<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<title>An Unbeatable Tradition?</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Dear All,</p>
<p>While watching the evolution of our discussions in this NY
Lecture focused on the "Third Transition" I have the impression
that physics becomes an inexorable attractor, the necessary end of
any civilized discussion on information. Precisely, the initial
arguments were about living organisms creating ever new ways of
"getting to exist", adaptively constructing new-in-the-universe
possibilities--with their exploration of the adjacent-possible
going outside of the Newtonian paradigm... Fine, very fine.</p>
<p> My contention is that in the last decades we have heard many
times that rejection of the Newtonian but seemingly we cannot
advance in the development of truly independent views,
post-Newtonian and non-physicalist anchored (about information).
Not aspiring to any universality about the conceptions of this
independent informational exploration of life--at least shouldn't
it be attempted?? Once some basics could be cohered and decently
developed, it might provide some interesting complementarity with
the endless conundrums on its and bits by physicist and
computerist colleagues. Michael Conrad (who in the 70s and 80s was
already arguing about the unpicturability of enzyme function) put
an interesting comment: <i><u>"When we look at a biological
system we are looking at the face of the underlying physics of
the universe"</u></i> (in BioSystems, 38, 1996, p.108). Quite
enigmatic. So, an unexpected convergence might be found
finally--but not mandating it at the very beginning.<br>
</p>
<p>As I briefly argued days ago, the adjacent possible may be
considered in a variety of time-scales. The infamous "What is it
to be done?" (in Spanish, the concise "Qué hacer?" ) may be
repeated for cells, for organisms, for humans, for societies... Or
in other more frivolous words, "Qué será, será... the future's not
ours to see". No wonder that all these kinds of informational
creatures are endlessly looking for "signals", to march towards
truly adaptive adjacent possibles. Our new knowledge on
Prokaryotic signaling systems, on how they are intertwined with
the advancement of the life cycle, points exactly in that
direction: exploring the external/internal environment so to
self-orient towards adaptive outcomes. They were the First Ones.
Our own nervous system continuously scans the external and the
internal, and mixes up with an elaborate arrangement of emotional
resources and socialization cues so to do more or less the same,
achieving viable life courses, etc.etc. Our own societies are
involved in dire prospects and strange policy navigation towards
the adjacent--what? Possible? Impossible? Disastrous? Inevitable?</p>
<p>The lack of an informational cosmovision is patent. It was
already evident for Ortega y Gasset in the 1930s: <i>"The
confusion on the terrible public conflicts of the present stems
</i><i>in good part </i><i>from the incongruence between the
perfection of our ideas on physical phenomena and the painful
back-warded state of the 'moral sciences'--</i><i>about that, </i><i>both
the politician and the physicist are at the very height of the
barber" </i>(in Revolt of the Masses, 1930s).</p>
<p>Before putting an end, I have found pretty interesting (maybe
converging) recent comments on logics by Joseph, Eric, Plamen...
Unfortunately the "reality" of the life cycle is always maintained
perfectly invisible (or partially entered via some sanitized
surrogates).<br>
</p>
<p>Thanking your attention,<br>
</p>
<p>Best --Pedro<br>
</p>
<div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br /><table style="border-top: 1px solid #D3D4DE;"><tr><td style="width: 55px; padding-top: 13px;"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!Rf7U94d6MrR4Ofy1SS8jHmdL3Sk4dzXYz3mEwa1TRooeL_p8hLP3KE-qpDIpWVfUvwWzbyGVrXhY54XKy5cAN-0SEU3W$" target="_blank"><img src="https://s-install.avcdn.net/ipm/preview/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif" alt="" width="46" height="29" style="width: 46px; height: 29px;"/></a></td><td style="width: 470px; padding-top: 12px; color: #41424e; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Libre de virus.<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!Rf7U94d6MrR4Ofy1SS8jHmdL3Sk4dzXYz3mEwa1TRooeL_p8hLP3KE-qpDIpWVfUvwWzbyGVrXhY54XKy5cAN-0SEU3W$" target="_blank" style="color: #4453ea;">www.avast.com</a></td></tr></table><a href="#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2" width="1" height="1"> </a></div></body>
</html>