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Hey guys,
In talking with you lately, and
trying to contribute to the discussion while furthering my own education, I find
myself both curious and inspired.
Judith here lately (and I'm sure she won't mind the
riffing) seems to have claimed the 2nd Law of thermodynamics for
Newton. Fantastic! Newton and Thoreau should get together and hang
out.
Anyway, again here lately I find myself thinking
about Maxwell's Demon. Like others, I can't help but feel as if this
'simple' conceptualization may be a meeting place of sorts. There is
a game that is readily obtained on the net fashioned in the spirit of Maxwell's
Demon, which many of you may already familiar with.
This game seems to me a natural place to speak of
anticipation, control, goals, matter, energy, volume, possible connections to
Robert's morphogenetic networks, thermodynamically open vs. closed systems,
etc., etc.
I was wondering what you guys thought. I
can't claim to know all the ins and outs of thermodynamics, but I do believe it
worthwhile that at least a few biologists should be familiar with it.
:]
David
P.S. I can't help but resonate with and
reiterate this question, of Dan's. How does this commute with you Judith,
anybody?
Dan Fiscus: Somewhere else recently you wrote/asked how could
we
have the community before the organisms, wouldn't that be like a forest before any trees. This was a brilliant question to me and it forced to me consider or ask whether again the issue has been about time and linear/sequential thinking in terms of "which came first, the organism or the ecosystem (community)". We could be getting stuck if we have asked the question the wrong way - what if it is not an either/or, first/second issue but one of simultaneous co-arising? P.P.S. Hey Judith, I read your
words "in my humble opinion", and almost busted a gut. Yeah, that's
us here at the list. Those of the humble opinion. Might as well call
us "the Vanity Free Club". Cheers to all the hombres in the
VFC!
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