From: Technotranscendence (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Date: Wed Jan 17 2001 - 07:58:29 MST
On Tuesday, January 16, 2001 9:33 AM J. R. Molloy jr@shasta.com wrote:
> Have you read Tom Ray's measurement of evolution and entropy?
No, but thanks for the links. I'll have to read them over.
> Evolution and Entropy
> http://www.hip.atr.co.jp/~ray/pubs/oji/node12.html#SECTION0004300000000000
> 0000
> Does evolution lead to a decrease in entropy? In the context of the
> current study, entropy was measured as genetic diversity in an ecological
> community. This measure showed occasional sharp but transient drops in
> entropy. These drops in entropy appear to correspond to the appearance of
> highly successful new genotypes whose populations come to dominate large
> portions of the memory, pushing other genotypes out, and generating major
> extinction events.
I'll have to read this soon. Brooks and Wiley argue that in certain types
of open systems both information and entropy can increase -- in absolute
terms, that is.
> How are evolution and entropy related?
> http://www.io.com/~mweb/biosthesis/entropy.htm
> Entropy refers to dispersal of energy. Evolution refers to diversification
> of form. Both involve a time-dependent relationship between what is actual
> and what is possible.
At first glance, this is somewhat similar to the argument in _Evolution as
Entropy_.
Daniel Ust
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/
See also my "Testing Evolutionary Explanations" at:
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/Testing.html
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