Russ,
Just to be irksome: What was it that Newton said about hypotheses? I don't make any? On this account, What more could the fact that there are power law relationships all over the place mean? I should admit, that I agree with you and that my . um . intuition is that Newton was wrong .. About himself. Roger Is that book well-written enough, broad enough, important enough, that a group of us might take it on in the spring? Nick From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Russ Abbott Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2010 4:05 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Subject: Re: [FRIAM] entropy and uncertainty, REDUX 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
