[Edu-sig] Programming for Fun Quote

[Jason Cunliffe]

> >Programming is about languages much much more than about 'mathematics' -
>
>
> I would agree with the quote except I don't think
> mathematics *has* to be infinitely abstract.  One
> of the joys of applying programming to math is you
> tend to make it (math) more concrete.  And that can
> provide a more secure basis for subsequent abstraction.
>
> Kirby


Kirby

LOL..I hoped that would catch your attention ;-)

'Infinitely Abstract' is almost an oxymoron.
Everything has its own scale, context and direction...

I have been re-reading a truly brilliant book you might all enjoy.
I would describe as a rare example of a new ZenScience in action:

Dynamic Patterns : The Self-Organization of Brain and Behavior
(Complex Adaptive Systems) by J. A. Scott Kelso
Paperback - 360 pages Reprint edition (March 1997)
ISBN: 0262611317

<quote1: blurb from back of book>
For the past twenty years Scott Kelso's research has focused on extending
the physical concepts of self- organization and the mathematical tools of
nonlinear dynamics to understand how human beings (and human brains)
perceive, intend, learn, control, and coordinate complex behaviors. In this
book Kelso proposes a new, general framework within which to connect brain,
mind, and behavior.

Kelso's prescription for mental life breaks dramatically with the classical
computational approach that is still the operative framework for many newer
psychological and neurophysiological studies. His core thesis is that the
creation and evolution of patterned behavior at all levels -- from neurons
to mind -- is governed by the generic processes of self-organization. Both
human brain and behavior are shown to exhibit features of pattern-forming
dynamical systems, including multistability, abrupt phase transitions,
crises, and intermittency.

Dynamic Patterns brings together different aspects of this approach to the
study of human behavior, using simple experimental examples and
illustrations to convey essential concepts, strategies, and methods, with a
minimum of mathematics.
</quote1>

The book functions on _many_ levels, representing 20 years of brilliant
work.
It is extremely well written in my opinion.

For example:
<quote2: excerpt from the preface>
...
   This book is a small step towards fillnig the gap between the known laws
of how matter behaves and how human beings behave. Just as classical physics
derived its macrsoscopic laws from observations about the motion of planets
and terrestial bodies, I will describe how it is possible to construct some
of the laws that appear to govern (or at least describe and occasionally
predict) the dynamic behavioral patterns produced by animals and people.
These are used as the foundation on which to build a deeper understanding of
phenomena such as perceiving, intending, ancicipating, learning, adapting to
the environment -- and as a window into the brain itelf.

  The centerpiece of the book is a theory of coordination, how things are
put together to produce recognizable functions. The things themselves might
be made of matter, such as neurons, muscles or parts of the body, or they
might be mental "things" such as perceptions and ideas. Coordination, I
argue, is a fundamental feature of life. Imagine a living system composed of
components that ignored each other and did not interact with themselves or
the environment. Such a system would possess neither structure nor function.
In this book I address the basic nature of this interaction, how it occurs
and why it is the way it is. The core thesis is that human behavior - from
neurons to mind - is governed by the generic process of self organization.
Self organization refers to the spontaneous formation of patterns and
pattern change in open, nonequilibrium systems. I argue that regardless of
the levels of description one chooses to study (and this I would add is
always a personal choice), the same basic pattern forming principles are in
evidence.
...
</quote2>
He is director of the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences at
Florida Atlantic University http://www.ccs.fau.edu/

A conference is planned http://www.ccs.fau.edu/conferencenews.htm

best wishes
- Jason