Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, And The Fut... May 2026

Understanding how bacteria predictably evolve resistance can help us fight "superbugs".

Gould famously argued that evolution is highly contingent on random events. He believed that if you replayed the "tape of life," a different set of winners and losers would emerge every time. To Gould, humans are a magnificent evolutionary fluke. Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Fut...

Losos’s own pioneering work shows that nearly identical lizard species have evolved independently on different islands to fill specific niches (like tree trunks or grassy twigs), a stunning example of predictable convergence. To Gould, humans are a magnificent evolutionary fluke

In his compelling book, , evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos explores this profound question. By examining the tug-of-war between contingency (random luck) and convergence (predictable patterns), Losos offers a new lens through which to view our place in the cosmos. The Great Debate: Gould vs. Conway Morris Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Fut...

Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution

If evolution is predictable on Earth, it might be predictable on other planets, giving us a hint of what extraterrestrial life might look like. Final Thoughts