Pleae distribute...
You are hereby invited to our third "Evolution, Complexity and
Cognition (ECCO)" seminar of 2005:
The role of mediators in the
self-organization
of biological, social and
cognitive systems
by
Francis Heylighen:
(ECCO/CLEA,
VUB)
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
Place: room 3C204 (building C, 3rd floor), VUB campus
Oefenplein
Time: Friday, Feb. 11, at 17:30 h.
Abstract:
This seminar intends to propose a general theoretical framework
for the research being done at ECCO. The core idea is to understand
how initially independent or competing agents can form a cooperative
system, through the evolution of "mediators". These are
concrete or abstract systems that regulate the interactions between
the agents so as to minimize conflict, confusion or
"friction", and to maximize synergy. This can be achieved
by stimulating agents to interact with a larger variety of different
agents, while reinforcing and maintaining mutually beneficial
interactions, and inhibiting negative interactions.
Examples of mediators are magnetic fields between molecules; DNA
as regulator of chemical reactions in the cell; institutions,
languages, markets, and computer-supported collaborative environments
as facilitators of social interaction. The mediator scenario helps us
to understand evolutionary progress towards higher synergy,
organization, complexity and adaptability, including the major
transitions in evolution, such as from single-celled to multicellular
organisms. It also suggest concrete applications, e.g. in new methods
of governance, augmentation of collective intelligence, or the
regulation of traffic through self-organizing traffic lights.
Preliminary ECCO seminar programme
Coming weeks:
- Frank Van Overwalle: A connectionist simulation of distributed cognition
- Klaas Chielens: Empirical measurement of memetic selection criteria
- Laetitia De Jaegher: The need for new systems of governance in a complex, changing society
- Erden Göktepe: Complex systems models of the emergence of actors in international relations
- Dirk Bollen: Situated and embodied cognition with applications to sensor networks
- Nathalie Gontier: A systems/symbiotic view of evolution
- Nick Deschacht: A systems view of Marxist theory
--
Francis Heylighen
"Evolution, Complexity and Cognition" research group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
Francis Heylighen
"Evolution, Complexity and Cognition" research group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
