Ricard Solé
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ricardsole.bsky.social
Ricard Solé
@ricardsole.bsky.social

Scientist & skeptic. Dad. Book addict. Pathologically curious. Origins and Evolution of Complexity, Synthetic Transitions, Liquid Brains, and Earth Terraformation. ICREA, SFI & CSH professor. Author. Secular humanist.

Biology 28%
Physics 16%
Pinned
Back to @sfiscience.bsky.social joining the night shift (with some extra coffee) at the Cormac McCarthy's Library. Working on criticality + cancer, statistical physics of ant colonies, the Physarum Lagrangian, universal genetic codes, synthetic agriculture & hybrid agencies.
@jordiplam.bsky.social

My student @jordiplam.bsky.social just received an invitation from what appears to be a predatory journal. The prose is remarkable: part delirious flattery, part Victorian novel, and entirely committed to ensuring that the only conceivable reply is “yes.”

This is a rather preposterous question.

The fact that we might not be able yet to define it should never prevent us from make progress. If that were the case, biology would not make sense (we don't know how to define life). But, as with life, consciousness exists. That is a trivial fact.

This is the entrance of one of the old buildings near my home in Barcelona. I can’t help thinking the architect might have been a fan of George Boole: just look at the pattern of zeros and ones in the columns. And the doors even remind me of a robot face… Low Kolmogorov complexity though.

Why did consciousness evolve at all? A superb special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org brings together experts across disciplines to explore the functions of consciousness and why it emerged in some species but not others. @tecumsehfitch.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Could the logic of life be shaped by the architecture of biological circuitry? In this paper, @manlius.bsky.social shows how genetic, metabolic, and social networks can govern slow evolutionary dynamics in a unified nonequilibrium framework. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Grateful to our colleagues @ftmaestre.bsky.social and @vdlorenzo.bsky.social for inspiration and support. This work (a great adventure) grew out of many hours of discussion, coffee, and crowded blackboards and whiteboards.
Excited to share a new PhD thesis from my student and soon Dr @vmaull.bsky.social on synthetic ecosystems, preventing tipping points, and a new concept: emergent bioengineering. Very proud of this achievement, and thankful to @sfiscience.bsky.social, where many of these ideas came to life.
What causes tipping points in complex microbial ecosystems? Check this @pnas.org paper by @thilogross.bsky.social showing that cross-feeding networks create strong interdependencies & small structural changes can trigger abrupt collapses. @akhilesh-nandan.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....

Glad and excited to talk about "Cognition Spaces: : from individual to collective brains" at the @maxplanck.de Max Planck Institute and discuss about new projects on neuroscience of basal cognition (and beyond) with my dear colleague Aneta Koseska @koseskalab.bsky.social mpinb.mpg.de/en/events/ev...

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

After reading his previous books (especially Other Minds) I was really looking forward to @petergs.bsky.social new one, and it does not disappoint. A great journey through the evolution of life & cognition and how they have shaped our biosphere. Must-read @brigan.bsky.social @jordiplam.bsky.social

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé

Reposted by Ricard V. Solé