Michael Garfield & David Krakauer on Evolution, Information, and Jurassic Park

from COMPLEXITY · host Tyler Marghetis, Deborah Gordon, Michael Garfield, W. Brian Arthur, J. Doyne Farmer, Caleb Scharf, David Krakauer, Geoffrey West, Alison Gopnik, Simon DeDeo

Episode Title and Show Notes:106 - Michael Garfield & David Krakauer on Evolution, Information, and Jurassic ParkWelcome to Complexity, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm Michael Garfield, producer of this show and host for the last 105 episodes. Since October, 2019, we have brought you with us for far ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe. Today I step down and depart from SFI with one final appearance as the guest of this episode. Our guest host is SFI President David Krakauer, he and I will braid together with nine other conversations from the archives in a retrospective masterclass on how this podcast traced the contours of complexity. We'll look back on episodes with David, Brian Arthur, Geoffrey West, Doyne Farmer, Deborah Gordon, Tyler Marghetis, Simon DeDeo, Caleb Scharf, and Alison Gopnik to thread some of the show's key themes through into windmills and white whales, SFI pursues, and my own life's persistent greatest questions.We'll ask about the implications of a world transformed by science and technology by deeper understanding and prediction and the ever-present knock-on consequences. If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify and consider making a donation or finding other ways to engage with SFI at Santa fe.edu/engage. Thank you each and all for listening. It's been a pleasure and an honor to take you offroad with us over these last years.Follow SFI on social media: Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn📚Reading & Videos:The Lost Worldby Michael CrichtonJurassic Parkby Michael CrichtonThe Evolution of Syntactic Communicationby Martin Nowak, Joshua Plotkin, and Vincent JansenInterPlanetary Festival 2018 + SFI Science Explainer Animationsby SFIComplexity Economicsby SFI PressSupertheories and Consilience from Alchemy to Electromagnetismby Simon DeDeo (2019 SFI Seminar)How To Live in The Future, Part 4: The Future is Exapted/Remixedby Michael GarfieldArtists Misusing Technologyby NXT MuseumThe Collapse of Artificial Intelligenceby Melanie Mitchell (2019 SFI Symposium Talk)The Debate Over Understanding in AI's Large Language Modelsby Melanie Mitchell & David KrakauerWelcome To Jurassic Parkby Tink Zorg(re: COVID-19 and the collapse of supply chains)Smarter Parts Make Collective Systems Too Stubbornby Jordana Cepelewicz at Quanta Magazine(re: Albert Kao)Coarse-graining as a downward causation mechanismby Jessica FlackArgument Making In The Wildby Simon DeDeo(SFI Seminar re: egregores)The Collective Computation of Reality in Nature and Societyby Jessica Flack (SFI Community Lecture re: “hourglass emergence”)Interaction-based evolution: how natural selection and nonrandom mutation work togetherby Adi LivnatIn The Country of The Blind (_Afterword: An Introduction to Cliology)by Michael FlynnAn exchange of letters on the role of noise in collective intelligenceby Daniel Kahneman, David Krakauer, Olivier Sibony, Cass Sunstein, David WolpertMurray Gell-Mann - Information overload. A crude look at the whole (180/200)(re: the challenges of funding truly innovative research)The work of art in the age of biocybernetic reproductionby W.J.T. MitchellKen WilberIntelligence as a planetary scale processby Adam Frank, David Grinspoon, and Sara WalkerLight & Magic (documentary series)on Disney+Palantir AnalyticsThe Lord of The Ringsby J.R.R. TolkienPresent Shock: When Everything Happens Nowby Douglas RushkoffMichael LevinRobustness of variance and autocorrelation as indicators of critical slowing downby Vasilis Dakos, Egbert H van Nes, Paolo D’Odorico, Marten SchefferThe Singularity in Our Past Light-Coneby Cosma Shalizi🎧Podcasts: Complexity Podcast001 - David Krakauer on The Landscape of 21st Century Science009 - Mirta Galesic on Social Learning & Decision-making012 - Matthew Jackson on Social and Economic Networks013 - W. Brian Arthur (Part 1) on The History of Complexity Economics016 - Andy Dobson on Disease Ecology & Conservation Strategy036 - Geoffrey West on Scaling, Open-Ended Growth, and Accelerating Crisis/Innovation Cycles: Transcendence or Collapse?056 - J. Doyne Farmer on The Complexity Economics Revolution060 - Andrea Wulf on The Invention of Nature, Part 1: Humboldt’s Naturegemälde065 - Deborah Gordon on Ant Colonies as Distributed Computers067 - Tyler Marghetis on Breakdowns & Breakthroughs: Critical Transitions in Jazz & Mathematics072 - Simon DeDeo on Good Explanations & Diseases of Epistemology087 - Sara Walker on The Physics of Life and Planet-Scale Intelligence090 - Caleb Scharf on The Ascent of Information: Life in The Human Dataome92 - Miguel Fuentes & Marco Buongiorno Nardelli on Music, Emergence, and Society099 - Alison Gopnik on Child Development, Elderhood, Caregiving, and A.I. Future Fossils Podcast194 - Simon Conway Morris on Convergent Evolution & Creative Mass Extinctions190 - Lauren Seyler on Dark Microbiology & Right Relations in Science165 - Kevin Kelly on Time, Memory, Change, and Vanishing Asia125 - Stuart Kauffman on Physics, Life, and The Adjacent Possible Podcast theme music by Mitch MignanoOther music by Michael Garfield

NOW PLAYING

0:00 1:39:24

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

Our Immune Systems Are Full of Ancient Weapons

May 12, 2026 ·29m

Introducing Drilled: Carbon Cowboys

May 12, 2026 ·27m

20 Facebook Ads Tips For Financial Advisors

May 11, 2026 ·22m

Here’s Why The US And China Struggle To Play Nice

May 8, 2026 ·10m

What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity?

May 5, 2026 ·30m

The End of Cold Prospecting: Three Proven Methods to Warm Up Prospects

May 4, 2026 ·24m

Similar Podcasts

CISO Perspectives (public) N2K Networks This season on CISO Perspectives, host Kim Jones explores some of the challenges of leading through uncertainty. We explore the complexity of the changing nature of regulation and working with the federal government, the evolution of privacy and fraud, and how emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing are changing cyber. When you don’t know what questions to ask, you’re afraid to ask, or don’t know who to ask, CISO Perspectives provides the foundation for learning in this brave new world. Product Management Stories Denny Klisch The complexity of Product Management can discourage young professionals and aspiring individuals from pursuing a career in the field. The purpose of this Podcast is to demystify the complexity of Product Management for young Product Managers or people who want to get into Product Management. The Podcast provides valuable insights into the journeys of successful Product Managers, which helps the audience understand the skills, tools, and techniques they need to develop to become successful Product Managers. Deeply Well with Devi Brown The Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeartPodcasts Deeply Well Where higher consciousness meets the complexity of being human.Hosted by Well-Being Master Teacher and multi-disciplinary healer Devi Brown, Deeply Well is a soft place to land for those navigating the quiet, courageous work of becoming whole. Through soul-expanding conversations, guided meditations, and our signature Soul Work, each episode explores what it truly means to heal, to rewire, and to return—to your body, your truth, and your unique path. Created for the seekers, the sensitives, the creatives, and anyone reclaiming peace in a world that often overwhelms, Deeply Well invites you into presence, clarity, and self-mastery—one breath, one practice, one guest at a time.Devi Brown is the founder of Devi Brown Well-Being, former Chief Impact Officer at Chopra Global, and the author of Living in Wisdom and Crystal Bliss. Her work honors the sacred complexity of healing and guides you gently back to yourself—again and again. Comfort in the Workplace Braudis Frano Braudis Frano discusses the culture framework "Comfort in the Workplace". "Comfort in the Workplace" helps leaders establish a culture that enables teams to reach their potential.Braudis covers tools and topics related to the 13 tenets of Comfort in the Workplace - Respect for Team Members, Demand Excellence, Stewardship, Accountability, Consistent Communication, Remove Micromanagement, Simplify Complexity, Continuous Improvement, Proactive Action, Expect Success, Healthy Collaboration, Transparency, and Focus on the Important.Braudis interweaves stories based on his experience to help bring Comfort in the Workplace to life and ensure that you can develop your leadership and establish a high performing culture with your team.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of COMPLEXITY?

This episode is 1 hour and 39 minutes long.

When was this COMPLEXITY episode published?

This episode was published on June 30, 2023.

What is this episode about?

Can I download this COMPLEXITY episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.

URL copied to clipboard!