Cancer is a Disease of Identity: Rethinking Evolutionary Biology with Perry Marshall: PYP 432
Channel: Sick to Fit | Plant Yourself Podcast
Date: 2020-10-05

Perry Marshall is one of the organizers of Cancer & Evolution Symposium, and a "pantomath" of the highest order. An engineer, marketer, writer, and science enthusiast, he has devoted much of the past 10 years to cracking the evolutionary code. 

Mainstream Darwinism simply can't answer some of our biggest questions, or account for much of the fossil record, according to Marshall. And given that creationists and intelligent design advocates are the main opponents of this understanding of evolution, scientific consensus has refused to admit other possibilities. As Marshall quips, "Evolutionary biology is the field most resistant to evolution."

Marshall argues that natural selection is not the only, or even the main factor, in evolution. Instead, the organism itself exerts its will, and is an agent in its own evolution to further its own goals.

And that explains why we have such a poor track record when it comes to treating and preventing cancer. We act like cancer cells are stupid, and only engage in random mutation. But what if cancer is a disease of identity?: the cancerous cell gains immortality by killing off its kill switch (apoptosis), and fails to realize that it's part of a larger organism. 

In our discussion, we covered

the connection between cancer and the Cambrian explosion
the insulting term "junk DNA"
how viruses are like "Hey Jude," and why humanity will probably survive COVID-19 with some genetic upgrades
Barbara McClintock's Nobel-prize winning corn and radiation experiments
the artificial distinction between artificial and natural selection
"natural selection is as smart or dumb as your competitors"
"If the airplane crashes, your theory is wrong"
the significance of islands and flightless birds
cancer as the body's attempt to reboot in "safe mode"
epigenetic multigenerational transmission of asthma
the mammalian placenta was built from code stolen from retroviruses
viruses as an open source repository for evolutionary changes
evidence that cancer mutates volitionally
and much more...

If you want to attend this conference, check out CancerEvolution.org.

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