So, on Bob's account below, order is stability via repetition. Yes, I would say that that is ONE KIND of order.
STAN >On Thu, 22 May 2008, Pedro Clemente Marijuan Fernandez wrote: > >> It is a long time that we do not have discussions in the list. I have >> not been able to arrange any other "planned session" after Bob Logan's >> one, due to work reasons (changing to a new job months ago). It is not >> sure at all that in a few weeks there will be a new session arranged. >> However, several weeks ago, Stan suggested starting an open, informal >> discussion around a simple question: >> >> Is Nature Orderly? > >Those of you old enough may remember the Monty Python skit that gave an >answer to the question, "What is the meaning of life?" The answer was, >"46". :) > >Only half-facetiously I would like to tender an answer to Pedro's >question, "Is nature orderly?" with the assertion that it is 39% orderly >and 61% disorderly. > >Cryptic as that response may sound, there are good (I think) reasons and >some data to back it up. (Clue: 39% is an approximation for the exact >figure, which is 1/e. Recall that e is the idempotent element for >differentiation. That is, the operation of differentiation on e^x yields >e^x. Action on stasis yields stasis. So e helps to define the point at >which action and stasis come into balance.) > >The full development of this result will appear in a few months in the >journal "Ecological Complexity". Copyright restrictions prevent me from >sharing the manuscript on this public forum, but anyone interested in >seeing an electronic copy is invited to drop me an email. > >Best wishes to all, >Bob > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Robert E. Ulanowicz | Tel: (410) 326-7266 >Chesapeake Biological Laboratory | FAX: (410) 326-7378 >P.O. Box 38 | Email <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >1 Williams Street | Web <http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~ulan> >Solomons, MD 20688-0038 | >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >_______________________________________________ >fis mailing list >[email protected] >http://webmail.unizar.es/mailman/listinfo/fis _______________________________________________ fis mailing list [email protected] http://webmail.unizar.es/mailman/listinfo/fis
