Evolution Research - Main Blog

The first of the "Aims" referred to in yesterday's Main Blog post is:

1) To develop the model indicated by the 'anomalies' referred to in Why research an 'Internal Evolutionary Mechanism'? (1) - and hopefully avoid the pitfalls inherent in doing so!

Below is a description of the basic concept (warts and all) as it has appeared on my website since 1998:

The Post-Notochord Model

The diagram opposite shows a dotted area within which all internal and external "inputs" come together and it is here that an internal evolutionary mechanism is proposed to exist. Cannon (1929) formulated the concept of "homeostasis" whereby activity at this level can be described as "self regulating" or "automatic" which are observations of a closed system made from an external standpoint. The model proposes, when viewed from the inside, any non thinking and non intelligent organism with such a configuration is simply maintaining equilibrium and that this equilibrium extends in another direction - that of evolution. The dotted area, arbitrarily labeled the A.O.N.E. ("Area of Natural Equilibrium"), is a localized area at the apex (or center) of the internal homeostatic hierarchy [Note 1: The Triune Brain]. The genome in such an organism's germ cells, equally hierarchically integrated, will also have a localized area and this connectivity reflects the continuity of organism-genome-organism.

Changes in the life experiences of an organism as 'experienced' at the level of the AONE - not that of consciousness - may cause single or co-ordinated evolutionary/devolutionary changes to occur if existing thresholds are exceeded, or just as importantly, not met. These 'changes', transmitted to germ cells, would then cascade down (or radiate outwards) from their localized areas into the genome, and in a direction that would begin (or achieve) restoration of equilibrium in the next generation(s).

The following flowchart will be used to demonstrate how an homeostatic mechanism can accounts for various aspects of evolution:

To recap: The fibonacci series begins "0, 1, 1, 2 ,3, 5" and each subsequent number can be formed by adding the two preceeding numbers together, eg 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 8 = 13 (etc.). If the larger of two sucessive fibonacci numbers is divided by the smaller then a number is obtained which increasingly approximates to the 'golden ratio' or 'golden number': 1.6180339887498948482.... The flowchart opposite will generate the fibonacci series endlessly. For simplicity it ignores the first zero, and rather than 'seeding' the program and adding succesive fibonacci numbers together, it generates the numbers via testing the ratio of 'x over y' against phi (where phi equals the golden number/ratio). 'y' is the fibonacci number produced, 'x' the incremental count. 'F' is required to test whether the 'x over y' ratio is closer to the golden ratio when x/y is above or below it. NB I hope the maths are correct - please email any comments (and I would like help/advice in developing this further).

The above two entries have been taken from existing material and will serve as an initial 'baseline'. I'll post ongoing development in the Persoanl Posts category and then here in the Main Blog when I'm happier with how things are going - correspondence over a recently reported phenomena, for example, gives an indication of how a mathematical model could be developed but also demonstrates just how basic the above is!

John Latter

technorati tags: internal+evolutionary+mechanism, evolution, fibonacci, homeostasis, triune+brain

Permanent Link posted by John Latter @ 9:47 PM