Created by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane on Aug 16, 2016 @ 2:20pm

HODGKIN'S LAW OF PARALLEL PLANETARY DEVELOPMENT

HODGKIN'S LAW OF PARALLEL PLANETARY DEVELOPMENT is a hotly-debated 22nd-century biological theory created by A.E. Hodgkin that seeks to explain why similar life-forms evolve on planets separated by cosmic distances. Hodgkin created the Law after studying the termites on Loracus Prime and noticing how similar they were to Terran termites.

At its simplest, the Law states that, over time, similar planets with similar environments and similar populations tend to gravitate toward similar biological developments. This explains the relative structural similarity of many forms of animal life across the galaxy, and also explains why so many of the galaxy's sentient life-forms are humanoid.

However, critics of the Law take issue with a growing body of scientific evidence that suggests that modern sentient life-forms are the result of genetic seeding from one single, ancient source, which would invalidate the 'gravitation' element of Hodgkin's Law. They also criticise the attempted application to the Law as regards to sociological development, arguing that planetary societies that bear similar relationships to one another are the result of random mathematical probability, not social engineering.

It seems the debate will not be settled any time soon.