From instability to intelligence

de Michail Zak · Publicada por primera vez en 1997

This book deals with predictability and dynamical concepts in biology and physics. The main emphasis is on intrinsic stochasticity caused by the instability of dynamical equations. In particular, the authors present for the first time in book form their concept of terminal dynamics. They demonstrate that instability as an attribute of dynamical models can explain the paradox of irreversibility in thermodynamics, the phenomenon of chaos and turbulence in classical mechanics, and non-deterministic (multi-choice) behavior in biological and social systems. The first part of the book describes the basic properties of instability as an attribute of dynamical models and how their analysis is dependent upon frames of reference. The second part describes these instabilities and their usefullness in physics, biology, neural nets, creativity, intelligence, and social behavior (the "collective brain"). The book addresses researchers as well as students; it should also be of interest to philosophers of science.