AbstractFrom carbon‐based organic molecules to body plans and thought, most living beings are built on linear structures that can be adequately described by unidimensional variables. Among known physical phenomena, electrical polarization is identified as a possible mechanism that assembles ordinary atoms into linear structures. Morphodynamics then is the general theory that predicts the statistical properties of systems made of such structures. Within this theory, unidimensionality appears as the common foundation of many enigmatic features observed for evolution in life sciences, including symbolic representation at genetic or mental levels, even consciousness and boundless innovation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.