Hello all!

So, our last Meetup was kind of a free-for-all, which was pretty fun.... But all group members present voted for a more structured approach for this next one.

It was suggested that Roger White's "Complexity & Chaos" is a great introduction to the basic concepts of Nonlinear Philosophy, so we also voted to make the first two parts on youtube the "required viewing" for this next Meetup.  (more like suggested viewing, really! or you can probably gain quite a bit of the content from my notes below) 

The total viewing time for both parts is less than 15 minutes -- & both parts are also summarized below by yours truly, for your convenience.

I've listed some "Guiding Questions" after the summaries, which are basically questions I came up with that try to guide & focus the discussion a little.  But please feel free to email me any questions of your own for the group's consideration, & I'll most likely add them.

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Part 1 - Introduction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFg5riDd4FY

Science until recently has had a bias in favor of determinism & a largely mechanistic view of the universe.  Now, however, there is a conceptual revolution underway that has its roots in 4 domains:

1. Fractals - have inspired the development of a new branch of geometry that describes the complex forms all around us like clouds, trees & lungs

2. Chaos - apparently ordinary mathematical equations that suddenly give random, unpredictable results - the older more orderly rules of arithmetic are no longer enough. the new mathematics of chaos not only opens up new areas of scientific inquiry, it raises deep philosophical questions as well.

3. Self-Organization - the apparently mysterious process by which complex entities create themselves from simple components without a master plan. Sometimes it's called spontaneous organization as order seems to emerge from disorder without any obvious cause.  Self-organization theory is showing why our world, the world of life, must be a world of constant change.

4. Emergent Computation - together with a related field known as artificial life, deals with the logic of self-organization.   Research in Emergent Computation is revealing new natural laws that are, in a sense, the laws of intelligence.

"These domains, linked in number of ways, seem to cohere into a unified system that provides a new, richer & more open idea of science itself."

Part 2  - The Newtonian Paradigm - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRE5snlCSaI

This part critiques the Newtonian Paradigm.  It alleges that the Newtonian Paradigm & traditional scientific methodologies ignore the complexity of the real world as they "simplify observations into a conceptually coherent scheme"

There's a very brief outline of how Euclidean geometry directly informed the Cartesian geometry of fixed 3 dimensional space.  Newton then used Cartesian geometry in his great discoveries.

Before the scientific culture became Newtonian, scientists described what they saw without using the language of Euclidean forms.  One such scientist was Alexander von Humboldt, who was interested in the world's visual appearance & hoped to develop a science of natural aesthetics.  He even proposed employing artists as technical assistants.

"Most scientists have learned to ignore (the world's richness & complexity), & to look beneath complex appearances to find ideal geometric forms.  The Newtonian paradigm assured them that they would find order, underneath the superficial messiness."

"As technology advanced, the engineers were brought in like housekeepers to clean up the messiness -- to straighten out the rivers, level the hills, to regulate plant growth, & to pave things over in order to give our world a Newtonian physiognomy."

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Guiding Questions for this Meetup:

Part 1 -  What's your present level of familiarity with these concepts?  Do you see them as being highly relevant to scientific methodologies practiced today?  As of this year, early 2012, do you see this as a "conceptual revolution" as one that is just getting started or one that has been underway for some time now?  Given your particular field of interests, what richer more open view of science do you see emerging?

Part 2 - Do you agree that modern scientific methodologies are naive or incomplete for seeking formal elegance, & disregarding complexity as inconvenient?  Discuss.   

* Again, please feel free to message me other thought-provoking questions based on the suggested viewing material, & I will most likely post them here, in addition to the above! * 

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"Principles for the development of a complete mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses -- especially learn how to see.  Realize how everything connects to everything else." -- Leonardo DaVinci

P.S. Be sure to check out the "conceptual framework" link which is sent to you when you sign up. It has some introductory films.

PPS. Donations are currently being accepted towards the cost of renewing the group's "active" status.  (renewed October 26, 2011 for 6 months)