Feel free to ponder.

• “Many evolutionary biologists talk about “developmental constraint” as a factor that confines the scope of a species, its morphology and behavior. But few have argued that what evolution really represents is a breakdown of these constraints. When the genetic program regulating the “orderly” progression of development changes, in some way or other–a little more growth hormone here, a little less there; a slight tinkering with the time of maturation or the transition of one growth phase to another–herein lies the key to biological diversity. Developmental give-and-take generates profound morphological novelties that can open up entirely new evolutionary vistas.”

• “Mathematics, the science of patterns, is a way of looking at the world, both the physical, biological, and sociological world we inhabit, and the inner world of our minds and thoughts. Mathematics’ greatest success has undoubetdly been in the physical domain, where the subject is rightly refereed to as both the queen and the servant of the (natural) sciences. Yet, as an entirely human creation, the study of mathematics is ultimately a study of humanity itself.” - Mathematics the Science of Patterns p6

• “… for abstract patterns are the very essence of thought, of communication, of computation, of society, and of life itself.” - Mathematics: The Science of Patterns p7

• “One of the most exciting and fundamental questions that needs resolving in this whole debate is what effect variations in the timing and duration of interactions between different sets of cells very early in development contrihbuted to evolutionary change. …It is only by coming to grips with the essential rules of development that we will ever be able to understand fully the role of heterochrony in evolution: in other words, how changes in the timing of these cellular activities can affect the evolution of new species.” - p62 “Shapes of Time: The Evolution of Growth and Development”, McNamara

• “It is essential to stress that this process is entirely different from the layout process available in computerized systems using modular components. These systems allow the user to arrange and rearrange the modules. Our research shows that any process of arranging and rearranging modules is fundamentally limited, and cannot produce the kind of comfort — the deep and simple feelings — that we are seeking. … Profound adaptation in which things are comfortably related to one another can only occur when the elements involved are all capable of very fine dimensional variation. … The aspect of the layout process itself which is necessary to make this non-modularity work is that it is a process of differentiation (similar to the process of embryonic development) in which the parts are gradually differentiated from the whole — instead of the whole being made up from modular parts.” -Christopher Alexander

• “Mathematics, the science of patterns, is a way of looking at the world, both the physical, biological, and sociological world we inhabit, and the inner world of our minds and thoughts. Mathematics’ greatest success has undoubetdly been in the physical domain, where the subject is rightly refereed to as both the queen and the servant of the (natural) sciences. Yet, as an entirely human creation, the study of mathematics is ultimately a study of humanity itself.” - Mathematics the Science of Patterns p6

• “… for abstract patterns are the very essence of thought, of communication, of computation, of society, and of life itself.” - Mathematics: The Science of Patterns p7

• “One of the most exciting and fundamental questions that needs resolving in this whole debate is what effect variations in the timing and duration of interactions between different sets of cells very early in development contrihbuted to evolutionary change. …It is only by coming to grips with the essential rules of development that we will ever be able to understand fully the role of heterochrony in evolution: in other words, how changes in the timing of these cellular activities can affect the evolution of new species.” - p62 “Shapes of Time: The Evolution of Growth and Development”, McNamara

• “It is essential to stress that this process is entirely different from the layout process available in computerized systems using modular components. These systems allow the user to arrange and rearrange the modules. Our research shows that any process of arranging and rearranging modules is fundamentally limited, and cannot produce the kind of comfort — the deep and simple feelings — that we are seeking. … Profound adaptation in which things are comfortably related to one another can only occur when the elements involved are all capable of very fine dimensional variation. … The aspect of the layout process itself which is necessary to make this non-modularity work is that it is a process of differentiation (similar to the process of embryonic development) in which the parts are gradually differentiated from the whole — instead of the whole being made up from modular parts.” - Christopher Alexander

• “Individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” - Vince Lombardi (and I’d like to add, cf Leo Buss, it’s what makes life work.)

• “Pray, hope, and don’t worry” - Padre Pio

• “The aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein

• “Ad astra per aspera” (To the stars through hardship) - Vergil, The Aeneid

• “All evil in this world stems from two things: ego and greed.” - Dad

• “The less you require looking after, the more you are to stand alone and complete your tasks, the greater your reward. Then, if you can not only do your work, but direct intelligently and effectively the efforts of others, your reward is in exact ratio, and the more people you direct, and the higher the intelligence you can rightly lend, the more valuable is your life.” - Fra Elbertus -“The knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor.” Aldous Huxley

• “You never know what is enough until you know what is too much.” - William Blake

• “Biological systems are open, dissapative, and therefore not at equilibrium. If one’s at the steady state it’s either dead or you’ve found the singularity.” R.R. Klevecz