# Francis Crick > **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] places this node within the history and governance of substrate-independent evolution. **Domain:** Molecular Biology / Information **Doc Type:** Canonical Wiki Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition Francis Crick was a molecular biologist who coauthored the double-helix model and later formulated the central dogma’s constraints on sequence-information transfer. ## Nexus Context His work helps define biological implementation of description, copying and expression against which von Neumann’s formal architecture can be compared. ## Evidence Boundary The central dogma is often misstated as one-way causation from genes to organisms; Crick’s claim concerned sequence information, not every biological influence. ## Relationships [[wiki/James Watson|James Watson]], [[wiki/Central Dogma of Molecular Biology|Central Dogma of Molecular Biology]], [[wiki/Genetic Code|Genetic Code]], [[wiki/DNA|DNA]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts <!-- BEGIN SIMPLE REMINDER SEED 2026-09-11 --> > "The ultimate aim of the modern movement in biology is to explain all biology in terms of physics and chemistry." > **— Francis Crick**, *Of Molecules and Men (1966), excerpt candidate* *Verification Status: Unverified — exact wording/source has not yet been independently confirmed against a primary source; source clue: Of Molecules and Men (1966), excerpt candidate.* [[reminders/unverified/Biology’s Radical Reduction to Physics and Chemistry by Francis Crick|Biology’s Radical Reduction to Physics and Chemistry by Francis Crick]] > "The problem of consciousness is now ripe for scientific attack." > **— Francis Crick and Christof Koch**, *Toward a Neurobiological Theory of Consciousness (1990), attribution clue* *Verification Status: Unverified — exact wording/source has not yet been independently confirmed against a primary source; source clue: Toward a Neurobiological Theory of Consciousness (1990), attribution clue.* [[reminders/unverified/Consciousness Is Ripe for Scientific Attack by Francis Crick and Christof Koch|Consciousness Is Ripe for Scientific Attack by Francis Crick and Christof Koch]] > "We need to make a frontal attack on the problem of consciousness." > **— Francis Crick**, *Neuroscience remarks; primary source pending* *Verification Status: Unverified — exact wording/source has not yet been independently confirmed against a primary source; source clue: Neuroscience remarks; primary source pending.* [[reminders/unverified/Consciousness Needs a Frontal Scientific Attack by Francis Crick|Consciousness Needs a Frontal Scientific Attack by Francis Crick]] > "The redness of red that I perceive so vividly cannot be precisely communicated to another human being." > **— Francis Crick**, *The Astonishing Hypothesis (1994), excerpt candidate* *Verification Status: Unverified — exact wording/source has not yet been independently confirmed against a primary source; source clue: The Astonishing Hypothesis (1994), excerpt candidate.* [[reminders/unverified/No One Else Can Experience Your Red by Francis Crick|No One Else Can Experience Your Red by Francis Crick]] > "What everyone believed yesterday, and you believe today, only cranks will believe tomorrow." > **— Francis Crick**, *Of Molecules and Men (1966), prophecy excerpt* *Verification Status: Unverified — exact wording/source has not yet been independently confirmed against a primary source; source clue: Of Molecules and Men (1966), prophecy excerpt.* [[reminders/unverified/What Everyone Believed Yesterday by Francis Crick|What Everyone Believed Yesterday by Francis Crick]] <!-- END SIMPLE REMINDER SEED 2026-09-11 --> > "If you want to understand function, study structure." > **— Francis Crick**, *1988, What Mad Pursuit / scientific heuristic* [[reminders/Evolution/If You Want to Understand Function Study Structure by Francis Crick|If You Want to Understand Function Study Structure by Francis Crick]] ## Sources / Provenance - Crick, “On Protein Synthesis” (1958); Crick, _Nature_ 227 (1970).