anautonomousagent – Page 20 – An Autonomous Agent

p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code – Sue Armstrong

On February 7, 2015

Sue Armstrong’s new book, p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code, is a fascinating summary of the many people and discoveries which led to our modern knowledge about p53. The book goes into detail about the conceptual struggles and breakthroughs which occurred over a period of several decades. The path to our current understanding was not linear and still continues to be a challenge. The best part about these accounts is the spirit and language with which Armstrong writes. She transforms a subject heavy with biological jargon into a great tale accessible to anyone with a general understanding of biology and genetics.

The book mentions several possible paths for the future of cancer therapy. I think the most interesting are those of prevention and finding a molecular band-aide. The efforts at cancer prevention should really be encouraged and insurance companies should start requiring yearly screenings. If we can achieve rates of discovery around 50-75%, that is solving half the problem. A molecular approach to stabilizing the p53 mutant sounds, to me, like an optimal solution. For an example, see this paper. The discovery of molecules which could safely enter the body and stabilize the mutant p53 — making it behave normally — would be a discovery of a lifetime.

The End of Certainty – Ilya Prigogine

By anautonomousagent

On January 18, 2015

In book, economics, emergence, ilya prigogine, math, physics, santa fe institute, science, stuart Kauffman, symmetry, universe

The End of Certainty by Ilya Prigogine provides insight into the natural processes which give rise to the novelty of life. Despite being published in 1997, there are so many great quotes and concepts which are still applicable today, that I will just say, “Read the book!” It will also help to read Stuart Kauffman’s book, Investigations, either before or after reading Prigogine’s book. Approaching from a different angle, Kauffman explores biological processes of nature which give rise to novelty and creative adaptive structures. Both books talk heavily about the dynamics of equilibrium and entropy. In the words of Prigogine, on page 67, “…matter at equilibrium is ‘blind,’ but far from equilibrium it begins to ‘see.'” Thus, non-equilibrium systems can think and observe the world, whereas systems in equilibrium are ignorant of all outside processes.

The approach of Prigogine lies in understanding the importance of Poincaré Resonances on dynamics and the construction/destruction of correlations at the microscopic level. How these resonances and these correlations behave leads to macroscopic features and the breaking of time symmetry. He deals with solving these Large Poincare Systems outside of the Hilbert Space; this is a concept which is important to biology and human social sciences. Because in these fields, we are always dealing with a system (human beings) which is far from equilibrium and behaves in novel and creative ways.

In other words, life, as a non-equilibrium dissipative structure emerging from the non-living world, needs to be studied under the auspices of “The End of Certainty.” Irreversible processes and long range correlations are critical to understanding the development of self-organization and the novelty of life.

All social sciences deal with a biological organism (humans), which is a product of non-equilibrium processes. Even Prigogine and the book itself are correlated with the mass of knowledge produced by humanity in the 20th century. In other words, his ideas and those of all scientists are subject to the same non-equilibrium dynamics which Prigogine talks about in his book. Resonances and correlations in the social sphere can lead to amazing discoveries or a lack thereof.

One subject that I think could see development from Prigogine’s ideas is economics. Economics should be considered: “The study of non-equilibirum dissipative structures created by the self-organized social species known as homo sapiens, to reproduce and adapt in the biosphere called ‘Earth.'”

What I thought about the most was the concept of correlation creation and destruction. In terms of self-organizing systems and financial markets, perhaps crashes are correlation destruction events, while bubbles are correlations spreading through time. And after a crash occurs, correlations can be created which makes a crisis even worse.

Hopes and Prospects – Noam Chomsky

By anautonomousagent

On December 22, 2014

In book, history, noam chomsky, political science, politics

A sobering critique of modern history, Noam Chomsky’s Hopes and Prospects shows just how easily the mind can be mislead. Human behavior tends to create herd-like mentalities and if people fail to question and logically investigate everything they are told, it is easy for lies and propaganda to spread. Fortunately, there are people like Chomsky who help lift the blinders from our eyes so that we may better see reality. Most of the time the truth is awful and against self-held morals and ethics. And it is depressing to know the ugly raw reality. However, I think that accurate knowledge of the past is the first step in improving the present and future.

Bandcamp.com and Bleep.com

By anautonomousagent

On December 20, 2014

In music, sound, website

This is just a brief post showing my appreciation and support for HQ music and musical freedom. Two of my favorite music stores: bandcamp and Bleep. I’ve been buying music from these site almost since they first started. It’s a great way to buy music directly from the artist and in my favorite digital music format – FLAC!

Secular Cycles – Peter Turchin and Sergey A. Nefedov

By anautonomousagent

On December 18, 2014

In biology, book, cycles, economics, history, Ralph nelson elliott, social behavior, sociobiology

Secular Cycles by Peter Turchin and Sergey A. Nefedov investigates the nature of biological and economic growth in combination with the characteristic social structures and power relationships unique to humans. This combination of Marxian and Malthusian analysis provides an interesting approach which can be developed to help predict future developments and understand how history develops.

The book (really an academic paper) is an analysis based on various data which have survived the ravages of time. It looks at cycles which occurred in various regions and times in the past, including Rome, France, England, and Russia. It shows how time after time humans progress, only to regress. And this “dis-integration” may be caused by either biological constraints and/or existing political structures. There also appears to be characteristic times which tend to correspond to successive generations or every other generation. And this wave or cyclical behavior is inherent in the complex system of homo-sapiens — being a social animal who spends 20+ years acquiring the knowledge and skills of ancestors.

I can only wish that more quantitative data were available to study ancient humans; ironically it is the “dis-integrative” phases of growth where data, observations, and history are destroyed and lost forever. Perhaps the next “integrative” phase of societal growth is a function of how much information is preserved from the previous “integrative” phase (think about Library of Alexandria). Formulaic conclusions based upon detailed and consistent data extending to the remote reaches of the past may forever be lost. Sometimes this data can be cleverly reconstructed (see here). Most of the time the data can not be obtained and this should serve to emphasize the importance of preserving the Noosphere for the sake of future societies.