A reassessment of the "hard-steps" model for the evolution of intelligent life · HackerPapers discussionshttps://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/2408.10293/Collected HN comments and submissions linking this paper.enMon, 02 Nov 2026 11:16:22 GMTA reassessment of the "hard-steps" model for the evolution of intelligent life — mentioned by programdhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43730897urn:hackerpapers:mention:2408.10293:43730897Fri, 18 Apr 2025 18:56:12 GMT<p>As I understand it this paper basically says that the emergence of eukaryotes is inevitable given evolution and time. This has interesting implications for astrobiology, implying that eukaryotes are not a &quot;hard step&quot; [1] in the emergence of life. I&#x27;m willing to speculate that the emergence of intelligence is also not a hard step, although it does take time and maybe the right geoplanetary conditions as [1] argues. So I suspect the fraction of such planets with life that go on to develop intelligent life is close to 1 in the Drake equation. [1] A reassessment of the &quot;hard-steps&quot; model for the…</p><p><a href="https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/2408.10293/">Paper and discussion history</a>. A mention is not an endorsement.</p>q-bio.PEA reassessment of the "hard-steps" model for the evolution of intelligent life — HN submissionhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42824944urn:hackerpapers:submission:2408.10293:42824944Sat, 25 Jan 2025 21:19:32 GMT<p>A reassessment of the &quot;hard-steps&quot; model for the evolution of intelligent life</p><p></p><p>1 point; 1 discussion reply on HN. <a href="https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/2408.10293/">Paper and source history</a>. A submission is not an endorsement.</p>q-bio.PE