Matt Smear
@mattsmear.bsky.social
Associate professor, University of Oregon
Follows your nose
Follows your nose
RNA world is a leading theory of how life began in the first place.
the dynamical perspective is maybe a path to a possible concept of a potential theory of why modern organisms replicate, develop, and function ok sometimes but not so great.
the dynamical perspective is maybe a path to a possible concept of a potential theory of why modern organisms replicate, develop, and function ok sometimes but not so great.
February 12, 2026 at 1:36 PM
RNA world is a leading theory of how life began in the first place.
the dynamical perspective is maybe a path to a possible concept of a potential theory of why modern organisms replicate, develop, and function ok sometimes but not so great.
the dynamical perspective is maybe a path to a possible concept of a potential theory of why modern organisms replicate, develop, and function ok sometimes but not so great.
Certainly cool to think about at least!
@romainbrette.bsky.social has made analogous arguments about "representations" in the brain, which I also struggle with but like to think about
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
@romainbrette.bsky.social has made analogous arguments about "representations" in the brain, which I also struggle with but like to think about
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
Frontiers | Brains as Computers: Metaphor, Analogy, Theory or Fact?
Whether electronic, analog or quantum, a computer is a programmable machine. Wilder Penfield held that the brain is literally a computer, because he was a du...
www.frontiersin.org
February 11, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Certainly cool to think about at least!
@romainbrette.bsky.social has made analogous arguments about "representations" in the brain, which I also struggle with but like to think about
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
@romainbrette.bsky.social has made analogous arguments about "representations" in the brain, which I also struggle with but like to think about
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
I struggle with dynamical systems theory, but I think maybe it frames the genome itself as the cook, or maybe more as a guide that helps keep development from falling apart?
All metaphors are wrong, some are useful. Can this metaphor inspire testable predictions? Maybe?
All metaphors are wrong, some are useful. Can this metaphor inspire testable predictions? Maybe?
February 11, 2026 at 5:23 PM
I struggle with dynamical systems theory, but I think maybe it frames the genome itself as the cook, or maybe more as a guide that helps keep development from falling apart?
All metaphors are wrong, some are useful. Can this metaphor inspire testable predictions? Maybe?
All metaphors are wrong, some are useful. Can this metaphor inspire testable predictions? Maybe?
Reposted by Matt Smear
Philosophically, this replaces the substance-based view of reproduction (invariance by default, we explain change) with a process-based view (change by default, we explain stability), a better fit to living organisms, which are far-from-equilibrium organizations of processes.
10/11
10/11
February 11, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Philosophically, this replaces the substance-based view of reproduction (invariance by default, we explain change) with a process-based view (change by default, we explain stability), a better fit to living organisms, which are far-from-equilibrium organizations of processes.
10/11
10/11
Reposted by Matt Smear
What is the genome’s role here? It is not a representation, code or instructions, but a transmissible constraint on development. In the same way as an enzyme is a constraint: it doesn’t change but acts by favoring certain reactions. Which reactions actually happen depend on the initial state.
9/11
9/11
February 11, 2026 at 2:45 PM
What is the genome’s role here? It is not a representation, code or instructions, but a transmissible constraint on development. In the same way as an enzyme is a constraint: it doesn’t change but acts by favoring certain reactions. Which reactions actually happen depend on the initial state.
9/11
9/11
Reposted by Matt Smear
Are there moral limits to advancing a research career?
"Antonio Damasio..the director of USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute approached Jeffrey Epstein in 2013 and asked the convicted child sex offender to fund robotics neuroscience research"
#AcademicSky
www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/02/02/u...
"Antonio Damasio..the director of USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute approached Jeffrey Epstein in 2013 and asked the convicted child sex offender to fund robotics neuroscience research"
#AcademicSky
www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/02/02/u...
USC professor asked Jeffrey Epstein to privately fund research in 2013
Emails from Epstein’s inbox show the Brain and Creativity Institute director met with the financier years after his 2008 conviction.
www.uscannenbergmedia.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by Matt Smear
nearly a thousand entries
February 5, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Matt Smear
The Columbia Spectator actually got him and the university on the record, although I do find it a little funny that Columbia's statement basically amounted to "everyone already knew they were buds"
www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/02...
www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/02...
University Professor and Nobel laureate Richard Axel, CC ’67, was invited to close friend of 11 years Jeffrey Epstein’s island in 2011
<i>Updated Feb. 4 at 8:24 p.m.</i>
www.columbiaspectator.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Matt Smear
‘It has been remarked that life’s aim is an act, not a thought’ or in other words evolution selects on the basis of what animals do.
December 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
‘It has been remarked that life’s aim is an act, not a thought’ or in other words evolution selects on the basis of what animals do.