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Teppo Felin, Stuart Kauffman, Disruptive evolution: harnessing functional excess, experimentation, and science as tool, Industrial and Corporate Change, Volume 32, Issue 6, December 2023, Pages 1372–1392, https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtad057
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Abstract
We explore the limitations of the adaptationist view of evolution and propose an alternative. While gradual adaptation can explain some biological and economic diversity, it cannot account for radical innovation (especially during the past 10,000 years). We argue that ubiquitously available but dormant “functional excess” provides the raw material for evolutionary disruptions. Harnessing this excess requires directed experimentation and what we call “protoscientific” problem solving. We highlight the implications of these arguments for evolutionary theory, including evolutionary economics and strategy.