Evolution has led to a great diversity that ranges from elegant simplicity to ornate complexity. Many complex features are often assumed to be more functional or adaptive than their simpler alternatives. However, in 1999, Arlin Stolzfus published a paper in the Journal of Molecular Evolution that outlined a framework in which complexity can arise through a series of non-adaptive steps. He called this framework Constructive Neutral Evolution (CNE). Despite its two-decade-old roots, many evolutionary biologists still appear to be unaware of this explanastory framework for the origins of complexity. In this perspective piece, we explain the theory of CNE and how it changes the order of events in narratives that describe the evolution of complexity. We also provide an extensive list of cellular features that may have become more complex through CNE. We end by discussing strategies to determine whether complexity arose through neutral or adaptive processes.

进化导致了巨大的多样性，从优雅的简单到华丽的复杂。许多复杂的功能通常被认为比它们更简单的替代品更具功能性或适应性。然而，在 1999 年，Arlin Stolzfus 在 Journal of Molecular Evolution 上发表了一篇论文，概述了一个框架，其中通过一系列非自适应步骤可以产生复杂性。他称这个框架为建设性中性进化（CNE）。尽管它已有两个十年的历史，但许多进化生物学家似乎仍然没有意识到复杂性起源的这个解释框架。在这篇透视文章中，我们解释了 CNE 的理论以及它如何改变描述复杂性演变的叙事中的事件顺序。我们还提供了大量蜂窝功能列表，这些功能可能通过 CNE 变得更加复杂。