"Three laws governing black hole changes were thus found, but it was soon noticed that something unusual was going on. If one merely replaced the words 'surface area' by 'entropy' and 'gravitational field' by 'temperature', then the laws of black hole changes became merely statements of the laws of thermodynamics. The rule that the horizon surface areas can never decrease in physical processes becomes the second law of thermodynamics that the entropy can never decrease; the constancy of the gravitational field around the horizon is the so-called zeroth law of thermodynamics that the temperature must be the same everywhere in a state of thermal equilibrium. The rule linking allowed changes in the defining quantities of the black hole just becomes the first law of thermodynamics, which is more commonly known as the conservation of energy." (John D Barrow, "Theories of Everything: The Quest for Ultimate Explanation", 1991)
"What is an attractor? It is the set on which the point P, representing the system of interest, is moving at large times" (i.e., after so-called transients have died out). For this definition to make sense it is important that the external forces acting on the system be time independent" (otherwise we could get the point P to move in any way we like). It is also important that we consider dissipative systems" (viscous fluids dissipate energy by self-friction). Dissipation is the reason why transients die out. Dissipation is the reason why, in the infinite-dimensional space representing the system, only a small set" (the attractor) is really interesting." (David Ruelle, "Chance and Chaos", 1991)
"Symmetry is bound up in many of the deepest patterns of Nature, and nowadays it is fundamental to our scientific understanding of the universe. Conservation principles, such as those for energy or momentum, express a symmetry that" (we believe) is possessed by the entire space-time continuum: the laws of physics are the same everywhere." (Ian Stewart & Martin Golubitsky, "Fearful Symmetry: Is God a Geometer?", 1992)
"The new information technologies can be seen to drive societies toward increasingly dynamic high-energy regions further and further from thermodynamical equilibrium, characterized by decreasing specific entropy and increasingly dense free-energy flows, accessed and processed by more and more complex social, economic, and political structures." (Ervin László, "Information Technology and Social Change: An Evolutionary Systems Analysis", Behavioral Science 37, 1992)
"The description of the evolutionary trajectory of dynamical systems as irreversible, periodically chaotic, and strongly nonlinear fits certain features of the historical development of human societies. But the description of evolutionary processes, whether in nature or in history, has additional elements. These elements include such factors as the convergence of existing systems on progressively higher organizational levels, the increasingly efficient exploitation by systems of the sources of free energy in their environment, and the complexification of systems structure in states progressively further removed from thermodynamic equilibrium." (Ervin László et al, "The Evolution of Cognitive Maps: New Paradigms for the Twenty-first Century", 1993)
"The universe is driven by the complex interaction between three ingredients: matter, energy, and enlightened self-interest." (Marc S Zicree, "Survivors" [episode of Babylon 5], 1994)
"In contemplating natural phenomena, we frequently have to distinguish between effective complexity and logical depth. For example, the apparently complicated pattern of energy levels of atomic nuclei might easily be misattributed to some complex law at the fundamental level, but it is now believed to follow from a simple underlying theory of quarks, gluons, and photons, although lengthy calculations would be required to deduce the detailed pattern from the basic equations. Thus the pattern has a good deal of logical depth and very little effective complexity." (Murray Gell-Mann, "What is Complexity?", Complexity Vol. 1" (1), 1995)
"It [Living Systems Theory" (LST)] involves observing and measuring important relationships between inputs and outputs of the total system and identifying the structures that perform each of the sub‐system processes. […] The flows of relevant matter, energy, and information through the system and the adjustment processes of subsystems and the total system are also examined. The status and function of the system are analyzed and compared with what is average or normal for that type of system. If the system is experiencing a disturbance in some steady state, an effort is made to discover the source of the strain and correct it." (James G Miller & Jessie L Miller, "Applications of living systems theory", Systemic Practice and Action Research 8, 1995)
"As we explore physics at higher and higher energy, revealing its structure at shorter and shorter distances, we discover more and more symmetry." (David J Gross,"The Role of Symmetry in Fundamental Physics", 1996)
"All systems evolve, although the rates of evolution may vary over time both between and within systems. The rate of evolution is a function of both the inherent stability of the system and changing environmental circumstances. But no system can be stabilized forever. For the universe as a whole, an isolated system, time’s arrow points toward greater and greater breakdown, leading to complete molecular chaos, maximum entropy, and heat death. For open systems, including the living systems that are of major interest to us and that interchange matter and energy with their external environments, time’s arrow points to evolution toward greater and greater complexity. Thus, the universe consists of islands of increasing order in a sea of decreasing order. Open systems evolve and maintain structure by exporting entropy to their external environments." (L Douglas Kiel, "Chaos Theory in the Social Sciences: Foundations and Applications", 1996)
"As we explore physics at higher and higher energy, revealing its structure at shorter and shorter distances, we discover more and more symmetry." (David J Gross, "The Role of Symmetry in Fundamental Physics", 1996)
"Contrary to what happens at equilibrium, or near equilibrium, systems far from equilibrium do not conform to any minimum principle that is valid for functions of free energy or entropy production." (Ilya Prigogine, "The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos, and the New Laws of Nature", 1996)
"The universe would have expanded in a smooth way from a single point. As it expanded, it would have borrowed energy from the gravitational field, to create matter. As any economist could have predicted, the result of all that borrowing, was inflation. The universe expanded and borrowed at an ever-increasing rate. Fortunately, the debt of gravitational energy will not have to be repaid until the end of the universe." (Stephen Hawking," The Beginning of Time", 1996)
"A pendulum swings in a circle, so there is a lowest point that it can possibly reach - hanging vertically downwards. Any change in potential energy must be compensated by an equal and opposite change in kinetic energy: if the bob gets higher, it has to move more slowly; if it gets lower, it has to move faster. Imagine grabbing the pendulum by its bob and raising it to some chosen height. Hold it steady. Your hand did some work, and increased the bob's potential energy. The kinetic energy is zero because the pendulum is not moving. Now let go, and from now on let the pendulum move as it wishes. Gravity pulls the bob downwards, so the potential energy decreases. Kinetic energy must increase to compensate, so the weight starts to fall. At some stage the bob must reach the lowest point of the circle: here its potential energy is zero, so all of the energy has become kinetic. Not only is it moving at this point - it is moving as fast as it can possibly go." (Ian Stewart, "The Magical Maze: Seeing the world through mathematical eyes", 1997)
"These three insights - the network pattern, the flow of energy, and the nutrient cycles—are essential to the new scientific conception of life. Scientists have formulated them in complicated technical language. They speak of 'autopoietic networks', 'dissipative structures', and 'catalytic cycles'. But the basic phenomena described by those technical terms are the web of life, the flow of energy, and the cycles of nature." (Fritjof Capra," Turn, Turn, Turn: Understanding Nature’s Cycles", 1997)
"Complex systems operate under conditions far from equilibrium. Complex systems need a constant flow of energy to change, evolve and survive as complex entities. Equilibrium, symmetry and complete stability mean death. Just as the flow, of energy is necessary to fight entropy and maintain the complex structure of the system, society can only survive as a process. It is defined not by its origins or its goals, but by what it is doing." (Paul Cilliers,"Complexity and Postmodernism: Understanding Complex Systems", 1998)
"In a closed system, the change in entropy must always be 'positive', meaning toward death. However, in open biological or social systems, entropy can be arrested and may even be transformed into negative entropy. - a process of more complete organization and enhanced ability to transform resources. Why? Because the system imports energy and resources from its environment, leading to renewal. This is why education and learning are so important, as they provide new and stimulating input" (termed neg-entropy) that can transform each of us." (Stephen G Haines, "The Managers Pocket Guide to Systems Thinking & Learning", 1998)
"There has to be a constant flow of energy to maintain the organization of the system and to ensure its survival. Equilibrium is another word for death." (Paul Cilliers, "Complexity and Postmodernism: Understanding Complex Systems", 1998)
"Mathematicians have always appreciated clever notations; but symbolism is usually seen as a tool - it's what the tool does that we really care about. Fair enough. But if we want a richer appreciation of mathematics, we should focus some of our energy on this remarkable tool - notation. Besides mathematics, poetry alone works wonders with it." (James R Brown,"Philosophy of Mathematics", 1999)
"[...] synergy is the consequence of the energy expended in creating order. It is locked up in the viable system created, be it an organism or a social system. It is at the level of the system. It is not discernible at the level of the system. It is not discernible at the level of the system’s components. Whenever the system is dismembered to examine its components, this binding energy dissipates." (J-C Spender, "Organizational Knowledge, Collective Practice and Penrose Rents", 1999)
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