Hacker Timesnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

You're going to have to be more specific about what doesn't "sound right", because I don't see anything in that article that contradicts what you quoted.


One mutation being enough to create "a functional prototype of a complex feature/organ (MVP, if you please)"? That's not how reality works!

You can't introduce a complex organ out of the blue by flipping a single gene anymore than you can add HTTPS handling to your webapp by changing a single opcode in your binary. For that to work, the structural and operational information must have already been there in the organism.


I think that's exactly it. The groundwork for "complex" features must already be there in some sense, maybe through mutations or hitchhiking. The last mutation is probably like flipping the on-off boolean. Or maybe something dramatic like a keystone. I.e. the parts alone don't do anything, but you have this magical bit flipped that suddenly turns everything on and gives them significance.

But yeah one bit/mutation does not a feature make. Not without some prior stuff to latch on to, in my opinion.


An injection system is not an 'MVP' of a flagellum, an organ for propulsion. What doesn't sound right is the idea that single mutations often produce essentially working versions of future complex features.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: