This frontiers course
is slightly different

from many of the other courses
that might have experienced.

Here, we are not presenting a scientific
story that is completely worked out.

We don't know in concrete terms
how life began,

either as a specific story
about our own evolutionary history,

or as a general theory
of how life could start.

The field - as it stands -
is a collection of ideas,

specific proposals and techniques
that are thought to be ingredients

for a specific or general theory
of life's origin.

As such, many of these ideas
and techniques

are still rapidly evolving.

In this course,
we don't have a well-developed,

general theory to take you through
that mirrors,

for example, general relativity
or thermodynamics.

Nor do we have a particular history
to tell you

about exactly how life began and evolved.

This course reflects the field
in that we will present a wide variety

of techniques and ideas
that should be seen as tools

for those interested in understanding

where origins of life research
currently stands,

or in using and combining those tools
to pursue new research directions.

Here, we aim to provide you
with an overview

of the diverse ways of thinking
that must come together to understand

both the specifics and generalities
of the origins of life.