Dear All: At the risk of being seen as the one who tries to throw a monkey wrench into the fine discussion you all are having, I would like to mention that the foregoing thread had focused entirely on alternatives among monist scenarios.
I see the world as dual, not in the sense of Descartes, but of Heraclitus. If I am correct, then any strategy predicated on a monist principle is destined to lead to disaster. (Stan and I have gone round and round on this. I see entropy as double-sided and not simply as disorder. [Ecological Modelling 220 (2009) 18861892].) But I'm hardly the only one to warn against a monist view. Terry Deacon's model of self-organization, the "Autocell" acts similarly. The process starts by using up external gradients as quickly as possible, but gradually shuts down as the autocell nears self-completion. (Deacon, T.W. and J. Sherman. 2008. The Pattern Which Connects Pleroma to Creatura: The Autocell Bridge from Physics to Life. Biosemiotics 2:59-76.) The best to all, Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert E. Ulanowicz | Tel: +1-352-378-7355 Arthur R. Marshall Laboratory | FAX: +1-352-392-3704 Department of Biology | Emeritus, Chesapeake Biol. Lab Bartram Hall 110 | University of Maryland University of Florida | Email <u...@cbl.umces.edu> Gainesville, FL 32611-8525 USA | Web <http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~ulan> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quoting Stanley N Salthe <ssal...@binghamton.edu>: > *Replying to Karl, who said:* > > > one can use a stable model used by neurology and psychology to come closer > to understanding how our brain works. This can help to formulate the > thoughts Pedro mentioned being obscure. > > One pictures the brain as a quasi-meteorological model of an extended world > containing among others swamp, savanna, arid zones. The dissipation of water > above these regions causes clouds to form and storms to discharge the vapor > within the clouds. The model observes the lightnings in the model and sets > them as an allegory to thoughts (these being electrical discharges) as > opposed to hormones (that are the fluids in the swamps). So there is an > assumed independence between the rainfall, the humidity of the ground, cloud > formation and lightnings. The real meteorologists would not agree with the > simplification that the lightning is the central idea of a rainfall, but > this is how the picture works (at present). > > Why I offer these idle thoughts from the biologic sciences to FIS is that it > is now possible to make a model of these processes in an abstract, logical > fashion. The colleaugues in Fis are scientists in the rational tradition and > may find useful that a rational algorithm can be shown to allow simulating > the little tricks Nature appears to use. > > Nature changes the form of the imbalance, once too many or too few > lightnings, once too much or lacking water - relative to the other > representation's stable state. There are TWO sets of reference. The > deviation between the two sets of references is what Nature uses in its > manifold activities. > > > This model looks at the physical equivalences in two realms by > modeling in thermodynamics. Today in thermodynamics we have an advancing > perspective known as the `Maximum Entropy Production Principle´ (MEPP) for > relatively simple systems like weather, or Maximum Energy Dispersal > Principle´ (MEDP) for complicated material systems like the brain. In both > cases the dynamics are controlled by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which > imposes that the available energy gradients will be dissipated in the least > possible time, taking the easiest routes available. This becomes very > interesting in the brain, where the flow of depolarizations would then be > predicted to be biased in the direction of more habitual `thoughts´. I > think that this prediction seems to be born out in our own experiences of > the frequent return of our attention to various insistent thoughts. I > recommend that Karl inquire into MEPP. For this purpose I paste in some > references. > > > STAN > > > MEPP related publications: > > > Annila, A. and S.N. Salthe, 2009. Economies evolve by energy dispersal. > Entropy, 2009, 11: 606-633. > > > Annila, A. and S.N. Salthe, 2010. Physical foundations of evolutionary > theory. Journal on Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics 35: 301-321. > > > Annila, A. and S.N. Salthe, 2010. Cultural naturalism. Entropy, 2010, 12: > 1325-1352. > > > Bejan, A. and S. Lorente, 2010. The constructal law of design and evolution > in nature. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B, 365: > 1335-1347. > > > Brooks, D.R. and E.O. Wiley, 1988. Evolution As Entropy: Toward A Unified > Theory Of Biology (2nd. ed.) Chicago. University of Chicago Press. > > > Chaisson, E.J., 2008. Long-term global heating from energy usage. Eos, > Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 89: 353-255. > > > DeLong, J.P., J.G. Okie, M.E. Moses, R.M. Sibly and J.H. Brown, 2010. Shifts > in metabolic scaling, production, and efficiency across major evolutionary > transitions of life. Proceedings of the Natiional Academy of Sciences. Early > EDition > > > Dewar, R. C., 2003. Information theory explanation of the fluctuation > theorem, maximum entropy production, and self-organized criticality in > non-equilibrium stationary states. Journal of Physics, A Mathematics and > General 36: L631-L641. > > > Dewar, R.C., 2005. Maximum entropy production and the fluctuation theorem. > Journal of Physics A Mathematics and General 38: L371-L381. > > > Dewar, R.C., 2009. Maximum entropy production as an inference algorithm > that translates physical assumptions into macroscopic predictions: Don't > shoot the messenger. Entropy 2009. 11: 931-944. > > > Dewar. R.C. and A. Porté, 2008. Statistical mechanics unifies different > ecological patterns. Journal of Theoretical Biology 251:389-403. > > > Dyke, J. and A. Kleidon. 2010. The maximum entropy production principle: its > theoretical foundations and applications to the Earth system. Entropy 2010, > 12:613-630. > > > Herrmann-Pillath, C., 2010. Entropy, function and evolution: naturalizing > Peircean semiosis. Entropy 2010, 12: 197-242. > > > Kleidon, A. (2009): Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics and Maximum Entropy > Production in the Earth System: Applications and Implications, > Naturwissenschaften 96: 653-677. > > > Kleidon, A. (2010): Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics, Maximum Entropy > Production and Earth-system evolution, Philosophical Transactions of the > Royal Society A, 368: 181-196. > > > Kleidon, A. and R. Lorenz (eds) Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics and the > Production of Entropy: Life Earth, and Beyond Heidelberg: Springer. > > > Lineweaver, C.H. 2005. Cosmological and biological reproducibility: limits > of the maximum entropy production principle. In Kleidon, A. and Lorenz, R. > Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics and the Production of Entropy: Life, Earth > and Beyond. Springer Pp. 67-76. > > > Lineweaver, C.H. and C.A. Egan, 2008. Life, gravity and the second law of > thermodynamics. Physics of Life Reviews (2008) > doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2008.08.002 > > > Lorenz. R.D., 2002. Planets, life and the production of entropy. > International Journal of Astrobiology 1: 3-13. > > > Mahulikar, S.P. and H. Herwig, 2004. Conceptual Investigation of the Entropy > Principle for Indentification of Directives for Creation, Existence and > Total Destruction of Order. Physica Scripta. Vol. 70, 212-22i. > > > Martyushev, L.M., 2010. Maximum entropy production principle: two basic > questions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B, 365: > 1333-1334. > > > Paltridge, G., 1975. Global dynamics and climate -- a system of minimum > entropy exchange. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society > 101:475-484. > > > > Salthe, S.N., 1993. Development And Evolution: Complexity And Change In > Biology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. > > > Salthe, S.N., 2004. The spontaneous origin of new levels in dynamical > hierarchies. Entropy 2004, 6[3]: 327-343. > > > Salthe, S.N., 2010. Development (and evolution) of the universe. > Foundations of Science. In Press > > > Schneider, E.D. and Kay, J.J., 1994. Life as a manifestation of the Second > Law of thermodynamics. Mathematical and Computer Modelling 19: 25-48. > > > Schneider, E.D. and D. Sagan., 2005. Into the Cool: Energy Flow, > Thermodynamics, and Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. > > > Sharma, V. and A. Annila, 2007. Natural process - natural selection. > Biophysical Chemistry 127: 123-128. > > > Swenson, R., 1989. Emergent attractors and the law of maximum entropy > production: foundations to a theory of general evolution. Systems Research > 6: 187-198. > > > Swenson, R., 1997. Autocatakinetics, evolution, and the law of maximum > entropy production. Advances in Human Ecology 6: 1-47. > > > Ulanowicz, R.D.and B.M. Hannon, 1987. Life and the production of entropy. > Proceedings of the Royal Society B 232: 181-192. > > > Vallino, J.J., 2010. Ecosystem biogeochemistry considered as a distributed > metabolic network ordered by maximum entropy production. Philosophical > Transactions of the Royal Society, B, 365: 1417-1427. > > > Virgo, N. 2010, From maximum entropy to maximum entropy production: a new > approach. Entropy 2010, 12: 107-126. > > > Zupanovic, P., S. Botric, D. Juretic and D. Kuic. 2010. Relaxation > processes and the maximum entropy production principle. Entropy, 2010.12: > 473-479. > > > Zupanovic, P., D. Kuic, Z.B. Losic, D. petrov, D. juretic and M. Brumen > 2010. The maximum entropy production principle and linear irreversible > processes. Entropy 2010, 12: 996-1005. > _______________________________________________ fis mailing list fis@listas.unizar.es https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
