anautonomousagent – Page 12 – An Autonomous Agent

In anthropology, book, consciousness, cybernetics, gregory bateson, nora bateson, psychology, science, self-organization, self-reference, social behavior, sociology

The papers, essays, and lectures contained in Steps to an Ecology of Mind showcase Gregory Bateson’s incredibly unique perspective. Due to the wide range of discussion within this collection, it is very difficult to write a concise summary. There are a few points which made a lasting impact in my mind.

He explains the levels of learning and how the animal mind can “learn about learning” and “think about thinking”; concerning humans – they can reach a third and possibly fourth level in this learning recursion hierarchy. He discusses this in the context of various subjects: anthropology, psychology, evolution, information, ecology, cybernetics and epistomoglogy in general.

He emphasizes that western science should adjust the way it thinks about relationship and form and discusses how these are relavant to the study of matter and energy. He questions the western conception of mammalian emotions, aesthetics, and the ego-self. On several occasions I found myself with the desire to re-read Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. Both books I think contain some overlap in their treatment of information and the mind. Overall, Bateson was an incredible thinker and you will improve your intellect by reading this collection of work.

Auroville – City of the Dawn

By anautonomousagent

On March 21, 2016

In auroville, civilization, conservation, ecology, sociology, sri aurobindo, venus project, video, youtube

These videos provide a fascinating look at the history and ongoing development of Auroville (City of the Dawn). Founded by Mirra Alfassa as a project of the Sri Aurobindo Society, it provides an example of a community designed to inspire unity and lead the way forward for humanity.

City of the Dawn is a summary of the city’s foundation and history since the late 1960’s and early 1970’s:

Auroville Towards a Sustainable Future shows the incredible ecological work required to repair and grow the land needed to sustain the city:

Dirty Pictures (2010) – Alexander and Ann Shulgin Documentary

By anautonomousagent

On March 19, 2016

In consciousness, dmt, documentary, drugs, lsd, mdma, sasha shulgin, video, youtube

Excellent documentary about Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin and his work!

The End of America – Naomi Wolf

By anautonomousagent

On March 8, 2016

In american, empire, government, naomi wolf, sociology, video, war, youtube

The imaginary duality of right or left; conservative or liberal; divides the country, providing a distraction while our rights and liberties are quietly subverted. Take the time to hear what Naomi Wolf has to say and you can form your own conclusions. Reminder to scientists: In an oligarchy and/or totalitarian regime, even the scientific method and academic institutions become subjugated to power. Science, in a closed society is worthless except as a tool used by those in power to maintain their power.

The End of America – 2008 Original

The End of America – 2014 Update

Panspermia and Messages Encoded in DNA?

By anautonomousagent

On March 5, 2016

In biology, dna, panspermia, space, thoughts

Scientists, while studying the non-coding regions of DNA found that:

… the non-coding sequences have certain statistical features in common with natural and artificial languages. Specifically, we adapt to DNA the Zipf approach to analyzing linguistic texts. These statistical properties of non-coding sequences support the possibility that non-coding regions of DNA may carry biological information.

With that quote in mind, consider that Francis Crick suggested in 1975 that life on Earth could have been the result of “Directed Panspermia.”

Also, check out Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge for Jeremy Narby’s thoughts on this subject.

Messages in DNA? Directed Panspermia? Great ideas for a science fiction movie, yes! But unless scientists find evidence that life definitely arose on Earth through natural processes, then these ideas can and should be considered legitimate hypotheses — they both can be refuted by evidence showing that they are false.

Let’s entertain the rather wild possibility that the information contained in these non-coding regions may in fact be information encoded in the DNA by an advanced “thing” which purposely sent life to Earth. This would suggest the question: “At what level of development did cells and bacteria arrive on Earth?” Fully developed with DNA, ribosomes, and protein synthesis? Or, perhaps just DNA contained in a capsule?

If an advanced intelligence wanted to send a message to be received by an organism which eventually developed enough ability to discover this message, how would it do this? What would the message be? What would be the context of the message?

Would it be possible to encode a message as “form” in matter. By form, I mean something like studying the processes and relationships of molecular biology, for instance see: The Molecular Basis of Life. The incredible form of the DNA transcription; the fascinating ability of the kinesin protein to travel microtubules; could these forms and relationships be the message? If the context is biological travel in space, might these cellular forms and relationships be teaching us how to expand and develop in space?

But a message based on form seems to be invalid because it is the non-coding regions of DNA which are not expressed in protein structures that contain the statistical properties of Zipf. However, I think we still have much to learn about DNA and its interactions with the rest of the cell which may change the way we view DNA. It just seems hard for me to understand how 1,000,000 specially crafted objects (proteins) of various shapes thrown in a zero gravity room together could somehow bounce and collide to eventually create an organized dynamic transport mechanism across that same room — not to mention the dozens of other cellular processes. So, where does the form of cellular processes arise?

These thoughts came as I was watching 3D animations of kinesin protein travel along microtubules. Perhaps we could design a sort of kinesin vehicle which would travel along a microtubule connection from the Earth to Moon? Or, they could serve as connections between asteroid space bases suspended in the Lagrangian points. No need for rocket fuel, it would be similar to magnetic trains. What would it imply if an idea for space travel and transport could be found inside the cell?