Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2022-09-07
Books mentioned on #318 – Nick Lane: Origin of Life, Evolution, Aliens, Biology, and Consciousness
Nick Lane is a biochemist at UCL and author of Transformer, The Vital Question, and many other amazing books on biology, chemistry, and life. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Backbone: https://playbackbone.
Lex Fridman recommended Transformer by Nick Lane and Vital Question by Nick Lane, and discussed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Power, Sex, Suicide by Nick Lane, Oxygen by Nick Lane, and Life Ascending by Nick Lane and others. Nick Lane discussed 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari and The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Transformer
Transformer by Nick Lane is a deep exploration of the chemistry of life and death, examining bioenergetics and the fundamental processes that animate biological systems.
Recommended“The following is a conversation with Nick Lane, a biochemist at University College London, an author of some of my favorite books on biology science and life ever written, including his two most recent, titled "Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death" and "The Vital Question: Why is Life the Way it is?"”
Where to get it
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Vital Question
Vital Question by Nick Lane is a landmark biochemistry book exploring the deepest origins of life and how biological energy evolved.
Recommended“The following is a conversation with Nick Lane, a biochemist at University College London, an author of some of my favorite books on biology science and life ever written, including his two most recent, titled "Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death" and "The Vital Question: Why is Life the Way it is?"”
Where to get it
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a thought-provoking book by Yuval Noah Harari that examines contemporary technological, political, and existential challenges facing humanity.
Discussed“But I'd like to throw something else at you, which troubles me on reading it, Noah Harari's book "21 Lessons for the 21st Century." And he's written about this kind of thing on various occasions. And he sees biochemistry as an algorithm, and then AI will necessarily be able to hack that algorithm”
Where to get it
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The Black Cloud
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle is a classic 1957 hard science fiction novel by the renowned astronomer that depicts a massive, intelligent interstellar gas cloud entering our solar system and cutting off sunlight, leading to catastrophic global cooling.
Discussed“When I was about, I guess, 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called "The Black Cloud," which, I was a budding biologist at the time, and this was the first time I'd come across someone really challenging the heart of biology”
Where to get it
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is a beloved comedic science fiction classic that satirizes bureaucracy, existentialism, and the absurdities of the universe.
Discussed“In 'Hitchhiker's Guide,' summarizing it as harmless or mostly harmless is beautifully poetic.”
Where to get it
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Oxygen
Discussed“So first you wrote "Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World," as we've talked about this idea of the role of oxygen in life on Earth. Then, wait for it, "Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life."”
Where to get it
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Life Ascending
Life Ascending by Nick Lane is an exploration of the ten greatest evolutionary inventions that shaped the history of life on Earth, ranging from DNA and photosynthesis to complex cells and consciousness.
Discussed“Then, "Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution." "The Vital Question," the first book I've read of yours, "The Vital Question: Why is Life the Way it is?" And the new book "Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death."”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“And I wrote about it in the epilogue to my last book, because 10 years ago, I wrote a chapter in a book called "Life Ascending" about consciousness. And the subtitle of "Life Ascending" was "The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution," and I couldn't possibly write a book with a subtitle like that that did not include consciousness”