Amid a Major Evolutionary Transition—Michael Garfield—Future Fossils Podcast, Santa Fe Institute

Michael Garfield is a paleontologist, futurist, evolutionary theorist, multimedia artist, and public speaker currently on the trail of a new unifying theory to explain major evolutionary transitions. In particular, he’s looking at the one he says humans are experiencing today, amidst unprecedented extinctions and innovation and rapid change—an environment that’s actually creating discomfort for many. He refers to the current major evolutionary transition as a conceptual one, whereby the human is seen not as separate from its environment or the systems around it, but embedded within its many layers. In his view, everything from single-celled organisms to the solar system itself can be seen as different layers of a single metabolic process; humans exist somewhere in between, as thinking organisms navigating their environment like any other. He draws attention to the effect of technological advances and third-world development on the ecosystem within which we live, comments on the way in which AI and augmented reality will continue to impact evolutionary change, and challenges us to rethink the nature of our existence and perceived realities.  Check out michaelgarfield.net to learn more about Garfield’s theories and thought processes, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.