How Coevolution Maintains Balance in the Universe

from Wired Magazine

Yesterday, I read an article in Wired about a recently discovered fossil of a 60 million year old turtle that had a particularly thick shell (1.5 inches thick, 3 feet across).  The turtle fossil was found close to fossils of the world’s largest known snake species that grew to a length of 50 feet. Scientists theorized the turtle’s thick shell was necessary for fending off this huge snake species.

The article made me think of a very powerful concept, Coevolution–the change of an object (in this case a biological species) triggered by a related object.  As the snake grew larger, the turtle evolved a thicker shell to protect itself.  Or did the snake grow larger as the turtle’s shell became thicker?  This question is equivalent to asking which side of the scissors does the cutting.  Coevolution is a continuous process that involves the evolution of the objects happening in parallel.

Coevolution is curious because it tangibly illustrates the age-old concept of balance in the universe. The existence of one object creates a role for the other. To go even further, I’d say coevolution describes the genesis (and maintenance) of this balance.  Would there be a role for the Joker without Batman?  Batman’s existence completes the Joker.

The concept of duality found within joy and pain, love and hate, and so on is often talked about.  It is easy to observe and notice the human sensitivity to contrast and relative scales.  What is more interesting is the mechanism that delivers such paradoxical dualities, how it affects the world in many contexts (learning, political parties, psychology…), and how it can be used.

-Kevin
4.12.2010