Thanks for the reference, Vincent. I’ve started taking a look at it, and plan to study it more over my break! This is a very interesting “op-ed” piece from Koonin.
This is a possibility, but the true “creative potential” of life seems to center around the DNA level (unless you are thinking of a scenario prior to cells as we now know them). I don’t see a reason why the “coding” events from DNA to functional protein would need to have creative potential when the capacity for DNA variability is already present. I haven’t yet given sufficient thought to alternative explanations, but I think Vincent’s question is quite insightful.