02. Embracing Diversity
The Microbiome Revolution
About 10 years ago, I witnessed the microbiome revolution unfold. As a microbiologist, I had always approached microbes through a narrow, utilitarian lens—how could I engineer or feed one specific microbe to do what I wanted?
Then suddenly, there was an explosion of articles in both scientific journals and popular media about the microbiome—that enormous collection of microorganisms that is part of our body and contributes to virtually every aspect of our physiology. New research emerged daily, highlighting microbial connections to various health conditions and diseases. Before this shift, most reports on human microbiology focused primarily on pathogens, with only occasional mentions of probiotics.
As I dove into this exciting field, one principle emerged with striking clarity:
A healthy microbiome is a diverse microbiome.
More specifically - The more diverse, the better.
Ten years later, this remains the primary lesson.
As I tuned into this concept of diversity, I began seeing it everywhere, with the same lesson applying across domains:
the more diverse, the better.
We humans typically prefer singular goals—one clear value to aspire to. In microbiology, this translates to seeking one particular bacterial species as the solution ("Take this probiotic pill!"). But nature rarely works this way.
So let's explore how the principle of diversity manifests in other contexts:
Understanding Diversity: Beyond Just Counting
Before exploring diversity, let's understand how we measure it.
Think about the visual difference between a rainforest and monocrop field. The rainforest clearly has more diversity, but how do we quantify this?
Scientists often use the Shannon Index, which measures both:
Richness: The number of different species present
Evenness: How equally abundant those species are
Higher Shannon Index values indicate greater diversity. This same mathematical approach can be applied to measure diversity in surprising contexts beyond ecology.
Emotional Diversity: The Value of Mixed Feelings
We all want to be happy. Parents often say they just want their children to be happy. In a recent BBC survey, teenagers ranked happiness as the most important factor when considering future careers—ahead of "feeling good about what you do" and "money."
Yet research shows something counterintuitive: focusing exclusively on happiness can actually make us less happy.
Mauss and colleagues (2011) found that excessively valuing happiness often leads to disappointment, increased depressive symptoms, and loneliness. Why? When we expect to be happy all the time, normal emotional variation feels like failure.
This is where emodiversity enters the picture. Introduced by Quoidbach et al. in 2014, emodiversity refers to the variety and relative abundance of emotions we experience.
Using the same Shannon Index applied to microbiomes, researchers measured emotional diversity in over 37,000 participants. Each emotion was quantified and diversity was calculated as illustrated in the image below.
Their finding? Greater emotional diversity—including both positive AND negative emotions—was associated with improved mental and physical health. You can also visit their website to read more about it and perhaps take the emotional diversity test yourself!
Emotional Diversity
measuring the variety and relative abundance of emotions we experience
Diversity Principle in Action: Where More Variety Equals Better Outcomes
The "more diverse, the better" principle appears across numerous domains:
Nutritional Diversity
A varied diet correlates with a more diverse gut microbiome and better metabolic health. Conversely, highly restrictive diets often lead to nutritional deficiencies and microbiome depletion.
Cognitive Diversity
Teams with greater cognitive diversity solve problems faster than homogeneous groups. This diversity of thought leads to more innovation and better decision-making—much like how a diverse microbiome helps the body respond to different environmental challenges.
Ecological Diversity
More diverse forests are more resilient to disturbances. Similarly, diversified financial portfolios deliver more reliable returns with less volatility over time. The principle holds true: systems thrive through diversity.
Financial Diversity
The finance world has long championed portfolio diversification—"don't put all your eggs in one basket" is practically an investing mantra. Research consistently shows that diversified portfolios deliver more reliable returns with less volatility over time.
Cultivating Diversity in Our Lives
The challenge is that humans naturally gravitate toward pleasant, familiar experiences and tend to repeat them, leading to uniformity rather than diversity.
I would happily eat chocolate repeatedly because it tastes good. Similarly, I'm naturally drawn to like-minded people because agreement feels nice. But this comfort leads to stagnation.
To increase diversity in our lives:
Diversify your social portfolio – Value all interactions, from casual chats with the barista to deep conversations with close friends
Vary your information diet - Consume content that challenges your existing views
Experiment with your routine - Take different routes, try new foods, adopt new hobbies
Coming Full Circle: The Microbiome Metaphor
Just as our gut microbiome thrives with diverse inputs and suffers from monotony, so too do our minds, emotions, and communities. The microbiome serves as a powerful metaphor for life itself—complex systems that function best with balanced diversity rather than homogeneity or dominance by a single element.
By embracing diversity in all its forms, we create resilient, adaptive, and thriving systems—from our bodies to our societies.
What areas of your life could benefit from greater diversity? Share your thoughts in the comments below!