*Replying to Karl, who said:*
one can use a stable model used by neurology and psychology to come closer
to understanding how our brain works. This can help to formulate the
thoughts Pedro mentioned being obscure.
One pictures the brain as a quasi-meteorological model of an extended world
containing among others swamp, savanna, arid zones. The dissipation of water
above these regions causes clouds to form and storms to discharge the vapor
within the clouds. The model observes the lightnings in the model and sets
them as an allegory to thoughts (these being electrical discharges) as
opposed to hormones (that are the fluids in the swamps). So there is an
assumed independence between the rainfall, the humidity of the ground, cloud
formation and lightnings. The real meteorologists would not agree with the
simplification that the lightning is the central idea of a rainfall, but
this is how the picture works (at present).
Why I offer these idle thoughts from the biologic sciences to FIS is that it
is now possible to make a model of these processes in an abstract, logical
fashion. The colleaugues in Fis are scientists in the rational tradition and
may find useful that a rational algorithm can be shown to allow simulating
the little tricks Nature appears to use.
Nature changes the form of the imbalance, once too many or too few
lightnings, once too much or lacking water - relative to the other
representation's stable state. There are TWO sets of reference. The
deviation between the two sets of references is what Nature uses in its
manifold activities.
This model looks at the physical equivalences in two realms by
modeling in thermodynamics. Today in thermodynamics we have an advancing
perspective known as the ‘Maximum Entropy Production Principle’ (MEPP) for
relatively simple systems like weather, or Maximum Energy Dispersal
Principle’ (MEDP) for complicated material systems like the brain. In both
cases the dynamics are controlled by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which
imposes that the available energy gradients will be dissipated in the least
possible time, taking the easiest routes available. This becomes very
interesting in the brain, where the flow of depolarizations would then be
predicted to be biased in the direction of more habitual ‘thoughts’. I
think that this prediction seems to be born out in our own experiences of
the frequent return of our attention to various insistent thoughts. I
recommend that Karl inquire into MEPP. For this purpose I paste in some
references.
STAN
MEPP related publications:
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Entropy, 2009, 11: 606-633.
Annila, A. and S.N. Salthe, 2010. Physical foundations of evolutionary
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Annila, A. and S.N. Salthe, 2010. Cultural naturalism. Entropy, 2010, 12:
1325-1352.
Bejan, A. and S. Lorente, 2010. The constructal law of design and evolution
in nature. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B, 365:
1335-1347.
Brooks, D.R. and E.O. Wiley, 1988. Evolution As Entropy: Toward A Unified
Theory Of Biology (2nd. ed.) Chicago. University of Chicago Press.
Chaisson, E.J., 2008. Long-term global heating from energy usage. Eos,
Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 89: 353-255.
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in metabolic scaling, production, and efficiency across major evolutionary
transitions of life. Proceedings of the Natiional Academy of Sciences. Early
EDition
Dewar, R. C., 2003. Information theory explanation of the fluctuation
theorem, maximum entropy production, and self-organized criticality in
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General 36: L631-L641.
Dewar, R.C., 2005. Maximum entropy production and the fluctuation theorem.
Journal of Physics A Mathematics and General 38: L371-L381.
Dewar, R.C., 2009. Maximum entropy production as an inference algorithm
that translates physical assumptions into macroscopic predictions: Don't
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Dewar. R.C. and A. Porté, 2008. Statistical mechanics unifies different
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Production in the Earth System: Applications and Implications,
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Foundations of Science. In Press
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B 232: 181-192.
Vallino, J.J., 2010. Ecosystem biogeochemistry considered as a distributed
metabolic network ordered by maximum entropy production. Philosophical
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Virgo, N. 2010, From maximum entropy to maximum entropy production: a new
approach. Entropy 2010, 12: 107-126.
Zupanovic, P., S. Botric, D. Juretic and D. Kuic. 2010. Relaxation
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processes. Entropy 2010, 12: 996-1005.
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