Undisruptable

11The Immortal Jellyfish: Fujifilm

‘Every act of creation is first an act of destruction’.

— Pablo Picasso

The only animal we know that is capable of reverting back to a younger version of itself is called Turritopsis Dohrnii or ‘the immortal jellyfish’. The immortal jellyfish follows the normal life cycle of a jellyfish all the way until it reaches maturity. As you can see in Figure 11.1, it maps nicely to the S curve phases.

Figure 11.1 Typical jellyfish life cycle

Figure 11.2 Immortal jellyfish life cycle

When faced with death, it willingly reverts to a sexually immature stage and starts its life cycle all over again. In doing so, it discards the mature parts of its body – its limbs and tentacles and plunges back to the ocean floor to become a baby polyp once again.

The immortal jellyfish initiates this cycle when faced with environmental stress, such as starvation or injury. In the laboratory, researchers have observed how adult Turritopsis regularly undergo this change, renewing themselves frequently. Therefore, if they can avoid predation and disease, theoretically they can live forever.

This fascinating life cycle highlights the benefits of a regular return to an emergent state and the willingness to discard elements that are weighing it down and wasting valuable ...