---
title: "1 Biological evolution Quotes By David Marusek"
description: "1 Biological evolution quotes by David Marusek. Plus more from David Marusek and more Biological evolution sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/david-marusek-27635_ais_evolution-is-largely-a-temporal-phenomen_735835.jpg"
---

> [“Evolution is largely a temporal phenomenon, Merrill. The environment changes, and populations in that environment change in turn, or they languish. Individual organisms don't evolve; populations do. Nature doesn't give a damn about individuals. The only role we play in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/evolution-is-largely-a-temporal-phenomenon-merrill-the-environment/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/david-marusek-27635_ais_evolution-is-largely-a-temporal-phenomen_735835.jpg)

## More by David Marusek

> [“Who among us can claim normalcy, Bishop?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/who-among-us-can-claim-normalcy-bishop/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Imagine, Bishop, that you have a beloved cat, but that your cat is not with you. If you close your eyes and further imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-cat-but-that-your-cat-is-not/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“The journey of a thousands suns begins today. Some may question whether the journey is worth the sacrifice and danger. To them I say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/the-journey-of-a-thousands-suns-begins-today-some-may-question/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [ “What a mistake that had been, to create a construct \[AI\] that could suffer. He knew that now. Life, pain, death, they were no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a-construct-ai-that-could/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Imagine - a thousand Eleanors ruling under a thousand suns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-a-thousand-eleanors-ruling-under-a-thousand-suns/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Evolution is largely a temporal phenomenon, Merrill. The environment changes, and populations in that environment change in turn, or they languish. Individual organisms don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/evolution-is-largely-a-temporal-phenomenon-merrill-the-environment/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Society can serve its citizens only to the extent that it knows them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/society-can-serve-its-citizens-only-to-the-extent-that-it-knows-them/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Capitalism was a marvel, as long as you were a capitalist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/capitalism-was-a-marvel-as-long-as-you-were-a-capitalist/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Why do we need so many people on Earth? I ask you. What are they good for? They live out ludicrous lives of pointless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/why-do-we-need-so-many-people-on-earth-i-ask-you-what-are-they-good/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“And among the sleeping soldiers and colonists in the crypts lay one apart, a woman who had forgotten the meaning of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/and-among-the-sleeping-soldiers-and-colonists-in-the-crypts-lay-one/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“Intelligence is not limited to neural networks, Merrill. Indeed, half of human intelligence resides in our bodies outside our skulls…The genius of the irrational…This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-networks-merrill-indeed-half-of/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“The person who works for recognition devalues the work he does, that awards are first and foremost political instruments, that altruism's true name is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/the-person-who-works-for-recognition-devalues-the-work-he-does-that/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“…I tell you that loneliness itself is the secret. It’s a secret you cannot tell anyone. Why? Because to confess your loneliness is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/i-tell-you-that-loneliness-itself-is-the-secret-it-s-a-secret-you/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“There's not much to say about loneliness, for it's not a broad subject. Any child, alone in her room, can journey across its entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/there-s-not-much-to-say-about-loneliness-for-it-s-not-a-broad-subject/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

> [“In a thousand years, Fred, no one will even know or care we existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/in-a-thousand-years-fred-no-one-will-even-know-or-care-we-existed/)

[David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/)

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                        "text": "“Evolution is largely a temporal phenomenon, Merrill. The environment changes, and populations in that environment change in turn, or they languish. Individual organisms don't evolve; populations do. Nature doesn't give a damn about individuals. The only role we play in evolution is surviving long enough to give birth to offspring who are slightly different from us. Some of our offspring will prosper in a changing environment, and some of them will not. As for us individuals, once we've reproduced, nature has no more use for us. We perish along with our ill-adapted young. Death has always been an essential factor in species survival. Now consider the human race. We are a partial exception to the rule. Unlike other species, we have developed culture. Instead of adapting to a changing environment biologically, we can sometimes adapt to it culturally. If an Ice Age comes along, we don't need to grow fur on our bodies if we invent the fur coat. Culture allows us to adapt to almost any environment, including the harshest, like space. In fact, our cultural adaptation is so robust that it all but obviates the need to evolve biologically. We are so good at adapting to changing conditions with our knowledge and technology that we may deceive ourselves into believing that we are above nature. But only a fools believes that. Nature always has the last word. A star in our neighborhood could go supernova and wipe out all life in our solar system, and no amount of culture could save us from that. That, I believe, is the main reason you want to seed humanity throughout the galaxy. So as not to have all our eggs in one basket... The chief difference between biological and cultural adaptation is that while biological evolution doesn't care about individuals, cultural evolution does, often at the expense of the species. Look at how many times we've nearly wiped ourselves out through cultural means: the nuclear bomb, pollution, climate change, the Outrage. We can't seem to help ourselves. Look at what we've done: we've made individuals all but immortal, even when it means we can have no more children. In one stroke, we've eliminated the two key ingredients of evolution: offspring and death. From a biological perspective, we're skating on mighty thin ice. ... ...as long as the individual reigns supreme, there's a finite limit to our survival. ... We need a means for the individual, not just the species, to participate in biological evolution, and that's what my project is all about. We need to be able to let our biological bodies die, to have offspring that are molded by the changing needs of the environments we find ourselves in, and yet to serially inhabit these bodies as the same individual. That means we need to be able to move our minds from one body to the next. ... Mine is a singularity in which the obsolete individual is invited to cross over to the new, not simply to die out. The existing person need not die to make room for the newcomer. Anyone can play.”",
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