A Series of Information Explosions

As usual, microbes led the way. Bacteria have swarmed in intense networks for 3.5 billion years. Then a hierarchical form emerged with the first nucleated cells which were made up of an enclosed society of formerly independent organisms.

That’s the pattern for the evolution of information, Alex Wright said. Networks coalesce into heirarchies, which then form a new level of networks, which coalesce again, and so on…

Read the rest of Stewart Brand’s Summary