July' 24

In the beginning, there must have been an organism able to capture rays from the Sun and convert them not into energy but into information. That was a bold evolutionary choice.

The first photoreceptors were developed by a large group of single-cell organisms known as archaea, which translates to “ancient things”. They are quite probably the oldest lifeform on our planet because over 3.5 billion years ago, nothing else would have survived on this planet anyway. That is when those organisms decided to turn light into data. The key to that was the flagellum, which made the cells mobile.

Without that microscopic tail, those impressively resilient cells would be immobile and would probably have little use for data generated by the perception of light. Contrarily, the ability to “flagellate” one’s way into light or shade was surely convenient and created the foundation of sight as we know it today.

As you take a moment to admire your newest sock acquisition, please know that without the feet that so majestically fill your socks, there would most likely be no eyes to admire those socks.