Re: OOL I - Manifesto and metatheory


"Robert Maas, see http://tinyurl.com/uh3t"; <rem642b@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:d3fj0m$19sv$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > From: Tim Tyler <tim@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > I'm not sure what kind of thinking you're referring to.
> > > Do you know of an online summary of Stuart Kauffman's idea? [...]
> > The best place I've seen them explained is in his books - but
> > there's some info about them at:
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocatalytic_set
>
> Hmm, I looked there, and found a link to a fine online/chat interview
> with Stuart Kauffman: http://www.iscid.org/stuartkauffman-chat.php
> Below I've quoted a few key passages from that interview, most but not
> all passages by Stuart, with some of my comments on some:
>
[snip]

> There are examples of bootstrap thresholds. ...
> ... the possible origin of self
> reproducing molecular systems where a critical diversity of molecular
> species was necessary for a phase transition to form a collectively
> autocatalytic set.
> Beilstein spontaneously transforms like this?

IMO, no. In Kauffman's opinion, yes. This is my core point of incredulity
wrt Kauffman's ideas (which have a lot of interesting points). I am convinced
that Kauffman can not get this kind of phase transition in a model with the
thermodynamics and chemical kinetics treated realistically.

> Handicap theory is a theory of biological communication in which
> information sent by a cell, organism, etc., must be costly to the
> sender in order to be reliable to the recipient.
> (Which would usually require group selection within an enclosed
> micro-ecosystem in order for natural selection to result in such
> willingness of sender to pay that cost.)

No. It doesn't require group selection. But the evolution of communication
is a complex subject with a theoretical structure that is still immature.
Maynard Smith was one of the leading researchers, and the main theoretical
tool is game theory.

[snip]


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