How nature builds complexity with Ricard Solé

Biology. Physics. Chemistry. Engineering. 2025/07/26

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This conversation is with Ricard Solé, a leading thinker in complex systems and synthetic biology. Ricard heads the Complex Systems Lab at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, where he explores how simple rules give rise to life’s astonishing complexity. 

Together we explore what we mean by “complexity,” how nature builds it through evolution, self-organization, and cooperation, and why emergence makes the whole more than the sum of its parts. We touch on termite nests, slime molds, brains, and immune systems as windows into collective intelligence and hidden patterns in nature. Ricard also shares why recreating major evolutionary leaps in the lab — what he calls synthetic worlds — could help us understand life’s deep principles and constraints. Finally, we ask how complexity thinking can help us face big challenges, from tipping points in ecosystems to the future of our climate.

About the guest

Timestamps

  • 00:00:00 - Introduction

  • 00:02:01 - Can a Biologist Fix a Radio? (Yuri Lazebnik's Analogy)

  • 00:03:36 - The Limits of Engineering Approaches in Biology

  • 00:04:50 - Hardware vs. Software in Cellular Systems

  • 00:09:01 - What Is Complexity? Emergence Explained

  • 00:10:18 - Collective Intelligence: From Termites to Slime Molds

  • 00:14:57 - Evolution as a Driver of Complexity

  • 00:15:54 - Major Evolutionary Transitions Defined

  • 00:17:27 - The Limits of Reductionism in Biology

  • 00:19:34 - What Complexity Theory Could Offer

  • 00:21:07 - Scaling Laws in Biology and Metabolism

  • 00:22:26 - Synthetic Biology and the Origin of Life

  • 00:26:44 - Information, Coding, and Pre-cellular Chemistry

  • 00:30:03 - Cells, Agency, and the Birth of Individuality

  • 00:33:37 - Liquid Brains: Immune Systems, Ant Colonies, and Intelligence

  • 00:37:58 - Synthetic Worlds: Rebuilding Evolution in the Lab

  • 00:41:06 - Language Emergence and Cognitive Space

  • 00:45:00 - Multicellularity and the Last Common Ancestor

  • 00:49:00 - Turing Patterns and Symmetry Breaking in Development

  • 00:53:36 - The Challenge of Modeling Organs in Complexity Theory

  • 00:55:03 - Plant Intelligence, Redundancy, and Morphological Plasticity

  • 00:57:14 - Slime Molds and Network-Based Computation

  • 01:00:00 - Fungi and Underground Intelligence

  • 01:01:04 - Liquid Brains: A Broader Framework

  • 01:03:00 - The Immune System as a Cognitive Network

  • 01:06:04 - Evolutionary Convergence and Constraints in Biology

  • 01:09:04 - Searching for Life Beyond Earth

  • 01:12:00 - Can Complexity Theory Predict Life’s Origins?

  • 01:17:04 - Synthetic Biology as a Tool for Discovery

  • 01:18:47 - The Origin of Neurons and Brains

  • 01:24:43 - Regeneration, Memory, and the Mystery of Planarians

  • 01:31:05 - Cancer, Evolution, and System Breakdown

  • 01:36:04 - Climate Tipping Points and Complex Systems

  • 01:39:00 - The Importance of Scientific Thinking

  • 01:47:52 - Final Thoughts and Reflections