Should biology put complexity first? Thought it might be worth sending this round again, as it seems to be resonating with some. This link should give free access until 1 April. authors.elsevier.com/a/1karS8YyDfuZ5m - ThreadSky

About ThreadSky

philipcball.bsky.social • 1 day ago

Should biology put complexity first?

Thought it might be worth sending this round again, as it seems to be resonating with some. This link should give free access until 1 April.
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1karS8YyDfuZ5m

Comments

danambergstrom.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is great 👏👏👏

chrisreconnect.bsky.social•1 day ago

Wonderful discussion. Generally speaking, I get the pedagogical argument of starting simple and adding complexity. The problem is, in our education system so many people don't get to the complexity part. Many adults then are left with a very simplified understanding they believe to be complete.

openrisk.eu•1 day ago

In physics various systems can be approached both at the macro (thermodynamics) and the micro level (statistical physics). Is a macro theory of biology eluding us because of the missing mathematics of complexity or is that not a good frame to think about this?

vicklien.bsky.social•1 day ago

Hi Philip: I noticed your concerns about the Wikipedia article on Pleiotropy. On the "Talk" page for that article, the most recent comment is from 2018 (7 years ago). As you pointed out, maybe it's a bit "stale"(?). Have you considered adding a brief comment of your own?

philipcball.bsky.social•1 day ago

I guess I should, though even in 2018 it was clearly nonsense to suggest that pleiotropy is uncommon in humans.

vicklien.bsky.social•1 day ago

Kudos for considering it.

At the top of the Talk:Pleiotropy page, the article only gets a "C-class" rating, indicating it may have problems. Also, although the Talk page doesn't have many recent comments, the "View History" page has edits in 2025 and 2024, from multiple authors. Go figure.

vicklien.bsky.social•1 day ago

BTW: Apparently there is a known problem with Wikipedia finding it challenging to attract and keep contributors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Why_is_Wikipedia_losing_contributors_-_Thinking_about_remedies

Posting Rules

Be respectful to others
No spam or self-promotion
Stay on topic
Follow Bluesky's terms of service

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply