Signalling to Cognition: A 4-Billion-Year Journey
Signalling to Cognition: A 4-Billion-Year Journey Preface Why cognition cannot be understood by studying “brain activity” alone The central loop: constraint → action → feedback → repair Brain chemistry as ancient signalling inheritance, not a cognition module Part I — The First Signal 1. Before Brains: The Origin of Biological Signalling Chemical gradients as primitive constraints Membranes, boundaries, and inside–outside distinction Signal before symbol Survival before representation 2. Cells as Constraint Readers Receptors, ligands, and admissible response Metabolism as decision pressure Calcium, ions, and ancient excitability The cell as a local interpretation system 3. Signalling Without Thought Bacteria, quorum sensing, chemotaxis Action without consciousness Feedback without representation Repair as the first intelligence-like behavior Part II — Development as Compressed Cognition 4. Morphogenesis: Chemistry Building Form Gradients, timing gates, and positional information ...