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Contingency and Convergence

Author : Russell Powell
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262043394
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Contingency and Convergence by : Russell Powell

Download or read book Contingency and Convergence written by Russell Powell and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can we can use the patterns and processes of convergent evolution to make inferences about universal laws of life, on Earth and elsewhere? In this book, Russell Powell investigates whether we can use the patterns and processes of convergent evolution to make inferences about universal laws of life, on Earth and elsewhere. Weaving together disparate philosophical and empirical threads, Powell offers the first detailed analysis of the interplay between contingency and convergence in macroevolution, as it relates to both complex life in general and cognitively complex life in particular. If the evolution of mind is not a historical accident, the product of convergence rather than contingency, then, Powell asks, is mind likely to be an evolutionarily important feature of any living world? Stephen Jay Gould argued for the primacy of contingency in evolution. Gould's “radical contingency thesis” (RCT) has been challenged, but critics have largely failed to engage with its core claims and theoretical commitments. Powell fills this gap. He first examines convergent regularities at both temporal and phylogenetic depths, finding evidence that both vindicates and rebuffs Gould's argument for contingency. Powell follows this partial defense of the RCT with a substantive critique. Among the evolutionary outcomes that might defy the RCT, he argues, cognition is particularly important—not only for human-specific issues of the evolution of intelligence and consciousness but also for the large-scale ecological organization of macroscopic living worlds. Turning his attention to complex cognitive life, Powell considers what patterns of cognitive convergence tell us about the nature of mind, its evolution, and its place in the universe. If complex bodies are common in the universe, might complex minds be common as well?

The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding our View of Planet Earth

Author : Wayne Orchiston
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1402037244
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding our View of Planet Earth by : Wayne Orchiston

Download or read book The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding our View of Planet Earth written by Wayne Orchiston and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-17 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an unusual book, combining as it does papers on astrobiology, history of astronomy and sundials, but—after all—Woody Sullivan is an unusual man. In late 2003 I spent two fruitful and enjoyable months in the Astronomy Department at the University of Washington (UW) working on archival material accumulated over the decades by Woody, for a book we will co-author with Jessica Chapman on the early development of Australian astronomy. The only serious intellectual distraction I faced during this period was planning for an IAU colloquium on transits of Venus scheduled for June 2004 in England, where I was down to present the ‘Cook’ paper. I knew Woody was also interested in transits (and, indeed, anything remotely connected with shadows—see his paper on page 3), and in discussing the Preston meeting with him it transpired that his 60th birthday was timed to occur just one week later. This was where the seed of ‘Woodfest’ began to germinate. Why not invite friends and colleagues to join Woody in Seattle and celebrate this proud event? I put the idea to Woody and others at UW, they liked it, and ‘Woodfest’ was born.

Power, Sex, Suicide

Author : Nick Lane
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 9780191513015
Total Pages : 370 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Power, Sex, Suicide by : Nick Lane

Download or read book Power, Sex, Suicide written by Nick Lane and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2005-10-13 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in that sense, they are fundamental for driving complex life on the planet. But there is much more to them than that. Mitochondria have their own DNA, with their own small collection of genes, separate from those in the cell nucleus. It is thought that they were once bacteria living independent lives. Their enslavement within the larger cell was a turning point in the evolution of life, enabling the development of complex organisms and, closely related, the origin of two sexes. Unlike the DNA in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed down exclusively (or almost exclusively) via the female line. That's why it has been used by some researchers to trace human ancestry daughter-to-mother, to 'Mitochondrial Eve'. Mitochondria give us important information about our evolutionary history. And that's not all. Mitochondrial genes mutate much faster than those in the nucleus because of the free radicals produced in their energy-generating role. This high mutation rate lies behind our ageing and certain congenital diseases. The latest research suggests that mitochondria play a key role in degenerative diseases such as cancer, through their involvement in precipitating cell suicide. Mitochondria, then, are pivotal in power, sex, and suicide. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research findings in this exciting field to show how our growing understanding of mitochondria is shedding light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. This understanding is of fundamental importance, both in understanding how we and all other complex life came to be, but also in order to be able to control our own illnesses, and delay our degeneration and death. 'An extraordinary account of groundbreaking modern science... The book abounds with interesting and important ideas.' Mark Ridley, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford

The Future of Life: Meta-Evolution

Author : David Hunter Tow
Publisher : Future of Life: Meta-Evolut
ISBN 13 : 1425726844
Total Pages : 404 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (257 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of Life: Meta-Evolution by : David Hunter Tow

Download or read book The Future of Life: Meta-Evolution written by David Hunter Tow and published by Future of Life: Meta-Evolut. This book was released on 2006-10 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Future of Life: Meta-Evolution represents the first comprehensive formulation of the hypothesis that evolution is the unifying force underlying the dynamics of all processes in the universe, both organic and inorganic. These include all facets of human existence and civilisation- the sciences, technology, arts, humanities and religion. In essence, by applying quantum information, network and decision theory, it is demonstrated that an overarching evolutionary process shapes the spectrum of life and phenomena in the universe, as a generic paradigm beyond Darwin's original biology-based theory. The Theory of Evolution is undoubtedly the most powerful paradigm ever conceived by humans to explain their own existence. Since Darwin´s epoch-making treatise, Origin of Species', published in 1859, evolution has been centre-stage, universally recognised as the driving force in the emergence of modern humans from the genesis of life on this planet almost 4 billion years ago. However, despite its ubiquitous brilliance as the jewel in the crown of human intellectual achievement, the notion of evolution has never been developed to its full potential. It remains instead constrained within its biological cradle, often reduced in everyday connotation to its lowest common denominator of ´survival of the fittest´. The intention of this book to re-evaluate and expand the Darwinian model of evolution; to demonstrate that its current application is only the tip of the intellectual iceberg and that by combining its formidable biological principles with those of decision complexity, network, quantum and information theory, it emerges as an incalculably deeper and richer model than previously contemplated. It will be demonstrated that the evolutionary engine which drives biological development, also drives all other dynamic adaptive processes- the physical, social, cognitive, economic, political and technological and is in fact the major dynamic governing the Universe, past present and future. It is further proposed to demonstrate that recent developments in artificial intelligence and ubiquitous computing through the Internet, mark the next crucial stage in life's evolution, involving the inevitable symbiosis of vast computational intelligence with the human mind. The major hypothesis developed in this book, of a global all-encompassing Theory of Evolution, coupled with its potential for realising the emancipation of human intelligence and potential, provides a vastly more powerful paradigm for exploring the Future of Life than current scientific scenarios. The resulting Omega state of infinite knowledge and wisdom which is proposed, has been actively championed by a number of eminent 19th and 20th century philosophers such as Teillhard de Chardin, Henri Bergson, Schelling, Alfred Whitehead, Samuel Alexander and more recently by the leading physicist and futurist- Professor Frank Tipler. However to date no equivalent scientific framework for supporting such a hypothesis has been provided. In conclusion, The Future of Life: Meta-Evolution has been written not as an academic text but as primarily a non-technical review of the evidence to support such a hypothesis, in much the same vein as other recent publications in the popular science/philosophy genre. It is hoped that this approach will therefore provide a window into the wider evolutionary debate for the general reader interested in one of the most critical emerging paradigm shifts of the 21st century.

Media Convergence and Deconvergence

Author : Sergio Sparviero
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319512897
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (195 download)

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Book Synopsis Media Convergence and Deconvergence by : Sergio Sparviero

Download or read book Media Convergence and Deconvergence written by Sergio Sparviero and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-10-20 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume explores different meanings of media convergence and deconvergence, and reconsiders them in critical and innovative ways. Its parts provide together a broad picture of opposing trends and tensions in media convergence, by underlining the relevance of this powerful idea and emphasizing the misconceptions that it has generated. Sergio Sparviero, Corinna Peil, Gabriele Balbi and the other authors look into practices and realities of users in convergent media environments, ambiguities in the production and distribution of content, changes to the organization of media industries, the re-configuration of media markets, and the influence of policy and regulations. Primarily addressed to scholars and students in different fields of media and communication studies, Media Convergence and Deconvergence deconstructs taken-for-granted concepts and provides alternative and fresh analyses on one of the most popular topics in contemporary media culture. Chapter 1 is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

The Future of Life: A Unified Theory of Evolution

Author : David Hunter Tow
Publisher : Future of Life Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 484 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of Life: A Unified Theory of Evolution by : David Hunter Tow

Download or read book The Future of Life: A Unified Theory of Evolution written by David Hunter Tow and published by Future of Life Media. This book was released on 2010-09-11 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Future of Life: A Unified Theory of Evolution represents the first comprehensive formulation of the hypothesis that evolution is the unifying force underlying the dynamics of all processes in the universe- both organic and inorganic. In essence by combining information, decision, network and quantum theory, it is demonstrated that an overarching evolutionry process shapes the spectrum of life and all phenomena in the universe, beyond Darwin's original biological theory.

Macroevolution, Contingency, and Divine Activity

Author : Bradford McCall
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1725278537
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (252 download)

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Book Synopsis Macroevolution, Contingency, and Divine Activity by : Bradford McCall

Download or read book Macroevolution, Contingency, and Divine Activity written by Bradford McCall and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-10-27 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the things that God values in the creative process? How does one define God's activity in such a world? How is God's involvement different from a contingent--what this author labels contingentist--instance? Why do we need a God-idea at all? Herein, Bradford McCall addresses how divine, amorepotent love works with and within a contingentist (i.e., radically contingent) evolutionary theory and worldview. Within the course of this project, he reaches a via media between the (somewhat) radical formalist position of Simon Conway Morris and the veritably radical contingent position of Stephen Jay Gould. But . . . how is the contingentist amorepotent and uncontrolling love of God understood as purposeful? McCall argues in detail that there in fact is some sort of purposiveness that is nevertheless working in a chastened Gouldian position, and he distinguishes between contingency and veritable divine involvement. He contends that God does not insist upon a particular outcome but merely allows propensities to work themselves out. God amorepotently loves the population of the natural world into greater forms of complexity, relationality, and beauty in varied and multifarious forms, along with the extension of diversity.

Automata, Languages and Programming

Author : Kim G. Larsen
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9783540647812
Total Pages : 956 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (478 download)

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Book Synopsis Automata, Languages and Programming by : Kim G. Larsen

Download or read book Automata, Languages and Programming written by Kim G. Larsen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1998-07-06 with total page 956 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 25th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages and Programming, ICALP'98, held in Aalborg, Denmark, in July 1998. The 70 revised full papers presented together with eight invited contributions were carefully selected from a total of 182 submissions. The book is divided in topical sections on complexitiy, verification, data structures, concurrency, computational geometry, automata and temporal logic, algorithms, infinite state systems, semantics, approximation, thorem proving, formal languages, pi-calculus, automata and BSP, rewriting, networking and routing, zero-knowledge, quantum computing, etc..

Reading Contingency

Author : David Wylot
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000763323
Total Pages : 203 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Reading Contingency by : David Wylot

Download or read book Reading Contingency written by David Wylot and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-25 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Reading Contingency: The Accident in Contemporary Fiction, David Wylot constructs an innovative study of the relationship between plotted accidents in twenty-first century British and American fiction, the phenomenology of reading, and a contemporary experience of time that is increasingly understood to be contingent and accidental. A synthesis of literary and cultural analysis, narratology, critical theories of time and the philosophy of contingency, the book explores the accident’s imagination of contemporary time and the relationship between reading and living in novels by writers including A.M. Homes, Nicola Barker, Noah Hawley, J.M. Coetzee, J.G. Ballard, Jesmyn Ward, Jennifer Egan, and Tom McCarthy.

Summary of Brian Klaas's Fluke

Author : Milkyway Media
Publisher : Milkyway Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 26 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Summary of Brian Klaas's Fluke by : Milkyway Media

Download or read book Summary of Brian Klaas's Fluke written by Milkyway Media and published by Milkyway Media. This book was released on 2024-03-26 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get the Summary of Brian Klaas's Fluke in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "Fluke" by Brian Klaas explores the profound influence of chance and randomness on the course of human history and individual lives. The book challenges the notion that significant events have significant causes, highlighting how minor details can lead to monumental outcomes. Klaas draws on examples from evolutionary biology, such as the asteroid that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, and the evolution of eyesight, to illustrate the role of contingency in life...

The Medium of Contingency

Author : Elie Ayache
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137286563
Total Pages : 414 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (372 download)

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Book Synopsis The Medium of Contingency by : Elie Ayache

Download or read book The Medium of Contingency written by Elie Ayache and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-06-15 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Medium of Contingency Elie Ayache builds upon his ground-breaking book The Blank Swan, in exploring the intersection of philosophy and finance, introducing new notions of price and market. Inverting the received view, he now sees a creation of matter in both the market and its metaphysics, rather than pure speculation. Once recognized as the proper medium of contingency and disassociated from the probabilistic and statistical tools traditionally used to model it, the market can be thought as 'real', in a new sense of reality corresponding to the new sense of matter. To bring this new and original perspective, The Medium of Contingency builds on probability theory as first formalized by von Mises and Kolmogorov, and later revisited by Shafer and Vovk. It utilises the author's extensive experience in derivatives pricing technology and software, as well as his work in the philosophy of contingency and contingent claims, to propose a new philosophical interpretation of Brownian motion and of the Black-Scholes-Merton formula. Then it completes the overturning of the traditional view of the market by arguing that there should be no difference, ultimately, between an underlying asset and the derivative written on it. This book does not aim to change the market but the way we must think of it. It is the author's conviction that there can be no philosophy of the market, and consequently no thinking of it, without a philosophy of contingent claims and of derivative pricing. The book provides the missing piece, which the philosophy of probability cannot provide alone. Its scope, however, extends beyond the strict critique of financial mathematics, as it also, and perhaps most importantly, delivers the author's definitive treatment of the philosophically prominent and recently much discussed notion of contingency.

Explanation in Biology

Author : Pierre-Alain Braillard
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9401798222
Total Pages : 438 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis Explanation in Biology by : Pierre-Alain Braillard

Download or read book Explanation in Biology written by Pierre-Alain Braillard and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-06-10 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patterns of explanation in biology have long been recognized as different from those deployed in other scientific disciplines, especially that of physics. Celebrating the diversity of interpretative models found in biology, this volume details their varying types as well as explaining their relationships to one another. It covers the key differentials with other sciences in the nature of explanation, such as the existence in biology of varieties unheard of in the physical sciences, such as teleological, evolutionary and even functional explanations. Offering a wealth of fresh analysis of the phenomenon, chapters examine aspects ranging from the role of mathematics in explaining cell development to the complexities thrown up by evolutionary-developmental biology, where explanation is altered by multidisciplinarity itself. They cover major domains such as ecology and systems biology, as well as contemporary trends, such as the mechanistic explanations spawned by progress in molecular biology. With contributions from researchers of many different nationalities, the book provides a many-angled perspective on a revealing feature of the discipline of biology.

Religions Challenged by Contingency

Author : Dirk-Martin Grube
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9047433580
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (474 download)

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Book Synopsis Religions Challenged by Contingency by : Dirk-Martin Grube

Download or read book Religions Challenged by Contingency written by Dirk-Martin Grube and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008-08-31 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relationship between religion and contingency is investigated historically and systematically. Its historical part comprises analyses of important philosophers’ interpretation of this relationship, viz. that of Leibniz, Kant, Lessing, Jaspers, and Heidegger. Its systematic part analyses how this relationship should be currently (re-)interpreted.

Fluke

Author : Brian Klaas
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 1399804545
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis Fluke by : Brian Klaas

Download or read book Fluke written by Brian Klaas and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2024-01-25 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Consistently gripping - dazzling in its sweep and thrillingly brain-twisting in its arguments' Tom Holland A provocative new vision of how our world really works - and why chance determines everything. In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas deep-dives into the phenomenon of randomness, unpicking our neat and tidy storybook version of events to reveal a reality far wilder and more fascinating than we have dared to consider. The bewildering truth is that but for a few incidental changes, our lives - and our societies - would be radically different. Offering an entirely new perspective, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and random events. How much difference does our decision to hit the snooze button make? Did one couple's vacation really change the course of the twentieth century? What are the smallest accidents that have tilted the course of history itself? The mind-bending lessons of this phenomenon challenge our beliefs about the very workings of the world. From the evolution of human biology and natural disasters to the impact of global events on supply chain disruptions, every detail matters because of the web of connectivity that envelops us. So what if, by exploding our illusion of control, we can make better decisions and live happy, fulfilling lives?

Revolutions that Made the Earth

Author : Tim Lenton
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 019150176X
Total Pages : 440 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (915 download)

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Book Synopsis Revolutions that Made the Earth by : Tim Lenton

Download or read book Revolutions that Made the Earth written by Tim Lenton and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Earth that sustains us today was born out of a few remarkable, near-catastrophic revolutions, started by biological innovations and marked by global environmental consequences. The revolutions have certain features in common, such as an increase in complexity, energy utilization, and information processing by life. This book describes these revolutions, showing the fundamental interdependence of the evolution of life and its non-living environment. We would not exist unless these upheavals had led eventually to 'successful' outcomes - meaning that after each one, at length, a new stable world emerged. The current planet-reshaping activities of our species may be the start of another great Earth system revolution, but there is no guarantee that this one will be successful. The book explains what a successful transition through it might look like, if we are wise enough to steer such a course. This book places humanity in context as part of the Earth system, using a new scientific synthesis to illustrate our debt to the deep past and our potential for the future.

Advances in Automation, Signal Processing, Instrumentation, and Control

Author : Venkata Lakshmi Narayana Komanapalli
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 9811582211
Total Pages : 3212 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (115 download)

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Book Synopsis Advances in Automation, Signal Processing, Instrumentation, and Control by : Venkata Lakshmi Narayana Komanapalli

Download or read book Advances in Automation, Signal Processing, Instrumentation, and Control written by Venkata Lakshmi Narayana Komanapalli and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-03-04 with total page 3212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the select proceedings of the International Conference on Automation, Signal Processing, Instrumentation and Control (i-CASIC) 2020. The book mainly focuses on emerging technologies in electrical systems, IoT-based instrumentation, advanced industrial automation, and advanced image and signal processing. It also includes studies on the analysis, design and implementation of instrumentation systems, and high-accuracy and energy-efficient controllers. The contents of this book will be useful for beginners, researchers as well as professionals interested in instrumentation and control, and other allied fields.

Dynamics in Education Politics

Author : Hannu Simola
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1135084238
Total Pages : 158 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (35 download)

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Book Synopsis Dynamics in Education Politics by : Hannu Simola

Download or read book Dynamics in Education Politics written by Hannu Simola and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dynamics in Education Politics: Understanding and Explaining the Finnish Case introduces a new theoretical framework characterised as Comparative Analytics of Dynamics in Education Politics (CADEP). Albeit the topicality of comparative research is obvious in the current era of global large-scale assessment, with its concomitant media visibility and political effects, comparative education is still suffering from certain methodological deficits and is in need of robust theorisation. Focusing on relational dynamics between policy threads, actors and institutions in education politics CADEP seriously considers the phenomena of complexity, contingency and trans-nationality in late-modern societies. In this book CADEP is applied and validated in analysing the "Finnish Educational Miracle" that has been attracting attention in the educational world ever since they rocketed to fame following the PISA studies during the 2000s. This book will open up opportunities for mutual understanding and learning rather than just celebrating the exceptional circumstances or sustainable leadership. Areas covered include: The analytics of dynamics in education politics The dynamics of policy making and governance The dynamics of educational family strategies The dynamics of classroom culture It is vital for humankind to be able to learn from each other’s successes and failures, and this applies in education, too. This book is thus a valuable read for anyone interested in the education system and wanting to shape the learning environment.