spreading rapidly - I should distribute it to everyone." In a human market economy, someone who is legitimately getting 20% returns on investment - especially if there's an obvious, clear mechanism behind it - can rapidly acquire more capital from other investors; and others will start duplicate enterprises. Genes have to spread without stock markets or banks or imitators - ... (read more)