Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development

Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development (often referred to as simply "Hodgkin's Law") was a biological theory first postulated by biosociologist A.E. Hodgkin.

After a careful study was made, the proposal was approved by the Alpha Centauri Academy of Biosciences, and it was transmitted to Earth where it was received 52 months later.

Theory - Simplified

The theory states that similar planets, with similar environments, and similar populations tended to gravitate toward similar biological developments over time.
Although initially applicable only to biology, it was later expanded to include a tendency to move toward similar sociological developments as well with sentient beings.

Theory - Full

Just as the finches of the Galápagos Islands provided the crucial biological clues that Charles Darwin used to develop the theory of evolution, the termites of the planet Loracus Prime were the inspiration behind Hodgkin's law of parallel planetary development. The theory was the brainchild of biologist A.E. Hodgkin, who first visited Loracus Prime as part of a science survey mission. As Hodgkin noted in his log, the native termite life of Loracus was remarkably similar to that of Earth, Vulcan, and several other Class M worlds. At first, Hodgkin considered the possibility that termites were brought to Loracus by early space travelers, or even that they were a meteorite-borne species, but he quickly realized that Loracus Prime's location in the middle of the Gagarin Radiation Belt ruled out either possibility. In fact, travel to the Loracus system had been all but impossible until the then-recent era of relatively clear stability of Loracus's star.

After careful testing of the termites' DNA, Hodgkin determined that the genus was clearly native to Loracus. This set up the question: why there was such an amazing similarity to terrestrial termites? Over the next decade and a half, Hodgkin slowly puzzled out the theory that would rock the biological world as profoundly as Darwin's had centuries earlier.

The next development in the theory was the realization that there was a tendency toward sociological as well as biological similarities where environmental conditions were similar. For instance, by the 2260s, Starfleet and other exploratory organizations had discovered numerous planets with humanoid populations that shared certain social constructs. Family units, spoken languages, furniture, space travel, dispute resolution through an organized legal process, organized war waged by governments – all of these were aspects of society that appeared to transcend any one single planet's societal development.

The Hodgkin theory was adapted to explain the observed instances of similarities in societies that had never had previous contact with each other developing along similar lines. The theory did not require identical development of a society, it simply offered an explanation for similarities. Finding nearly identical development was "virtually impossible" (as Spock remarked about the planet Ekos), and when found to be close to identical was viewed as an "amazing" example of Hodgkin's Law.

Biological Examples

Beginning with the lowly termites on Loracus Prime, there have been numerous examples of parallel biological development observed over time. Animals as diverse as the dog and the targ, the Capellan power-cat and the sehlat all independently developed fur, mouths, four legs, heads, tails, eyes, and other similar attributes, despite none of them being native to the same planet.

Most striking is the apparent biological preference for the humanoid form for sentient lifeforms, observed across species as diverse as Vulcans, Klingons, Denobulans, Humans, and Ocampa. Part of this is doubtless due to the actions of an ancient humanoid species, one of the oldest known sentient species, and possibly the first humanoid race in the Milky Way Galaxy. According to a message the humanoids left behind, encoded in the DNA of various humanoid species and discovered in 2369, they had seeded many worlds, including Earth, with DNA "seed codes" that encouraged the development of similar humanoid life.

Sociological Examples

Many worlds have independently developed in ways that support the application of Hodgkin's law to societies. Several worlds visited in the 2260s in particular showed exceptional examples of societies that developed in ways that were extreme examples of Hodgkin's Law.

Prior to the 23rd century, Omega IV had developed two cultures similar to those found on Earth: Americans and Asian Communists. The state of the cultures reached levels similar to those of Earth's 20th or 21st century before devastating bacteriological wars brought about a collapse of both civilizations. While independently developing an economic system based on capitalism and profit is not itself remarkable (e.g., the Ferengi), what set this planet apart for purposes of the Hodgkin theory was the extraordinary similarity of names, symbols, and even documents to those found on Earth. The name of one culture – the Yang – was clearly a derivation of "Yankee", while the name of the other culture – the Kohm – was equally clearly a derivation of "Communist". The Yangs had, prior to the wars, developed a flag and even a preamble to a constitution that were virtually identical to those of the United States of America in the early 21st century on Earth.

Documented Examples

• Beta Ceti II: Alpha Quadrant planet with proto-Vulcan natives
• Beta Herculis I: Alpha Quadrant planet with Tholian-esque natives
• Delta Aquilae IV: Alpha Quadrant planet inhabited by Tellarite-like species with Victorian era England culture
• Iota Draconis III: Alpha Quadrant planet home to a telepathic species like the Betazoids
• Kornephoros V: Alpha Quadrant planet with a Human population resembling the Elasians of the Tellun star system