I'm not convinced. Much of his complexity has to do with things breaking down, which is more like an increase in entropy rather than complexity.
Besides that, it seems less like a "law" than like an observation--similar to the fact that there are power law relationships all over the place. That doesn't mean there is a "power law force" in nature. -- Russ On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 12:53 PM, Roger Critchlow <[email protected]> wrote: > Introducing another thread, the measure of diversity used in ecology > is Shannon's entropy. > > -- rec -- > > --------------------- > http://www.semcoop.com/book/9780226562261 > --------------------- > Biology's First Law: The Tendency for Diversity and Complexity to > Increase in Evolutionary Systems (Paperback) > > Description > > Life on earth is characterized by three striking phenomena that demand > explanation: adaptation—the marvelous fit between organism and > environment; diversity—the great variety of organisms; and > complexity—the enormous intricacy of their internal structure. Natural > selection explains adaptation. But what explains diversity and > complexity? Daniel W. McShea and Robert N. Brandon argue that there > exists in evolution a spontaneous tendency toward increased diversity > and complexity, one that acts whether natural selection is present or > not. They call this tendency a biological law—the Zero-Force > Evolutionary Law, or ZFEL. This law unifies the principles and data of > biology under a single framework and invites a reconceptualization of > the field of the same sort that Newton’s First Law brought to physics. > > > > Biology’s First Law shows how the ZFEL can be applied to the study of > diversity and complexity and examines its wider implications for > biology. Intended for evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, and > other scientists studying complex systems, and written in a concise > and engaging format that speaks to students and interdisciplinary > practitioners alike, this book will also find an appreciative audience > in the philosophy of science. > > About the Author > > Daniel W. McShea is Associate Professor of Biology, with a secondary > appointment in Philosophy, and Robert N. Brandon is Professor of > Philosophy, with a secondary appointment in Biology, both at Duke > University. > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
