Networking the complexity community since 1999
Author: cxdig
Applied Big History: A Guide for Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Other Living Things (9781719853071): William Grassie: Amazon Books
Foreword by Mitch Julis, Canyon Partners
Source: www.amazon.com
In recent years, parallel developments in disparate disciplines have focused on what has come to be termed connectivity; a concept used in understanding and describing complex systems. Conceptualisations and operationalisations of connectivity have evolved largely within their disciplinary boundaries, yet similarities in this concept and its application among disciplines are evident. However, any implementation of the concept of connectivity carries with it both ontological and epistemological constraints, which leads us to ask if there is one type or set of approach(es) to connectivity that might be applied to all disciplines. In this review we explore four ontological and epistemological challenges in using connectivity to understand complex systems from the standpoint of widely different disciplines. These are: (i) defining the fundamental unit for the study of connectivity; (ii) separating structural connectivity from functional connectivity; (iii) understanding emergent behaviour; and (iv) measuring connectivity. We draw upon discipline-specific insights from Computational Neuroscience, Ecology, Geomorphology, Neuroscience, Social Network Science and Systems Biology to explore the use of connectivity among these disciplines. We evaluate how a connectivity-based approach has generated new understanding of structural-functional relationships that characterise complex systems and propose a ‘common toolbox’ underpinned by network-based approaches that can advance connectivity studies by overcoming existing constraints.
Connectivity and complex systems: learning from a multi-disciplinary perspective
Laura Turnbull, Marc-Thorsten Hütt, Andreas A. Ioannides, Stuart Kininmonth, Ronald Poeppl, Klement Tockner, Louise J. Bracken, Saskia Keesstra, Lichan Liu, Rens Masselink and Anthony J. Parsons
Applied Network Science 2018 3:11
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-018-0067-2
Source: appliednetsci.springeropen.com
It is widely agreed that the standard genetic code must have been preceded by a simpler code that encoded fewer amino acids. How this simpler code could have expanded into the standard genetic code is not well understood because most changes to the code are costly. Taking inspiration from the recently synthesized six-letter code, we propose a novel hypothesis: the initial genetic code consisted of only two letters, G and C, and then expanded the number of available codons via the introduction of an additional pair of letters, A and U. Various lines of evidence, including the relative prebiotic abundance of the earliest assigned amino acids, the balance of their hydrophobicity, and the higher GC content in genome coding regions, indicate that the original two nucleotides were indeed G and C. This process of code expansion probably started with the third base, continued with the second base, and ended up as the standard genetic code when the second pair of letters was introduced into the first base. The proposed process is consistent with the available empirical evidence, and it uniquely avoids the problem of costly code changes by positing instead that the code expanded its capacity via the creation of new codons with extra letters.
The Standard Genetic Code can Evolve from a Two-Letter GC Code Without Information Loss or Costly Reassignments
Alejandro Frank, Tom Froese
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres
June 2018, Volume 48, Issue 2, pp 259–272
Source: link.springer.com
A look inside the algorithms that are shaping our lives and the dilemmas they bring with them.
If you were accused of a crime, who would you rather decide your sentence―a mathematically consistent algorithm incapable of empathy or a compassionate human judge prone to bias and error? What if you want to buy a driverless car and must choose between one programmed to save as many lives as possible and another that prioritizes the lives of its own passengers? And would you agree to share your family’s full medical history if you were told that it would help researchers find a cure for cancer?
These are just some of the dilemmas that we are beginning to face as we approach the age of the algorithm, when it feels as if the machines reign supreme. Already, these lines of code are telling us what to watch, where to go, whom to date, and even whom to send to jail. But as we rely on algorithms to automate big, important decisions―in crime, justice, healthcare, transportation, and money―they raise questions about what we want our world to look like. What matters most: Helping doctors with diagnosis or preserving privacy? Protecting victims of crime or preventing innocent people being falsely accused?
Hello World takes us on a tour through the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us on a daily basis. Mathematician Hannah Fry reveals their inner workings, showing us how algorithms are written and implemented, and demonstrates the ways in which human bias can literally be written into the code. By weaving in relatable, real world stories with accessible explanations of the underlying mathematics that power algorithms, Hello World helps us to determine their power, expose their limitations, and examine whether they really are improvement on the human systems they replace.
Source: www.amazon.com
This book explores fascinating topics at the edge of life, guiding the reader all the way from the relation of life processes to the second law of thermodynamics and the abundance of complex organic compounds in the universe through to the latest advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. The background to the book is the extraordinary scientific adventures that are being undertaken as progress is made toward the creation of an artificial cell and the control of life processes. This journey involves input from research areas as diverse as genetic engineering, physical chemistry, and information theory. Life is to be thought of not only as a chemical event but also as an information process, with the genome a repository of information gathered over time through evolution. Knowledge of the mechanisms affecting the increase in complexity associated with evolutionary paths is improving, and there appear to be analogies with the evolution of the technologies promoting the development of our society. The book will be of wide interest to students at all levels and to others with an interest in the subject.
Source: www.amazon.com
