sorry i forgot the time stamp on my last post.
i had a conversation with my research partner this morning that helped
me to make the relation between alife and pct a little crisper, at least
to myself.
as i understand it, any control system requires a reference value, or goal
state, in order to operate. the proverbial thermostat is programmed
externally to control air temperature for a certain value. a windup toy
can be seen as controlling for equilibrium (don't beat on me for that one...
it's only an illustration). an ant, while not a windup toy, still controls
for some condition... let's say lack of hunger, for instance. but the ant
is not, in my view, externally programmed. its reference values arise from the
particular genetic conditions which effect the organization of its constituent
chemicals, modified somewhat by immediate environmental input. they are
programmed, less as in the case of the thermostat where they must be externally
supplied, than as in the case of the windup toy, where they arise as a
consequence of structure. the question
that is of interest to me, and i think that makes alife relevant, is why
matter should organize itself in this way at all... and, taken further,
what properties of ordering that characterize lower-order organization
may also shape higher-order 'behaviors' (the act of organization being
seen as a kind of behavior). given that the difference between crystalline
and organic growth is that the organism perceives and controls, how does
this distinction (among other properties of life and mind) arise?
purposive behavior (the essence of 'mind') requires that purpose exist.
if not provided exogenously, it must be immanent in the system, and
behavior emergent as a result (a by-product, i am told).
am i being either naive or unecessarily elliptical here? or does this
go any farther toward clarifying a position?
-----------< Cognitive Dissonance is a 20th Century Art Form >-----------
Eric Harnden (Ronin)
<HARNDEN@AUVM.BITNET> or <HARNDEN@AMERICAN.EDU>
The American University Physics Dept.
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from: eric harnden(920807)