Re: [ba-ohs-talk] Emergence -- the book
Dumb question given the fate Illich's work in our community, but, then again,
one never knows ... (01)
Is anyone interested in doing an essay-review of Johnson's "Emergence" in the
light of human performance and its augmentation? (02)
Henry (03)
Jack Park wrote: (04)
> http://www.simonsays.com/book/default_book.cfm?isbn=068486875X&areaid=33
>
> "Emergence is what happens when an interconnected system of relatively
> simple elements self-organizes to form more intelligent, more adaptive
> higher-level behavior. It's a bottom-up model; rather than being engineered
> by a general or a master planner, emergence begins at the ground level.
> Systems that at first glance seem vastly different -- ant colonies, human
> brains, cities, immune systems -- all turn out to follow the rules of
> emergence. In each of these systems, agents residing on one scale start
> producing behavior that lies a scale above them: ants create colonies,
> urbanites create neighborhoods.
> In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson,
> acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" (The Village Voice),
> takes readers on an eye-opening intellectual journey from the discovery of
> emergence to its applications. He introduces us to our everyday
> surroundings, offering suprising examples of feedback, self-organization,
> and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a
> disconnected association of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate
> developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new
> software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web?" (05)